Press Release

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Quiming Wan was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for the November 2021 murder and sexual abuse of Jiaomei Zhou, a 29-year-old woman whose body he carried from his apartment before being stopped by building residents. A jury convicted the defendant following an October trial.

District Attorney Katz said: “A dangerous person will now be sent to prison for the incredibly brutal murder of Jiaomei Zhou. Quiming Wan attempted to get away with the crime by hiding evidence and removing the lifeless body of Ms. Zhou from his apartment, but fortunately police arrived in time to apprehend him. I hope this sentence provides some solace to the victim’s loved ones as they continue to grieve her loss.”

Wan, 55, of Main Street in Flushing, was convicted by a jury in October of murder in the second degree, aggravated sexual abuse in the first degree, sexual abuse in the first degree, tampering with physical evidence and criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree. Queens Supreme Court Justice Michael Aloise sentenced Wan to 25 years to life in prison.

According to the charges and trial testimony, at approximately 11:30 p.m. on November 1, 2021, police responded to Wan’s Main Street apartment building and saw Jiaomei Zhou, 29, in the lobby area. She was unresponsive with blood on her pants and was pronounced dead.

A premises search revealed blood on Wan’s apartment doorframe and on his bedroom wall and floor, desk chair and mattress. Investigators found two bloody rags in Wan’s bathroom and multiple blood-covered items including towels and a woman’s tank top in a laundry bag hidden in Wan’s closet. The defendant had blood on his feet and his underwear.

An autopsy found that Zhou died from penetrating blunt force trauma of the perineum and pelvis. The fatal injury was caused by a blunt object being repeatedly inserted into her pelvis causing extensive internal damage.

Assistant District Attorneys Courtney Charles, Deputy Chief in the District Attorney’s Felony Trial Bureau III, and Antonio Vittiglio, of the District Attorney’s Homicide Bureau, prosecuted the case under the supervision of Assistant District Attorneys John Kosinski, Homicide Bureau Chief, and Karen Ross, Deputy Bureau Chief, and under the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney for Major Crimes Shawn Clark.