College student who wrote n-word on roommate’s stuff also slowly poisoned him, cops say

In April, police accused a college student at Pennsylvania’s LeHigh University of writing a racist slur on his black roommate’s stuff.

Now, that student — 22-year-old Yukai Yang — faces additional charges after police say he also tried to slowly poison his roommate Juwan Royal using thallium, which is a toxic metal, according to The Allentown Morning Call.

Yang was arrested in April after police say he reported finding the phrase “(n-word) get out of here” on Royal’s bed, desk and TV, according to an April story from LeHigh Valley Live. 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 say.

But two months before that, Royal said his mouth began to burn after taking a swig of a water bottle in his room, LeHigh Valley Live reported Thursday. Royal fell ill multiple times in March, police say, and went to the hospital that month after he kept shaking and vomiting.

Officers received multiple calls about Royal’s constant sick spells, according to WFMZ. Police say Royal, who graduated in spring, is still recovering from the poisoning.

Yang told officers that his milk appeared to be discolored, police say, and he worried that someone might have put something in it, according to LeHigh Valley Live.

Police say a blood test showed Royal had an unsafe level of thallium in his body, according to NBC Philadelphia. Northampton County District Attorney John Morganelli said that once Yang was confronted about the poisoning, he admitted to purchasing the toxic metal.

His reason? Police say if his grades dropped, Yang — a student from China who was here on a visa — planned to use thallium to kill himself, NBC Philadelphia reported. He lost his student visa because of the charges against him, police say, according to WFMZ.

Yang is charged with attempted homicide for the poisoning, police say. He already faces charges of “ethnic intimidation, institutional vandalism and criminal mischief” for the racist slurs, WFMZ reported. He no longer attends LeHigh.

This story was originally published December 20, 2018 at 8:48 AM with the headline "College student who wrote n-word on roommate’s stuff also slowly poisoned him, cops say."