Man sentenced to 35 years for 2021 murder of Yale grad student

The former MIT student who pleaded guilty to the 2021 murder of a Yale University graduate student has been sentenced to 35 years in prison.

Qinxuan Pan, 33, pleaded guilty in February to the murder of Kevin Jiang, a 26-year-old graduate student at the Yale School of the Environment.  

Pan faced up to 35 years in prison and he was sentenced to the full amount on Tuesday. There is no parole or probation.

It was on Feb. 6, 2021, when police officers responding to 911 calls found Jiang lying outside of his car on Lawrence Street in New Haven. He had been shot several times and died at the scene, officials said.

Jiang was set to graduate from Yale later in 2021.

Officials said Pan, who was a student at MIT at the time, had visited car dealerships in Connecticut and Massachusetts before the shooting and asked to test drive vehicles.

Then, on the day of the shooting, he stole a car in Mansfield, Mass. and drove to Connecticut, according to a police report. Officials said he also put a commercial Connecticut license plate on the vehicle to conceal its identity.

Police have not said whether Pan and Jiang had an existing relationship. However, MIT confirmed that Pan had been enrolled as a graduate student at the university since 2014.

Jiang’s fiancée graduated from MIT in 2020.

Pan was wanted for questioning and remained at large for three months before he was eventually arrested in Alabama in May 2021 during a nationwide search.

Several of Jiang’s family and friends, including his mother and father, his fiancé and the pastor who would have officiated their wedding, were in court on Tuesday for the sentencing and spoke.

“He was a true victim here. My son was a remarkable young man who cherished life and held deep believe in God. He had a bright future ahead – one that promised to spread God’s love far and wide,” Kevin’s father said.

Kevin’s mother said her only son was a warm, kind and decent man who helped others and fed the homeless.

She said she fears for her safety if Pan received a short sentence.   

Jiang was a U.S. Army veteran and a National Guard Reservist and military service members knew him spoke, as did his classmates.

Those who knew him described Jiang as a man with big dreams who will filled with ideas – one who was smart, joyful, devoted to his loved ones and beloved by many.

Pan spoke during his sentencing hearing and said he learned that Jiang was an only child, a devout Christian who did missionary work and a promising student at Yale.

“I feel sorry for what my actions caused and for everyone affected,” Pan said.

“I feel very bad for what happened,” he added. “I fully accept my penalties.”

The court issued protective orders for three people which will be in effect for 60 years.