Microbiology Student Captured Trying To Flee to China After Allegedly Poisoning Colleague Over Coveted Technology Patents

A visiting microbiology student is facing charges of poisoning her University of Wyoming colleague, of whom she was reportedly jealous over his success researching topics she had previously been working on developing in Communist China.The student, Aili Wang, was arrested at Los Angeles on October 6 while she was attempting to flee America after police questioned her about the liquid concoction that sickened her fellow researcher, identified in police documents as KT.An affidavit filed by the University of Wyoming Police Department alleges that KT reported feeling tingling and numbness as well as restless leg sensations and weakness in August. He went to the school’s student health clinic and had blood testing done after the symptoms crept into his left arm. KT had been researching technology to address cancer and neurological diseases and had patents pending. Ms. Wang had been working on similar technology before she came to America on a temporary visa in 2024. At the time of the poisoning, they were not researching the same topic. Law enforcement said the “two parties have not gotten along.” After KT mentioned that he noticed an odd taste in his tea, his wife had water samples tested from the coffee maker he used to heat the water. Analysts conducted a water evaporation test using water from the coffee maker and discovered that a white powder, which tested positive for the chemical acrylamide, was left behind. Acrylamide is a commonly used industrial and food agent that acts as a water-soluble thickener. It can cause weakness and numbness if someone is exposed to high doses. Analysts also took tests from the office of molecular biology professor Mark Gomelsky and found that only the water from KT’s coffee maker tested positive for acrylamide. Mr. Gomelsky told the Associated Press that Ms. Wang failed in her attempt to defend her dissertation and was jealous of KT’s breakthroughs in his research. The affidavit states someone told a University of Wyoming Police Department detective, Kiernan Quinonez, that Ms. Wang might be involved in the alleged poisoning. Mr. Quinonez reviewed security footage from October 1 and says he saw Ms. Wang entering the room where KT’s office was, rinsing KT’s coffee maker, taking pictures, and “manipulating notebooks.”Investigators say Ms. Wang used her uwyo.edu email address to set up an account on eBay and place orders for acrylamide. On October 5, she asked that her account be deleted. Ms. Wang told investigators that she “had not used acrylamide in years,” the affidavit states.On October 6, prosecutors charged Ms. Wang with aggravated assault and battery, which carries a penalty of up to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. A Laramie County Circuit Court judge, Robert Sanford, issued a warrant for her arrest with a $200,000 bond.According to prosecutors, she attempted to flee to China and was arrested at Los Angeles’ international airport. Judge Sanford raised her bond to $1.5 million after she was caught. “If defendant is able to return to the People’s Republic of China, the U.S. does not maintain a bilateral agreement for extradition and there is no reliable mechanism to secure defendant’s return,” a deputy prosecutor in Wyoming, Joel Defebaugh, argued to the court.As of Tuesday, Ms. Wang was still in custody at Los Angeles. It is unclear when she will be extradited to Wyoming. In a statement, the University of Wyoming’s president, Shane Reeves, said, “The university takes matters involving the health and safety of the campus community seriously and remains committed to providing a safe and secure environment for students, faculty, staff and visitors.”Ms. Wang will have to surrender her passports and will be subjected to electronic monitoring, if she posts bond.

Microbiology Student Captured Trying To Flee to China After Allegedly Poisoning Colleague Over Coveted Technology Patents

Microbiology Student Captured Trying To Flee to China After Allegedly Poisoning Colleague Over Coveted Technology Patents

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