Trial begins for man accused of kicking wife to death

A Naperville man went on trial Tuesday on accusations that he kicked his wife to death five years ago.

“This defendant murdered his wife. He is the man who is supposed to love her, to be her best friend, to be her biggest supporter, to make her feel safe and protected. Instead he killed her because he could not control his rage,” Assistant State’s Attorney Sara Hensley said in her opening statement.

The defendant, Alan Wang, 60, is being tried on charges of first-degree murder and aggravated domestic battery. He is accused of killing 35-year-old Hongyan Yang on March 8, 2020.

Defense attorney Valerie Pacis argued that their forensic pathologist, who performed a different autopsy, will say the cause and manner of Yang’s death is undetermined.

“This is about a sudden and unexpected death,” Pacis said.

The allegations

Hensley said that the couple and their 8-year-old son had gone to a dinner party at a relative’s house. The attendees, including Wang’s relatives, made dumplings and drank tequila. The men left to visit a gun range, but the women stayed and continued drinking, she said.

Hensley said when Wang and Yang were driving home, Wang noticed an incoming text to Yang’s phone, from a man in China, in which the texter called Yang “darling.”

Yang had recently been to China to have surgery.

“That was when the night from hell began,” Hensley said.

She said Wang repeatedly kicked Yang in the legs while they were in bed and while she was lying, drunk, on the bedroom floor. He also hit Yang with a hanger, she said.

Authorities have previously said she suffered deep-tissue hemorrhaging.

But Pacis said Wang kicked her, with his bare feet, to wake her up because he wanted answers about the text.

“Alan did not know the act of kicking would create strong probability of death or would cause her of death,” Pacis said, citing the standards for first-degree murder.

Questionable CPR?

Defense attorney Michael Sweeney questioned Naperville Fire Department officer about how CPR was performed on Yang, including the use of an AutoPulse resuscitation device and whether it was placed properly on her body as she was moved from the apartment to an ambulance.

The case is being heard by DuPage County Judge Ann Celine O’Hallaren Walsh because Wang chose not to have a jury hear it. The trial resumes Wednesday.

Wang has been in jail since July 2020.