An Illinois man has been convicted of first-degree murder after reportedly beating his wife to death over texts he discovered on her phone.
According to a news release from the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office dated October 8, authorities from the Naperville police and fire departments responded to a call on March 8, 2020, about a female who wasn’t breathing at a residence.
The woman, later named as Hongyan Yang, 35, was taken to a local hospital and confirmed dead.
Following an investigation, the Naperville Police Department discovered that she and her husband, Alan Wang, 61, were in the bedroom of their home when he reportedly discovered communications from another guy on her phone.
According to authorities, Wang then kicked his wife several times until a family member contacted 911 the next day because she seemed to be dead.
Wang was first charged with one count of severe domestic abuse, but the charges were escalated, and Wang was indicted in June 2020 on two counts of first-degree murder after an autopsy determined Yang died as a consequence of blunt force trauma from the assault.
Wang was found guilty after a four-day trial on Wednesday, October 8. His next court appearance is set on November 12.
DuPage County State’s Attorney Bob Berlin hailed the Naperville Police Department for “their meticulous and professional investigation into the death of Hongyan Yang,” and stated that the guilty judgment “ensures that Mr. Wang will be held responsible for the brutal murder of his wife.”
Berlin also stressed his commitment to increasing awareness of domestic violence.
According to the news release, domestic abuse claimed the lives of 1,364 women in 2020, the year Yang was murdered.
“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 told me. “Their tragic deaths serve as a reminder that there is still much work to be done to prevent domestic abuse.
