In April of 2018, police investigated, former Dean’s List college chemistry major, Yukai Yang at Pennsylvania’s Lehigh University for writing “N***er Get Out of Here” on Juwan Royal’s, his Black roommate, personal belongings. Yang was connected to the crime because his handwriting on a written statement to police matched the racist graffiti found on Royal’s belongings, police said. But he didn’t stop there. The student also tried to murder the Lehigh University graduate.
Yang, a Chinese national in the United States on a student visa, tried to poison his longtime Lehigh University roommate with thallium. It’s a toxic metal once used to kill rats.
He now faces attempted murder charges along with the ethnic intimidation, institutional vandalism and criminal mischief charges he faced from vandalizing Royal’s things with racial slurs.
Police uncovered the murder plot when they noticed that Royal didn’t look well. In fact, Royal disclosed that he had been ill for some time. In March, he contacted the police after uncontrollably vomiting. Law enforcement officials said Royal told investigators he remembered drinking from a bottle and his tongue started to burn. A series of blood tests were ran on the victim and it was discovered that there was an increased level of thallium in his blood. Thallium is banned in the United States. Yang had also tampered with Royal’s milk and mouthwash.
Yang was confronted with the findings and he admitted that he had purchased the outlawed substance online. Allegedly, Yang was “committing suicide” if his grades dropped.
Why would he not poison his own beverage Was he going to use his roommate’s water, mouthwash and milk to do it
Yang is currently being held at the Northampton County Prison on $200,000 bail and now faces up to life in prison if convicted of the attempted murder charge.
Royal has since graduated, but is still suffering from the effects of what his treacherous, hateful things his roommate did to him.
