Collyn Robinson, Multimedia Managing Editor

Qinxuan Pan was sentenced on Tuesday to 35 years in prison for the murder of Yale graduate student Kevin Jiang ENV ’22 in 2021.

The sentencing decision, delivered by State Superior Court Judge Gerald Harmon in a New Haven courtroom, cements a plea deal reached in late February — over three years after a murder that shocked the Yale community and set off a three-month manhunt ending with Pan’s arrest in Alabama.

“I feel sorry for what my actions caused,” Pan, who is 33 years old, said during the sentencing hearing, according to the New Haven Register. “I fully accept my penalties.”

Pan’s lawyer, public defender Molly Arabolos, did not reply to an email from the News asking for comment on the sentencing and an explanation of Pan’s decision to plead guilty. A year before the plea deal, Pan had dropped his private attorney in favor of a public defender.

Jiang, a 26-year-old army veteran from Seattle, was studying at the Yale School of the Environment. He had recently been engaged to Zion Perry GRD ’26 at the time of the murder, which occurred February 2021 in New Haven’s East Rock neighborhood.

“Today, I would like to extend my condolences to the friends and family of Mr. Jiang who have endured such an unimaginable loss due to this senseless crime,” New Haven State’s Attorney John P. Doyle Jr. was quoted as saying in a statement on Tuesday.

In the statement, Doyle thanked the assortment of law enforcement agencies who had assisted with the case. They ranged from the New Haven and Yale Police Departments to the FBI and the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Jiang’s father, Mingchen Jiang, said at Tuesday’s hearing that his son “had a bright future ahead, one that promised to spread God’s love far and wide,” per the Associated Press.
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