NEED TO KNOW
- Alan Wang beat his wife, Hongwan Yang, to death in March 2020 after he allegedly discovered texts from another man in her phone
- On Wednesday, Oct. 8, he was found guilty of first-degree murder
- “Their tragic deaths remind us we have a long way to go in preventing domestic violence,” DuPage County State’s Attorney Bob Berlin said of the women who lost their lives that year
An Illinois man has been found guilty of first-degree murder after he allegedly beat his wife to death over texts he found in her phone.
On March 8, 2020, authorities from the Naperville police and fire departments responded to a call regarding a female who wasn’t breathing at a residence, according to an Oct. 8 news release from the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office.
The woman, later identified as Hongyan Yang, 35, was transported to a local hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Following an investigation, the Naperville Police Department learned that she and her husband, Alan Wang, 61, were in the bedroom of the residence when he allegedly found texts on her phone from another man.
Authorities claim Wang then kicked his wife multiple times before a relative of the couple called 911 the next day after it appeared she had stopped breathing.
While Wang was originally charged with one count of aggravated domestic battery, the charges were upgraded and Wang was indicted in June 2020 on two counts of first-degree murder after an autopsy confirmed Yang died as a result of blunt force trauma from the assault.
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Wang was found guilty following a four-day trial on Wednesday, Oct. 8. His next court appearance is scheduled for November 12.
DuPage County State’s Attorney Bob Berlin thanked the Naperville Police Department for “their meticulous and professional investigation into the death of Hongyan Yang,” adding that the guilty verdict “ensures that Mr. Wang will be held responsible for the brutal murder of his wife.”
Berlin also emphasized his commitment to amplifying cases of domestic violence.
He said in 2020, the year Yang was murdered, 1,364 women lost their lives to domestic violence, according to the news release.
“Those women are not just a statistic, however, they were mothers, daughters and sisters, each of whom had a full life ahead of them,” he said. “Their tragic deaths remind us we have a long way to go in preventing domestic violence.
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