The Montgomery County Sherriff's Office executed search warrants on Haiyang Zhu's University Boulevard Apartment and Xin Yang's Donaldson Brown residence last Friday.
Zhu, a 25-year old doctoral candidate majoring in agricultural and applied economics, was charged last Thursday with premeditated first-degree murder for beheading Yang, a fellow graduate student, with an 8-inch kitchen knife in the Au Bon Pain cafe of the Graduate Life Center last Wednesday evening.
Five days after the alleged slaying, new information has been released to indicate that Zhu and Yang did not know each other before attending Virginia Tech.
Newly arrived international students at Tech are typically paired with other international students to help familiarize them with campus. Yang was assigned to Zhu, leading her to list Zhu as an emergency contact in university records.
The search of Zhu's apartment netted utility and chef's knife papers, a digital camera, phone bills, multiple thumb drives, medical information pamphlets, and a paperback book titled "The Company of Strangers."
If Zhu owned a cell phone, officers did not seize it in his apartment, though the approved search warrant did give police the authority to do so.
The phone may have been found on his person. A laptop computer was found in Zhu's backpack at the scene of the crime, along with several other "edged weapons."
A resident of Zhu's apartment did not identify himself and declined comment when reached by telephone Monday. Zhu lived on University City Boulevard with two roommates, both of whom are Tech students.
Yang's residence on the second floor of Donaldson Brown was also searched to elaborate on the relationship between victim and suspect.
Police seized two cell phones, a laptop, bank receipts, a Canadian resident card, a People's Republic of China identification card, a diary, a check to Zhu made out for $40 and an unmailed letter with a red "kiss" on the seal. Details on the destination address of the letter were not made available.
And while police continue to process evidence and search for a motive in the gruesome attack, more information regarding both the suspect and victim has come forth.
Yang, a 22-year old student from Beijing, established herself as a permanent resident of Canada after earning her undergraduate degree in business administration at Memorial University of Newfoundland. The process usually takes four years, but Sonja Knutson, Memorial University's international student adviser, said that it is not uncommon for international students to work ahead.
"They tend to do it like that more easily than the Canadians, who prefer to take the summer off," Knutson said. "If you want to, you can study from May to August, so she did that and took an overload of courses. It saves their parents money."
Knutson was also Yang's English teacher, noting that Yang did exceptionally well in her studies.
"She was a 'B' student, and if you get a B in first-year English you are pretty smart," Knutson said. "It's not an easy grade to get, and she was in the top percentage of my class, if not the top. It's rare that we give out 'A's."
But while Yang was intently focused on studies, she also established herself as an extremely approachable, enjoyable person to be around.
"She was a lovely girl," Knutson said. "She was very friendly and outgoing, really intelligent. She had worked at Costco for some time after graduation as a greeter. She was personable."
Yang, a master's degree candidate in accounting through the Pamplin College of Business, had been in the United States for less than two weeks when she was killed.
Zhu had come to Tech from Shanghai Ocean University, near his home in Ningbo, China, before the fall semester.
Will Segar, Zhu's landlord, did not return calls to the Collegiate Times. However, Segar told the Washington Post that he had several personal interactions with Zhu.
Segar said that Zhu had refused to turn the heat on in his townhouse because it was too expensive, and he had lost considerable amounts of money in the stock market. When pipes froze and neighbors began complaining of faulty plumbing, Segar installed a thermostat that was permanently set at 65 degrees in the townhouse. Zhu then turned the thermostat off at the breaker, Segar said.
Tonya Spain, property manager at Sturbridge Square, wrote a comment on collegiatetimes.com that Zhu was never singled out, and that the complaints filed were for him and his roommates.
"We opted to contact the police to find out if we had any recourse, such as destruction to property, to force all the residents living in the townhome to maintain the heat at 68 degrees," Spain wrote. "It was not because Mr. Zhu was exhibiting any behavior that would lead us to believe he was a danger to himself or others."
Spain wrote that the issues were essentially nothing more than residents not following their leasing agreements, and that International Affairs was also contacted.
Segar also said that Zhu accused his staff of stealing his shoes, and that he had brought Yang into the rental office in search of an apartment.
"Last week he came in and accused the staff of stealing his shoes," Spain said. "I said, 'You have two roommates; are you sure it wasn't one of them?' But he was adamant that staff had stolen his shoes."
University Provost Mark McNamee met with representatives from the Chinese Embassy, Tech police, and other university officials Friday.
McNamee said the meeting addressed a number of issues that needed to be explored, but the most important was of how her family would come to the United States.
"We discussed how to extend the invitation and how to work through the embassy so they could obtain visas," McNamee said.
Yang's family will likely arrive in Blacksburg later this week.
McNamee added that this was not the first time Tech had met with representatives from the Chinese Embassy.
"We've always had a good relationship with the Chinese Embassy," McNamee said. "They like the fact that we've been very supportive of the Chinese students that come here."
Police explained to the Chinese representatives how the police process and court system works in the United States, and explained that a lawyer had been appointed to Zhu, McNamee said.
Under Virginia law, Zhu's conviction would carry a maximum penalty of life in prison. He is currently held in the Montgomery County Jail without bond and has a preliminary hearing on March 5.
Stephanie Cox, Zhu's court appointed attorney, did not return calls from the Collegiate Times.
McNamee added that Yang's family speaks only Chinese, so all of the communication has been done through a faculty member who speaks both Chinese and English.
Y.A. Liu, adviser of the Tech Association of Chinese Students and Scholars declined comment to the Collegiate Times Monday.
"At the request of the suspect and also the victim's family I cannot speak to the news media," Liu said.
Though a small temporary memorial was constructed in front of the Au Bon Pain in the Graduate Life Center, nothing further will be planned until the victim's family has arrived in the United States, McNamee said. If the family approves, the university will hold an official memorial service for her.
Knutson added that Memorial University has not had any discussion with Yang's family, but does plan to establish a memorial.
In an e-mail to VT-ACSS members, Liu explained the makeshift memorial in the GLC.
"With the support from the University, VT-ACSS is setting up a station within the GLC in memory of Ms. Xin Yang with flowers and books to write your words of condolences at the GLC (last) Sunday evening," Liu said. "We will give the signed books to Ms. Yang's family members when they arrive on our campus in the near future."
Kim Beisecker, Cranwell International Student Center director, was unavailable on Monday and did not return calls to the Collegiate Times.