Graduate student accused of poisoning colleague and trying to flee to China arrested at LAX
tags:A Wyoming microbiology graduate student from China has been arrested on accusations she poisoned the tea of a colleague who had pending patents and with whom she did not get along, then tried to flee the country after police questioned her.
Aili Wang, 32, was arrested 6 October at Los Angeles international airport, where prosecutors allege she sought to return to China. With her were laptops, electronic storage devices and documents now in the possession of police, who allege Wang was seen on surveillance video rummaging through the desk of the victim who specialized in technology for disease treatment – research similar to work she had done in China.
Wang remained jailed without bail Tuesday in Los Angeles. She allegedly bought a chemical, acrylamide, over eBay, and it was first detected when the alleged victim’s wife and others tested water from the coffee maker he used to brew tea.
US officials for years have accused China of stealing intellectual property from American universities.
The microbiology professor overseeing both graduate students, Mark Gomelsky, said the accusations left him reeling. He was uncertain if the victim will fully recover.
“It’s been disheartening, to say the least, to see that one of your students’ lives is in jeopardy and another student may be responsible for that,” Gomelsky told the Associated Press. “That was one of the worst shocks in my professional career.”
Wang had no attorney listed in court documents. The AP tried to reach her via email and LinkedIn messages.
The police investigation began after the victim, identified in court documents as “KT”, began experiencing symptoms and his wife and others allegedly isolated the chemical in the coffee maker water. The victim and campus police then set up surveillance cameras in the office space he shared with Wang at the university in Laramie.
Wang allegedly was recorded 27 September going through the alleged victim’s desk. On 1 October, she was recorded “taking photos and manipulating notebooks” on his desk, as well as rinsing out his mug with a liquid from her own mug, a University of Wyoming campus police officer’s affidavit said.
Wang and the alleged victim, who did not share research areas, did not get along, according to the affidavit.
The alleged victim began experiencing extreme tiredness, inability to sleep and other unexplained symptoms soon after attending a prestigious conference in August, Gomelsky said.
He also noticed a strange taste in the tea that he made with a small coffee maker on his desk, Gomelsky said. When he washed the coffee maker, Gomelsky said, the taste would go away.
Suspecting someone in their shared office could be poisoning the graduate student, Gomelsky said a chemistry professor tested the water and identified acrylamide.
Wang faces a felony aggravated assault and battery charge in Wyoming punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
It’s not clear when she could be extradited to the state, where Albany county circuit court judge Robert Sanford granted prosecutors’ request and raised bond to $1.5m cash-only.
Wang allegedly asked eBay to delete her account after she bought acrylamide over the online retail site twice last summer, police said.