Chinese graduate student suspected of poisoning colleague arrested at Los Angeles airport while attempting to flee to China

Aili Wang, a 32-year-old Chinese graduate student in microbiology at the University of Wyoming, has been accused of poisoning a colleague by spiking the coffee machine used for tea with acrylamide. Wang was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport on the 6th of this month while attempting to flee to China and is currently being held in Los Angeles; she faces felony charges of aggravated assault, which carry a maximum penalty of ten years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

The Associated Press reported on the 13th that the victim is a brilliant graduate student from Vietnam whose research involves using bacteria to deliver RNA into human cells—pioneering therapeutic techniques for cancer, neurological disorders, and genetic diseases—with patent applications already filed for the work.

An affidavit states that Wang “is believed to have conducted similar research in China before coming to the United States”; for years, U.S. officials have accused China of stealing intellectual property from American universities.

Mark Gomelsky, the microbiology professor who supervised both graduate students, said, “It is heartbreaking to see one of my students’ lives threatened and another student potentially responsible for it.” Gomelsky described the incident as “one of the most shocking things in my career” and expressed uncertainty about whether the victim would make a full recovery.

Gomelsky noted that while Wang and the victim worked in different research areas, they had a long-standing strained relationship; Wang may have harbored jealousy over her colleague’s research achievements after failing her own initial thesis defense.

Starting in August, the victim began experiencing symptoms such as finger numbness, leg weakness, extreme fatigue, and insomnia. His wife and colleagues tested the water from the office coffee machine and isolated 63 milligrams of white acrylamide powder. Subsequently, accompanied by campus police, the victim installed a camera in the office he shared with Wang. The camera captured Wang twice rummaging through documents on the victim’s desk and photographing the contents of his notebook; on October 1, she was recorded pouring liquid from her own cup and then rinsing out the victim’s cup. On the 5th, campus police asked Wang Aili whether she had ever used acrylamide; she stated that she had not used it for years. The following day, Wang was apprehended at the airport; at the time, she was in possession of multiple laptops, external digital storage devices, and documents.