Ex-student pleads guilty to poisoning roommate in racially charged case, PA cops say
.jpg "A former Lehigh University student from China pleaded guilty to slowly poisoning his roommate with toxic metals in 2018, Pennsylvania officials say.")
A man accused of poisoning his roommate with toxic metals at Pennsylvania’s Lehigh University in 2018 has pleaded guilty to attempted murder, The Associated Press reported.
Yukai Yang, 24, had originally been arrested in April 2018 on charges of “ethnic intimidation, institutional vandalism and criminal mischief” after his former roommate, Juwan Royal, reported finding the phrase “(n-word) get out of here” on his desk, bed and TV, according to McClatchy News.
Yang, from China, was attending Lehigh on a visa majoring in chemistry and was charged in December 2018 with attempted murder after police discovered he tried to slowly poison Royal with thallium, a toxic metal, The Morning Call reported in 2018.
His student visa was revoked after the arrest, WFMZ reported, and Yang was later taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement. He is expected to be deported after he serves his prison sentence, authorities said.
The metal, which can be fatal to humans, “is used internationally in electronics manufacturing and for other purposes,” according to AP. It is odorless and colorless and was also used as rat poison until it was banned in the 1970s, AP reported.
Royal complained of “constant sick spells” at the time of the poisoning, including shaking and vomiting after drinking water that burned his mouth, according to McClatchy News. Royal was diagnosed with heavy metal poisoning in April 2018 and continues to experience lingering effects, WFMZ reported.
“Mr. Royal was as dumbfounded by this as anyone else,” said Abraham Kassis, Northampton County assistant district attorney, according to the Call. “He believed they had a fairly cordial relationship as roommates.”
Yang admitted to buying the thallium a month before he was arrested, but told police it was because he wanted to kill himself if his grades dropped, according to McClatchy News.
Yang faces six to 20 years in a state prison for attempted murder as a result of the guilty plea,, WFMZ reported.
The Northampton County District Attorney’s Office withdrew the other charges against Yang as part of Monday’s plea deal, according to WFMZ.
This story was originally published November 30, 2020 at 7:55 PM with the headline "Ex-student pleads guilty to poisoning roommate in racially charged case, PA cops say."