A Chinese professor who reported a student with mental health issues and was shot by the student before the incident was facing a divorce lawsuit

On the evening of August 30th local time, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill held a candlelight vigil to mourn the death of Professor Yan Zijie in the afternoon shooting on August 28th. 34 year old doctoral student Qi Tailei was charged with first-degree murder on August 29th, suspected of shooting and killing his mentor Yan Zijie in the laboratory. The judge has currently ordered Qi Tailei to be detained without bail.

Yan Zijie's neighbors said that he treats his daughter with kindness and gentleness, but likes to be alone. Before the incident, he and his wife had already separated and were suing for divorce.

Red Star News reporter learned that Yan Zijie's wife, Wang, is an assistant professor at the University of North Carolina. She has temporarily put down her job and transferred the work of two courses to another professor.

On the day of death

The victim is currently embroiled in intense family disputes

Red Star News reporters searched local court records and case information and found that on the day of his death, the victim Yan Zijie was busy with a legal dispute with his wife.

Based on the identities of the plaintiff and defendant listed in the complaint documents submitted by the plaintiff, it can be confirmed that the plaintiff is Yan Zijie, the victim of the recent shooting case, and the defendant is Wang, an assistant professor at North Carolina State University.

According to the document with case number "22 CVD 12905", on August 28th local time, in response to the defendant Wang's inquiry and request to present documents, the plaintiff's lawyer delivered the response of the plaintiff Yan Zijie.

According to public information, the two have two young children and are engaged in custody and asset disputes. Yan Zijie's mentor, Douglas Krisi from Durham University, also confirmed that Yan is "going through a divorce and daughter custody dispute.".

Based on the complaints from both parties, the family dispute between Yan Zijie is quite intense and has a long duration, with clues appearing as early as 2022. Yan Zijie mentioned that his mother-in-law Zhao kicked and bit him, and ran towards him with a knife. Zhao also issued a death threat: "Open the door, I will kill you." Therefore, in November 2022, he was required by the authorities to be quarantined from Yan Zijie. In June 2022, Yan Zijie was also arrested for attempting to strangle a person.

In the same year, Qi Tailei began his doctoral studies and joined Yan Zijie's research group. Yan Zijie recently obtained the title of "tenured professor" in the United States.

Memories of the victim's mentor:

He is the worst English but the "best student"

After Yan Zijie was killed, his doctoral supervisor Douglas Cresi publicly published a long article, passionately recalling this outstanding disciple.

According to him, Yan Zijie was the worst English student in the history of Rensselaer Institute of Technology, but became his best graduate student. "We have jointly published 17 papers on his work... He will knock on my door with incredible experimental results and a brilliant smile."

At first, Yan Zijie, who was pursuing a PhD, had several papers rejected with strict reasons such as "this is impossible in physics.". Faced with the frustrated Yan Zijie, Krixi told him that "these are good news", which taught researchers how to respond and turn rejection into acceptance.

Yan Zijie, born in a rural area of Jingmen, Hubei, obtained a dual bachelor's degree from Huazhong University of Science and Technology. He went to the United States to pursue a doctoral degree, postdoctoral research, teaching positions, and obtained a lifelong professional title. In Krissi's view, Yan is an "excellent person who works too hard", and outside of work, he is also an "excellent chef" and an "excellent father and colleague". Before Yan Zijie's death, Krissi was helping him handle the divorce lawsuit and compete for custody of his daughter.

The deceased reported to the school:

A student has mental problems and has delusions

Krixi revealed that in their final communication in July this year, Yan Zijie mentioned that one of his graduate students had mental health problems and that the student had delusions.

"Professor Yan hopes that this student can graduate as soon as possible and maintain stability. He has also reported the student's situation to the school department." Krisi added that the graduate stage is very difficult, and students usually face experimental failures and rejected papers, which can easily lead to high pressure. Krissi replied with a suggestion to strictly "provide the help that students need.".

Yan Zijie and Qi Tailei

Krixi said that a few weeks ago, Yan Zijie mentioned in his letter to Krixi that he had not returned to China for 8 years and hoped that Krixi would travel to China. "There are many other interesting things in life that you will have a lot of time to explore. As for future travels, I don't remember if you have been to China, but it's worth visiting."

According to Qi Tailei's social media post, in 2022, he repeatedly mentioned words related to gossip and fabricated evidence. In August 2022, Qi Tailei also hinted that he had encountered "American bullying" and no one stopped him. That month, Qi Tailei found his mentor PI to talk to and help him get rid of "girls and rumors". Three months later, Qi believed that people were still making up stories and "controlling" him. Qi looked for a mentor again, and the mentor replied, "No one is talking about this matter.".