New Court Documents Reveal MIT Grad Held on $20 Million Bond, May Have Been Interested in Yale Grad’s Fiancée

June 14, 2021

Court documents that were recently made public have revealed new details surrounding the murder of a Yale grad student in February.

New details: The court released the nearly 100-page arrest and search warrant records on June 11, according to The Hartford Courant.

Qinxuan Pan, 30, was renting an apartment under a false name in Alabama when he was arrested in May 2021 after being on the run for three months across several states. Federal agents found seven cellphones in his possession along with $19,000 in cash and his father’s passport.
He is being held on a $20 million bond, which is believed to be the highest bond placed on a person in Connecticut.
A witness account said Pan shot Jiang twice at the corner of Lawrence and Nicoll Streets in New Haven, Conn., on Feb. 6. He fled on a black GMC Terrain.
New court documents revealed Jiang’s car was struck by another vehicle, believed to be driven by Pan, before the fatal shooting, WFSB reported.
North Haven police were alerted about half an hour later about a stuck vehicle on the railroad tracks on Universal Drive with a matching description. Officers had the SUV towed after Pan failed to provide proof it was a rental. The tow driver drove Pan to a nearby Best Western to spend the night.
Employees at an Arby’s reportedly found a bag containing firearms, ammunition and license plates the following morning. Responding officers immediately rushed to the hotel after recognizing the yellow jacket, MetroPCS knit cap and briefcase from the towed vehicle the night before.
Pan was nowhere to be found. Hotel staff said the room booked by the suspect was unused, the warrant affidavit reads.

A connection: Court records also revealed Jiang’s fiancée, Zion Perry, knew Pan during their time at MIT.

The two met while attending “various Christian group events on campus,” the warrant affidavit reads. They never connected since Perry’s graduation in May 2020, but they remained friends on Facebook.
“They talked at those events and she invited him to other events to welcome him. They never had a romantic or sexual relationship, they were just friends, but she did get a feeling that he was interested in her during that time,” the warrant affidavit continued.
Pan’s defense attorney, William Gerace, refused to comment on the newly publicized court documents and any details surrounding the case.

Featured Image via WFSB 3

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