A Chinese researcher who died by suicide at the University of Michigan in March was seen arguing on the phone just before he climbed over a railing and fell to his death.
Danhao Wang, 31, died March 20 from injuries he sustained in a fall at the George G. Brown Memorial Laboratories building. His death became international news when the Chinese government demanded an investigation, saying he took his own life “after being subjected to hostile questioning by U.S. law enforcement personnel.”
“Per the investigation, a coworker observed the decedent on the phone arguing with someone late in the evening on 3/19/2026,” Dr. Allecia Wilson wrote in an autopsy report obtained by the Detroit Free Press. “The coworker saw the decedent climb over a glass rail on the third floor before landing on the second floor, possibly hitting his head on the rail.”
The co-worker called 911 and an ambulance rushed Wang to the emergency department at Michigan Medicine.
“He was intubated and sent for imaging of the head,” Wilson wrote. “After returning from radiology he became hypotensive and went into cardiac arrest. He was pronounced deceased on 3/20/2026.”
The cause of death was listed as blunt force trauma to the head, neck and lower extremities. The manner of death was ruled a suicide, according to the report.
The statement posted by the Chinese consulate on X, didn’t name the law enforcement agency it was accusing of hostile questioning or the researcher. The FBI’s Detroit field office told the Free Press at the time: “As a matter of a longstanding policy, the FBI neither confirms nor denies the existence of any investigation or investigative activity involving specific individuals.”
U-M’s Deputy Chief of Police Melissa Overton told the Free Press Wednesday, June 3 that the department’s investigation into the death is still open.
Wang was a postdoctoral research fellow in electrical and computer engineering, according to U-M.
“Dr. Wang was a promising and brilliant young mind, whose research into wide bandgap III-nitride semiconductor materials and devices published in Nature stands as a landmark, uncovering for the first time the switching and charge compensation mechanisms of emerging ferroelectric nitrides,” Karen Thole, U-M’s Dean of Engineering wrote in a note to the School of Engineering. “His loss is felt deeply not only by those who knew him here at the University, but also everyone who understands his potential to have contributed to breakthroughs in science that would have positively impacted people around the world.”
The U.S. government has increased its scrutiny of U-M’s ties to China in recent years. In March, U-M President Domenico Grasso was summoned to Washington to testify before a congressional committee looking into claims of Chinese espionage on American college campuses.
Other federal scrutiny of U-M includes:
Contact John Wisely: jwisely@freepress.com. On X: @jwisely
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: U-M researcher seen arguing on phone before suicide
Reporting by John Wisely, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By John Wisely, Detroit Free Press | USA TODAY Network
