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48 Hours

The Ivy League Murder

Mon, 27 Jan 2025

Description

A newly engaged Yale graduate student is gunned down by an unknown attacker after a fender bender. Was it extreme road rage or was he targeted? Anne-Marie Green reports.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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Transcription

26.798 - 32.223 Unknown

You start dealing with a series of shootings. It's a little out of the ordinary. Take me through that.

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33.785 - 60.222 Unknown

The first shooting occurs on December 11, 2020, at Huntington Street in New Haven. There's a report of five gunshots in the area. The residence was struck multiple times. The house was occupied, but nobody was hit. When police responded, they located multiple .45 caliber shell casings at the scene. There's a second shooting that occurs January 15th, 2021. The third shooting occurred February 5th.

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60.342 - 81.373 Unknown

A fourth incident occurred on February 6th. It's another residence. It was occupied, but nobody was hurt inside. There were five rounds that were shot into. It was occupied. Fortunately, nobody was hit. The residents were struck multiple times by gunfire. Nobody was injured. Patrol officers located one .45 caliber located in multiple casings, .45 caliber.

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81.593 - 83.996 Unknown

.45 caliber shell casings were located at the scene.

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87 - 90.665 Unknown

Four shootings over a few months. Do they have anything in common?

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90.976 - 102.143 Unknown

The common denominator was the caliber of the gun that was used. It's 45 caliber casings that were located at all four of those scenes. And in the last two shootings, there was a description of a dark colored SUV.

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102.764 - 106.026 Unknown

Are officers concerned that at some point, someone is going to get hurt?

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106.486 - 106.726 Unknown

Yes.

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109.048 - 113.471 Unknown

830 Saturday night, residents in the East Rock neighborhood heard the distinct sound of gunfire.

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119.503 - 143.543 Unknown

On February 6th at around 8.30 p.m., we get the report of a person shot at Lawrence and Nichols Street in New Haven. That person was later identified as Kevin Jong and was pronounced deceased on the scene. We located eight .45 caliber shell casings. There were a few 911 callers that saw a dark-colored SUV flee the area.

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146.187 - 153.413 Unknown

A sense of shock and sadness has settled on the Yale University community after the Saturday night shooting death of grad student Kevin Jiang.

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153.433 - 162.56 Kevin

What's up, everyone? Welcome to another episode of Fitness with Kevin. I'm Kevin. It still doesn't feel real. You know, like, it still doesn't feel real.

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163.221 - 168.79 Unknown

You're such a cutie. He was just a very happy person, a very genuine soul.

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169.151 - 179.616 Unknown

The victim was a student at Yale's School of the Environment, originally from Chicago. He was an Army vet who posted on Facebook just a week ago his joy in getting engaged.

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182.878 - 190.022 Unknown

He was so in love with Zion. He was just like, oh, Zion this and Zion that. Like, everything was about Zion. He really loved her.

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197.509 - 200.051 Unknown

So you guys walk up to the scene. What do you see?

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200.471 - 223.407 Unknown

Kevin's body, he was laying on his right side. His feet were on the stop line here, and his head was towards the first line of the crosswalk. And then we see the casings. There's a shell casing by the bottom of the S and a few feet from the P. And then there were six more spread out by the first crosswalk line. We could see gunshot wounds to his upper body and to his head.

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224.028 - 225.709 Unknown

There were some shots that were at close range.

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226.36 - 227.941 Unknown

there was something personal about this?

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228.461 - 236.144 Unknown

Yes. We'll use Facebook as a tool to try and get a little background on an individual who they're friends with.

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236.405 - 241.107 Unknown

And so you're going down the list of names. Nothing, nothing, nothing. And then you're like, whoa.

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241.567 - 242.287 Unknown

There's our connection.

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245.489 - 251.391 Anne-Marie Green

Anne Marie Green reports the Ivy League murder.

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255.433 - 264.982 Unknown

It was a cold night in February 2021 when lead detective David Zoeski and his colleague Stephen Cunningham arrived at the crime scene.

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266.884 - 278.275 Unknown

The patrol officers had already been out there canvassing the area. They were knocking on doors looking for anyone that might have seen anything or heard anything. The crime scene detectives were starting to locate all the shell casings.

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280.493 - 287.8 Unknown

26-year-old Yale graduate student Kevin Jong was lying in the street, shot eight times.

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288.34 - 290.682 Unknown

His body was still on scene, covered in a white sheet.

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294.365 - 296.827 Unknown

When you saw the body, what did you see?

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297.288 - 305.275 Unknown

What we could see were gunshot wounds to his upper body and to his head. And you could see stippling on the left side of his head.

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306.002 - 312.228 Unknown

Stippling is a burn pattern caused by gunpowder exploding from a weapon fired at close range.

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315.191 - 320.536 Unknown

About 100 feet down the street... There was a Prius just parked in the middle of the road with its hazards on.

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321.769 - 331.272 Unknown

they quickly discovered the Prius belonged to Kevin. Crime scene detectives noticed a peculiar bit of damage that suggested it had been hit from behind.

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331.673 - 337.835 Unknown

There was an impression that was left on the back bumper that looked like a license plate holder.

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338.555 - 342.456 Unknown

So this is like a fender mender. It's not a violent crash.

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342.836 - 344.197 Unknown

No, there's not much damage.

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346.827 - 352.25 Unknown

One witness told detectives she heard the sound of an accident and went to the window to look.

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357.153 - 378.566 Unknown

When they look out, they see a Prius come to a stop and put its hazards on. They see a dark-colored SUV pull up behind it and then reverse back towards the intersection. They see the operator of the Prius walk out. and approached the SUV, most likely to see how they were, exchange insurance information.

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379.607 - 389.355 Unknown

When the operator gets to the black SUV, they hear a round of gunshots and they see the muzzle flash from the gun from the driver's side of the SUV.

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392.297 - 396.781 Unknown

Another witness heard the first round of gunshots and went to her window.

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397.418 - 412.269 Unknown

When she looks outside, she sees a subject wearing all black standing over another individual who's laying on the ground. She hears another round of gunshots, and she can see the muzzle flash from the gun as he's firing.

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412.849 - 419.78 Unknown

She sees someone standing over another person, which means the victim is already down. And they're still shooting?

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420.461 - 420.661 Unknown

Yes.

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420.961 - 421.621 Unknown

What did you think?

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422.181 - 431.364 Unknown

There's a little bit more to it. It seems a little bit more personal when you have someone that's laying on the ground and not moving. What would cause someone to continue firing at them?

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432.084 - 438.706 Unknown

The detectives were able to confirm these accounts when they got a look at video from a neighbor's security system.

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439.046 - 442.087 Unknown

It was located on the inside of a window facing outward.

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442.631 - 454.119 Unknown

Because most of the frame is a reflection of the interior of the house, we've zoomed in to focus on what's happening on the street. A warning this may be difficult to listen to.

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454.419 - 485.494 Unknown

We hear the collision between the two cars. And then that's when you see Kevin's Prius pull into frame and the SUV pulls up behind him and then reverses out of frame. You see Kevin exit his vehicle and then walk out of frame to approach the SUV. You then hear two gunshots, a scream, and then six more gunshots.

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493.286 - 502.898 Unknown

Moments later, the video shows the SUV driving off into the night. Can you make out any details when it comes to the SUV?

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503.418 - 513.05 Unknown

Unfortunately not. You could kind of get the idea of the potential make and model of it with the taillights, but you couldn't discern any identifying features.

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513.849 - 538.087 Unknown

Investigators soon felt the dark SUV and the .45 caliber shells recovered at the scene pointed to a potential link to those earlier shootings around the area that police had been investigating. Four times over a two-month span, someone fired shots into family homes. The fourth incident occurred just one hour before Kevin Jong's murder.

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538.649 - 545.936 Unknown

We had detectives in the bureau looking into each of the incidents to see if there's any more of a connection to link them.

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548.157 - 553.302 Paul White

Two bullets came in through this window and ended up in this wall.

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554.263 - 557.966 Unknown

Paul and Nyree White's home was the target of the third shooting.

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558.447 - 561.93 Paul White

We had just finished dinner. I had a fire going.

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562.521 - 572.81 Unknown

Nyree, a schoolteacher, headed upstairs to take a shower. Paul, an educator with degrees from Yale, Harvard, and Columbia University, was sitting downstairs.

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572.83 - 584.281 Paul White

All of a sudden, something comes through this window. Then a second bullet came through. You heard the pop and the glass going everywhere with that one.

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584.741 - 588.585 Unknown

Paul shouted a warning to Nyree. Get down. Someone's shooting.

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590.134 - 597.616 Unknown

And then I heard bang, pop again. And I turned and I literally saw the frame of the door just splintered. And then she yells back at you.

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597.896 - 600.257 Paul White

Like that someone's shooting upstairs.

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603.358 - 620.158 Unknown

It was over in a matter of moments and no one was injured. Do you feel lucky? Yes. Absolutely. Absolutely. Absolutely. Detectives interviewed the Whites and the occupants of the other houses.

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620.719 - 622.6 Unknown

There didn't seem to be any connection between them.

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623.281 - 634.53 Unknown

And none of them, investigators say, had any connection to Kevin Jeong. But the shell casings from all the shootings would later tell a different story.

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635.491 - 641.116 Unknown

When the casings are sent to the lab, they all came back as matches to the casings found at the homicide.

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642.918 - 649.163 Unknown

The casings matched, but Kevin was the only person murdered, and detectives didn't know why.

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650.964 - 654.867 Unknown

It could have been a road rage incident that turned a little too violent.

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655.927 - 658.109 Unknown

Or was Kevin Jeong targeted?

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658.93 - 663.693 Unknown

The car accident, it was deliberate to get him out of the vehicle. Possibly seemed like it was planned.

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664.434 - 670.198 Unknown

And if he was specifically targeted, what could have happened in his life to drive someone to do this?

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689.511 - 705.534 Unknown

It was late when Detective Zaweski and Cunningham left the crime scene on February 6th. They went to Kevin Jiang's home, looking to find a family member to notify about what had happened. His mother, Linda Liu, came to the door.

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705.554 - 708.015 Unknown

It's gotta be the hardest conversation.

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708.695 - 709.555 Unknown

It is. They always are.

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711.496 - 714.195 Unknown

Hi, Mom. Happy birthday.

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714.235 - 725.763 Unknown

You want to be direct and upfront and make it clear, as horrific as it is for them. So we explained to her that he was shot and killed in the area of Lawrence and Nichols Street in New Haven.

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726.424 - 728.545 Unknown

Can she even comprehend that?

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729.146 - 733.229 Unknown

She's absolutely devastated. She falls to the ground crying.

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734.09 - 743.147 Unknown

The detectives wanted to know everything about Kevin and why he may have been targeted that night. Linda began to tell them about her son.

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743.167 - 753.273 Unknown

It was just the two of them, and he was actually supporting her. She told us that he was a grad student at Yonge University and was in the Army National Guard.

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754.074 - 770.183 Unknown

Kevin was deeply religious. He and his mother were part of the congregation at Trinity Baptist Church. Pastor Gregory Hendrickson knew them both and says that Linda, a divorced single parent, got Kevin through a tough childhood where he was often bullied.

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770.894 - 784.451 Pastor Gregory Hendrickson

She was very committed to sort of seeing him come through and eventually he thrived on the other side of that. I think he had a sense of honoring his mom by, as she had cared for him when he was a child, caring for her as she was getting older.

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785.475 - 791.837 Unknown

Kevin bought this house in 2019, and Hendrickson says he invited his mother to come live with him.

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792.177 - 801.481 Pastor Gregory Hendrickson

She was living alone. She was living on the other side of the country. She didn't have a lot of family support around her, and he wanted her to come and be with him during his studies at Yale.

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803.561 - 821.622 Unknown

Police also learned that Kevin had recently gotten engaged to his girlfriend of a year, Zion Perry. She posted the proposal on Facebook. This was just one week before he was murdered.

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829.722 - 849.413 Unknown

He was so in love with Zion. You could tell. He didn't even have to really say too much. Oh, my gosh. So I remember one time he was on the phone with her, and I was like, wow. Like, you could hear the genuineness and his love towards her. And I was like, wow, I hope I find someone like that.

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850.62 - 864.269 Unknown

Zion Perry grew up in Pennsylvania, where she was an honors high school student. A couple met in January of 2020 when Zion was still an undergraduate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MIT.

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865.543 - 886.04 Pastor Gregory Hendrickson

He said, you know, I met her at a Christian retreat and she's very kind and we enjoy talking and just have great conversations together. Then she came to do her PhD at Yale. They clearly shared a lot in common. They both love nature. I mean, he's a scientist. He was studying molecular biophysics and biochemistry. So, you know, he was studying in the School of the Environment.

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886.5 - 893.506 Pastor Gregory Hendrickson

They're both brilliant and hardworking students. And yet they didn't feel like their accomplishments were what defined them at the deepest level.

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896.337 - 904.302 Unknown

Zaweski and Cunningham then interviewed an emotional Zion. She told them she and Kevin had spent the day together.

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904.803 - 911.907 Unknown

They had gone ice fishing and had dinner at her house, and then he left her house around 8.30 that night.

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915.189 - 927.247 Unknown

Kevin didn't get far. His Prius was struck by the dark SUV just two blocks from Zion's house. close enough for Zion to hear the gunshots that followed.

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929.068 - 943.716 Unknown

She remembers hearing the gunshots, but she thought there was a good five or ten minutes after he left to when she heard the gunshots. So she didn't think he was anywhere near the area and didn't think twice about him potentially being involved in any way.

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944.196 - 947.278 Unknown

Did she have any idea who would have done something like this?

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948.019 - 952.121 Unknown

At that point, I don't know. Nothing that she told us that she could think of.

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953.504 - 959.732 Unknown

After speaking with Zion, detectives were no closer to figuring out why Kevin would be a target.

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960.353 - 962.355 Unknown

Seemed like just an innocent, innocent guy.

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966.44 - 968.163 Unknown

Did you think this was going to be a tough case, though?

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968.663 - 971.447 Unknown

That night? Yes. We had a little bit, but there wasn't a lot to go on.

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972.21 - 975.472 Unknown

I just had somebody drive through my yard here. How you doing?

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975.733 - 981.657 Unknown

But just 15 hours after the shooting... What are you doing back here? ...they got a huge break.

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981.937 - 983.978 Unknown

Little did we know that we'd get the phone call the next day.

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983.998 - 988.121 Unknown

I just got in here accidentally and I got stuck. And it was like, wow.

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1011.221 - 1015.725 Unknown

News of Kevin's murder spread among his loved ones and closest friends.

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1016.766 - 1035.784 Unknown

I was at home and I actually got a phone call from another soldier. And she was saying, I know you guys were close. And her voice cracked and she told me that he had passed away. And I was like, not comprehending what was going on. So I text him and I was like, answer your phone, please. And obviously he never answered me.

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1037.259 - 1053.802 Unknown

Lieutenant Hubbard reached out to Captain Jamila Aye, and if sharing the news about Kevin wasn't tragic enough, someone posted the chilling video of his murder online, and his fellow soldiers now saw and heard Kevin's final moments alive.

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1055.483 - 1062.044 Unknown

To this day, I can still hear him screaming. I was like, why did I listen to that?

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1067.614 - 1077.68 Unknown

Detectives Zaweski and Cunningham were back at their desks in headquarters, struggling for answers and leads to pursue. Day two. You get a phone call.

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1078.06 - 1078.32 Unknown

Yes.

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1079.28 - 1084.403 Unknown

The call from a sergeant at nearby North Haven Police Department was urgent.

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1085.184 - 1089.166 Unknown

Two incidents that happened in North Haven the night before and then earlier that morning.

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1090.504 - 1099.287 Unknown

It began with a 911 call from a local scrap metal yard around 9 p.m., less than a half hour after Kevin was killed.

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1101.508 - 1121.859 Unknown

I'm the security guard at Simmons Metal Management. I just had somebody drive through my yard here. They didn't know where they were going, so I had been chasing them around the yard, and they just pulled way in the back. Off the property, took a black minivan, SUV type of thing.

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1124.36 - 1140.245 Unknown

Police body cameras were rolling when Sergeant Jeffrey Mills and Officer Marcus Artaiz spotted that vehicle stuck on snow-covered railroad tracks, not far from the rear exit of the Sims scrap metal yard. They approached the driver.

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1140.265 - 1143.366 Unknown

What are you doing back here, though?

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1143.965 - 1149.249 Unknown

I just got here accidentally and I got stuck. Is there any way to get stuck here?

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1150.529 - 1154.092 Unknown

The only thing I can do is call your tow truck. Okay, cool, thanks.

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1154.452 - 1159.355 Unknown

The motorist was 29-year-old Kinshin Pan from Malden, Massachusetts.

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1159.675 - 1161.697 Unknown

Okay, do you have your driver's license on you? Yes. Registration?

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1162.096 - 1176.065 Unknown

His driver's license and criminal background were clean. During the encounter, Sergeant Mills noticed a yellow jacket on the passenger seat. He also saw a blue bag and a briefcase in the back seat, but not much else.

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1176.625 - 1181.528 Unknown

He took a wrong turn. He got lost. And he thought the Jeep was probably chasing him, the security guy.

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1181.969 - 1187.392 Unknown

Because Sergeant Mills hadn't heard about Kevin's murder, he wasn't particularly concerned.

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1187.992 - 1194.29 Kinshin Pan

So it's nothing you think? Yeah, he's... He doesn't look like he's trying to scrap anything, I mean... Nah.

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1194.671 - 1210.243 Unknown

I've been on the tracks I don't know how many times with vehicles that were, you know, called into suspicious or whatever, but kids go back there. People always come down there, according to the security guard, and they turn around in the front lot and they leave because they missed a highway or something. Did he look nervous? He wasn't nervous at all. He was perfectly calm.

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1210.503 - 1217.749 Kinshin Pan

So what do you recommend I do? I mean, if I can get it off the track, I prefer to drive it myself.

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1218.601 - 1221.783 Unknown

It was just like, oh, sorry, I got stuck on the tracks. Can you help me get off?

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1222.323 - 1234.39 Kinshin Pan

So how about you get a hotel for the night? We'll have the tow truck drop you off at the hotel, you pay for a credit card, and you can arrange picking up the car in the morning. Okay, let's get a hotel then. Yeah, let's do that. If it is difficult.

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1234.45 - 1235.591 Unknown

That's probably the safest thing to do.

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1235.751 - 1236.292 Kinshin Pan

Okay.

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1236.592 - 1247.098 Unknown

The tow truck came. It took a little work, but it got it off the tracks. He gave Mr. Pan a ride back to Best Western, and I cleared the call, like any other call.

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1249.5 - 1255.403 Unknown

But hours later, there was another call to 911. February 7th, around 11 a.m.

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1255.443 - 1256.723 Unknown

Hello, can I help you?

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1256.743 - 1257.604 Unknown

This is the police department.

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1258.464 - 1268.829 Unknown

Hello, I work at Arby's here in North Haven. We found a gun and probably like 10 boxes of bullets.

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1269.85 - 1273.611 Unknown

An employee found a couple of bags on the grass at the north entrance here.

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1274.192 - 1279.074 Unknown

When they brought them in, there were three bags. This one, that one, and this. Got it.

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1279.517 - 1292.647 Unknown

Took a better look at the bags that it came in, and here's a blue retail bag with a Massachusetts logo on it and a small leather black briefcase, and it instantly hit me. These are the bags that were in Mr. Pond's car the night before.

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1296.986 - 1308.25 Unknown

The Arby's was right next door to the Best Western where Penn was dropped off. And by then, Mills had heard about the murder in New Haven. What's going through your brain?

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1308.71 - 1322.334 Unknown

At that point, knowing that New Haven had a homicide, they were looking for a dark-colored GMC SUV. Now we've got a firearm, and then Officer Bianchi shows me a yellow jacket that was in it, and the suspect was wearing a yellow jacket.

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1322.915 - 1323.495 Kinshin Pan

Jacket.

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1330.979 - 1341.127 Unknown

And when we got here, I went in to the front desk and spoke with the attendant there and asked if Bucks on Pan had checked in, which they checked in and said, yes, he did. I mean, he hasn't checked out yet.

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1341.988 - 1349.514 Unknown

That's when Mills alerted New Haven Homicide about Pan. Do you immediately think there might be a connection with the homicide?

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1349.895 - 1363.168 Unknown

There's a very good chance. The vehicle matched. And the items that were left behind at the Arby's restaurant, it included a .45 caliber handgun. PowerPoint. And that matched the casings that were at the scene.

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1366.69 - 1371.392 Unknown

Zawieski immediately sent detectives to meet Mills at the Best Western.

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1372.473 - 1384.328 Unknown

So we got a key, went to room 276. We knocked on the door. We entered the room. The room was clean. Nothing in it. It didn't appear that anybody stayed in it for the night. At first, we were like, oh, we lost them.

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1385.988 - 1397.691 Unknown

New Haven police sent investigators, including Detective Joe Galvin, to track down Pan. Galvin went to Malden, Massachusetts, where Pan lived with his parents and was a graduate student at MIT.

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1399.403 - 1414.575 Unknown

right outside of Boston, very affluent homes. There was no one there when we knocked on the door. So the day after the homicide, we were unsure if maybe the family was on vacation, out of state, out of the country.

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1416.417 - 1418.518 Unknown

But police were also worried.

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1419.239 - 1428.567 Unknown

Were they given the heinous act that occurred in New Haven the day before? Were they potentially kidnapped by their own son? Were they victims of another horrible crime?

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1451.69 - 1459.892 Unknown

With Kenshin Pan and his parents missing from their home, Detective David Zaweski turned to his computer, searching for Pan.

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1461.453 - 1470.255 Unknown

The first thing I want to know is who he is and if there's any connection between him and Kevin. I see that he has a Facebook page.

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1470.736 - 1471.676 Unknown

What was his page like?

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1472.691 - 1481.895 Unknown

There was not much activity at all. His last post was back in 2016, and he had a few photos with some other students, but that was it.

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1482.375 - 1486.417 Unknown

Is that when you first found out that he's an MIT grad student?

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1486.777 - 1494.3 Unknown

Yes, that was the first time we got the connection between him and MIT. So I check his friends list to see if Kevin is in there.

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1495.08 - 1495.32 Unknown

Is he?

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1495.62 - 1499.582 Unknown

Kevin is not listed, but I do notice that Zion Perry is listed.

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1500.703 - 1505.923 Unknown

Zion Perry. Kevin's fiance, who also went to MIT.

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1506.964 - 1517.911 Unknown

Now we have a connection. I got in contact with her. She explained that they had met at MIT back in 2019, and they were more associates than friends.

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1518.571 - 1519.432 Unknown

Nothing romantic?

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1520.032 - 1539.371 Unknown

No. She said that they never dated. They never had any romantic relationship. The last time she spoke with him was May of 2020. He reached out to her through Facebook Messenger to congratulate her on graduating. He asked to FaceTime with her, and she politely declined it.

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1540.212 - 1544.574 Unknown

She must have been wondering, why are you asking me so many questions about this guy? What did you say to her?

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1545.275 - 1557 Unknown

She was, and that's when I told her that he was a person of interest in this. And she was completely shocked. He was barely a part of her life and why he would have been involved with this in any way.

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1558.921 - 1560.562 Unknown

What did she have posted on her page?

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1561.202 - 1565.704 Unknown

The last things that she had posted were the engagement between her and Kevin.

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1573.828 - 1581.651 Unknown

Are you starting to formulate a theory about the case that goes a little beyond possible road rage?

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1582.272 - 1594.388 Unknown

Yes. It did seem like there was a secret obsession of Pan's going on behind the scenes that Kevin wasn't aware of and that Zion wasn't aware of.

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1598.991 - 1612.157 Unknown

The next day, Zion Perry joined Kevin's mother, Linda Liu, and father, Ming-Shen Yang, and nearly 700 people on a virtual vigil for Kevin. Zion addressed the mourners.

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1613.266 - 1626.288 Unknown

One day I will get to see Kevin again, yeah, in heaven and when everything is made right. I thank Ms. Liu and Mr. Zhang for raising such a fine young man and for, yeah, bringing him into the world.

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1627.589 - 1651.76 Unknown

He gave me a lot of joy. He's a very thoughtful, warm-hearted boy, taking care of me, and I miss him. He's a nice boy. Everybody likes me. Thank you. Thank you, you all.

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1653.562 - 1657.885 Unknown

That week, Pastor Hendrickson eulogized Kevin at his funeral.

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1658.666 - 1666.673

We come to you today remembering Kevin, grateful for his life, grieving over his loss.

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1668.283 - 1672.305 Unknown

Zion read a poem Kevin wrote to her. It began.

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1672.865 - 1677.327 Unknown

If this world falls apart, it will be all right because we have each other's hearts.

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1680.129 - 1710.334 Unknown

A medical officer also trained to operate tanks, Kevin was buried with full military honors just two days before his 27th birthday on Valentine's Day. Meanwhile, Detective Galvin, a member of the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force in Connecticut, along with Supervisor Matthew Duffy and Deputy Marshal Kevin Perrault, were utilizing their vast resources to urgently gather intelligence on Pan.

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1711.114 - 1714.577 Unknown

MIT graduate, not socially active.

0
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1715.834 - 1720.497 Unknown

Degree in computer science. Grad student in artificial intelligence.

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1720.858 - 1722.158 Unknown

Lawyer William Gerais.

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1722.479 - 1726.842 Unknown

Very smart. Genius? Genius. Socially, not a genius.

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1727.903 - 1739.231 Unknown

The Marshalls discovered Pan had three active phones, and they noticed that in the months before Kevin was killed, Pan was using one of those phones to contact car dealerships.

0
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1740.371 - 1745.415 Unknown

He would tell them all the same thing. He said he's going for a test drive. I believe he said he was going on a camping trip.

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1747.193 - 1773.087 Unknown

Investigators were able to match the date of Pan's test drives with each of the .45 caliber shootings in New Haven, including Kevin's murder. It was all part of a plan, investigators say. They believe that Pan likely fired shots into those homes to ultimately mislead them, hoping they would think Kevin's murder was just another random shooting.

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1774.58 - 1777.502 Unknown

He planned it, and he knew we'd be looking at these other things.

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1778.162 - 1787.267 Unknown

Yeah, he did his best to mislead us. And now we knew that, yes, this wasn't a random incident out there, that he was targeted.

0
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1789.748 - 1797.432 Unknown

They also discovered that not long after Kevin's murder, Pan called his parents, and they made a cash withdrawal of about $1,000.

0
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1797.612 - 1803.155 Unknown

They had tremendous assets, somehow from Shanghai,

0
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1804.022 - 1808.025 Unknown

Access to large sums of money, several million dollars.

0
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1808.805 - 1816.77 Unknown

The marshals zeroed in on Pan's parents and picked up a ping on their phone at this North Carolina gas station.

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1817.45 - 1820.192 Unknown

Our task force found it on the ground.

0
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1820.832 - 1822.593 Unknown

The cell phone was crushed.

0
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1823.094 - 1824.434 Unknown

Yeah, like a car ran over it.

0
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1825.295 - 1830.598 Unknown

Three days later, investigators caught up with Pan's parents driving near Atlanta, Georgia.

0
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1831.919 - 1833.58 Unknown

Georgia State Police pulled them over.

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0
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1837.196 - 1842.565 Unknown

Police told them they suspected their son had killed someone. Were they shocked?

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0
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1844.943 - 1850.288 Unknown

They weren't shocked that their son was being investigated and connected with a cold-blooded murder.

0
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1850.688 - 1855.032 Unknown

They may have been, but they didn't lead on to us at all. They didn't lead on to us at all.

0
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1855.472 - 1869.785 Unknown

The father said our son called, said he was in Connecticut and needed help. He asked us to bring cash. Then once we picked him up in Connecticut, he took the wheel, and then they take this very long drive down south.

0
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1870.762 - 1874.705 Unknown

Van's father didn't say why his son was heading in that direction.

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1875.626 - 1890.459 Unknown

And he says he's quiet, acting weird, doesn't really say what's going on. They make it down to Georgia. He pulls over and he gets out of the car and walks away. He said no words to them, just walked away from the car. That was their story.

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1891.564 - 1906.953 Unknown

Pan's parents agreed to be photographed. Pan's mother declined to answer any questions without an attorney, but she later volunteered that her son walked away from her and his father and likely killed himself. The Marshalls were skeptical.

0
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1907.413 - 1922.349 Unknown

We knew after talking to the parents that they would go to jail for him. Knowing the degree that the parents were helping him and his resources, his intelligence, We had to take a different approach on it.

0
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1924.35 - 1929.692 Unknown

We needed to focus in on the parents because they probably would lead us to him.

0
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1930.072 - 1934.194 Unknown

They would go to the ends of the earth to help support and hide him.

0
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1934.675 - 1935.475 Unknown

And what does that mean?

0
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1936.335 - 1936.796 Unknown

Patience.

0
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1937.976 - 1947.701 Unknown

And they would need plenty of it. Weeks went by without an arrest. They wondered if they missed something and if their murder suspect had outmaneuvered them.

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1951.94 - 1958.144 Anne-Marie Green

What do you think of Pan's plan to mislead investigators? See more of the evidence at 48hours.com.

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1971.672 - 1978.036 Unknown

Five weeks pass without a solid lead on the MIT student wanted for Kevin Zhang's murder.

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1979.167 - 1986.569 Kevin

US Marshals are leading a nationwide manhunt this morning for the man charged in the murder of a Yale grad student. You give me a real sense of the pressure.

0
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1986.949 - 1992.291 Unknown

Yeah, because this became so high profile so fast, it was just heightened.

0
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1993.191 - 2004.534 Unknown

Then the manhunt for Pan suddenly heated up. Police said his mom told them she suspected her son killed himself, but they noticed his parents had a lot of banking activity.

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2005.711 - 2011.953 Unknown

We start to see large sums of cash being withdrawn. How much? At that time, it was about $5,000, $10,000.

0
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2012.033 - 2018.035 Unknown

That's a large sum of money that someone could use to get out of the country. They still have family in China.

0
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2019.256 - 2029.919 Unknown

And then Pan's parents rented a car. They start traveling south again. But the vehicle's GPS system the marshals were tracking went dark. Did they turn it off?

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2030.72 - 2031.44 Unknown

It was disabled.

0
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2032.148 - 2041.332 Unknown

By then, investigators said they knew that their son had disabled GPS systems in several cars he drove in the run-up to Kevin's murder.

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2041.853 - 2043.814 Unknown

Counter tactics. Counter tactics.

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2044.674 - 2050.897 Unknown

At one point, surveillance cameras at this Georgia mall recorded Pan's father purchasing a computer.

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2051.803 - 2079.86 Unknown

Now, this is during COVID, so everybody has their masks on. We see the father walk in, and probably about 10 minutes later, we see an individual fitting the description of the son. So the story of the suicide out in the woods, that's not true. So from there, the parents end up traveling back north. Once they're in Connecticut, the GPS comes back on. We felt the clock was really ticking.

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2080.88 - 2090.77 Unknown

And it ticked away for nearly two more months until May 4th, 2021, when Pan's parents drove off for a third time.

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2091.17 - 2094.433 Unknown

But there was a difference. They were traveling with another couple.

0
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2095.154 - 2096.836 Unknown

What do you think the deal was with the other couple?

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2097.316 - 2103.122 Unknown

Make it appear that it's a regular trip. No big deal. We're just going on a trip to meet some friends. We're not here to help our son.

0
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2104.073 - 2115.018 Unknown

Pan's parents and their unwitting companions were eventually placed under surveillance at a North Carolina hotel, where marshals interviewed a clerk after the Pans checked out.

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2115.839 - 2122.842 Unknown

At one point, Qinxin Pan's mother came to the clerk's desk late at night and asked to borrow his phone.

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2123.922 - 2129.185 Unknown

Here is the picture of Pan's mother making the call that broke the case wide open.

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2129.787 - 2133.85 Unknown

After she used his phone, she deleted the number from his phone.

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2134.091 - 2145.4 Unknown

Were you able to find that number? Yes. The marshals tracked the phone to this boarding house near Alabama State University in Montgomery. So you guys are closing in.

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2146.22 - 2156.549 Unknown

Yeah. They went out there with a small army, around 20 guys. They ended up finding his room, and they knocked on it, and he just came out and said, I'm who you're looking for.

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2158.743 - 2172.933 Unknown

He had approximately $20,000 cash on him. He had his father's passport. Father's passport. And he had multiple communication devices on himself. Seven SIM cards. Seven SIM cards and a computer.

0
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2176.035 - 2184.961 Unknown

Penn was arrested for the murder of Kevin Jong and brought back to Connecticut. He maintained his innocence, but a judge ordered him held on a $20 million bond.

0
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2187.631 - 2188.532 Unknown

Huge relief.

0
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2189.413 - 2216.598 Unknown

His case was delayed by the pandemic, but investigators had amassed a trove of evidence. Remember that license plate imprint on Kevin's car? Police say it matched the plate on the bumper of the SUV Pan was driving when Kevin was rear-ended. And forensic tests revealed that Pan's DNA was on the gun and ammo found outside Arby's. And Kevin's blood was also on Pan's hat.

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2216.938 - 2235.505 Unknown

And the gear shift of the SUV Pan was driving the night Kevin was murdered. Was there anything missing? The murder weapon. Turns out the gun recovered at the Arby's was not the gun that was used to kill Kevin. Supervisory Assistant State's Attorney Stacey Miranda.

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2236.317 - 2237.778 Unknown

who knows where that murder weapon ended up.

0
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2238.539 - 2245.384 Unknown

But there was so much other evidence that Pan's lawyer, William Gerace, recommended he cut a deal.

0
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2246.185 - 2249.588 Unknown

Overwhelming evidence. Overwhelming evidence.

0
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2250.729 - 2262.799 Unknown

On February 29, 2024, three years after Kevin's killing, Pan pled guilty to his murder in exchange for serving 35 years in prison without parole.

0
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2263.815 - 2270.899 Unknown

And had he not been stuck on the railroad tracks, this still might not be a solved case. We might not know who did this.

0
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2271.42 - 2272.22 Unknown

Bring out Pan, please.

0
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2273.281 - 2288.19 Unknown

At his sentencing in April, Pan sat silently as Kevin's loved ones and friends described their loss. By court order, the camera was fixed on him. Some of Kevin's mother's remarks were read by a family friend.

0
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2289.932 - 2305.385 Unknown

I was dreaming that Kevin would have a few beautiful children after getting married. This beautiful and joyful dream is destroyed. I am left alone by myself. I will never see Kevin smile again.

0
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2306.586 - 2309.268 Unknown

Then Kevin's mother decided to speak.

0
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2310.309 - 2317.936 Unknown

To charge the mother of Penn 35 years in prison is too short and too light.

0
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2319.056 - 2326.738 Unknown

Pan never explained why he killed Kevin, but the only time he looked up was when Zion Perry rose to speak.

0
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2328.399 - 2341.303 Unknown

I wanted to address Pan specifically. Although your sentence is far less than you deserve, there is also mercy. May God have mercy on you, and may he have mercy on all of us.

0
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2342.543 - 2345.164 Unknown

Then Pan briefly addressed the court.

0
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2346.605 - 2365.842 Qin Xin Pan

Your Honor. What I'm thinking about is my action and the horrible consequences. I feel sorry for what my action has caused and for everyone affected. I fully accept my penalties.

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2367.822 - 2371.463 Unknown

Court is going to impose the agreed-upon sentence of 35 years.

0
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2371.603 - 2376.865 Unknown

Finally, Judge Harmon passed sentence and Pan was led away in handcuffs.

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0
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2393.315 - 2408.825 Unknown

We reached out to Pan's parents for comment, but did not hear back. Now Kevin's friends are left to wonder what Kevin, a man of deep faith, might have thought about his killer. Do you think Kevin would have forgiven Pan?

0
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2409.945 - 2411.446 Unknown

Yes, I do.

0
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2411.626 - 2426.694 Unknown

Without a doubt. Yeah. The officers visited Kevin's grave after they spoke to 48 Hours. Lieutenant Hubbard recalled her first time there when she says she felt Kevin's presence.

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2428.114 - 2447.227 Unknown

And did something happen? It's just like wind blew, you know? Did you feel like it was him? I felt like it was definitely different as it's like a peace kind of like, I want you to carry on, don't be sad that I'm gone. Just keep going.

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2454.971 - 2457.993 Anne-Marie Green

Qin Xin Pan is scheduled to be released in 2056 when he is 65 years old.

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2464.113 - 2477.538 Unknown

Join me Tuesday for Postmortem from 48 Hours, where we'll dive even deeper into today's episode and answer your questions about the case.

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