Naperville man who kicked wife to death convicted of murder

A Naperville man was convicted of kicking his wife to death after finding text messages on her phone from another man, according to the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office.

Alan Wang, 61, formerly of the 1100 block of North Mill Street, was found guilty of first-degree murder in a ruling Wednesday by Judge Ann Celine O’Hallaren Walsh following a four-day trial in September.

Wang’s attack on his wife, Hongyan Yang, 35, took place on the night of March 7, 2020, the state prosecutor’s office press release said. Yang, apparently furious after finding messages on his wife’s phone, kicked her several times, according to the statement.

A relative who realized the next day that Yang was not breathing called 911. She was taken to a local hospital, where she was pronounced dead, according to the release.

Wang was initially charged with aggravated domestic battery, but the charges were upgraded in June 2020 after an autopsy by the DuPage County Coroner’s Office found the woman “died from blunt force trauma from an assault.”

Wang had been released on $85,000 bail with electronic monitoring upon his initial arrest, but bail was later increased to $1.25 million after the murder charges were filed. He has been held in the county jail since July 8, 2020.

State’s Attorney Robert Berlin praised the judge’s sentencing of Wang.

“According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Violent Death Reporting System, in 2020 – the year Hongyan Yang was murdered – 1,364 women lost their lives to domestic violence,” Berlin said. “These more than 1,300 women, however, are not just a statistic. They were mothers, daughters and sisters, each with full lives ahead of them. Their tragic deaths remind us that we have a long way to go to prevent domestic violence.

“Judge O’Hallaren Walsh’s guilty verdict ensures that Mr. Wang will be held accountable for the brutal murder of his wife, Hongyan.

Wang’s next court appearance is scheduled for November 12.