$5 Million Settlement: University of Utah Pays for Failing to Protect Student Zhifan Dong

Zhifan Dong came to Salt Lake City from Anyang, China, to study at the University of Utah. She was 19 years old and in her first year when she was killed on February 11, 2022, at a downtown hotel. Her boyfriend, Haoyu Wang, a 26-year-old fellow international student, injected her with a fatal combination of heroin and fentanyl. Wang was charged with first-degree murder and remains incarcerated awaiting trial.

In the weeks before her death, Dong had called police for help and had not accessed her dormitory room for roughly two weeks. University housing staff, student services personnel, and campus police each had contact with information that pointed to a student in serious danger. A university review released in July 2022 documented the failures in plain terms: staff in Housing and Residential Education, the Utah Global office, and the campus public safety division each missed opportunities to intervene. The review described insufficient responses to domestic violence indicators, poor coordination between behavioral health services and law enforcement, and a failure to follow up when Dong went missing from campus.

Parker and McConkie attorney Brian Stewart represented Dong's parents, who are in China, throughout the litigation. The family's position was straightforward: the university had enough information to act, and it did not.

The University of Utah and the Dong family announced the $5 million settlement on February 21, 2023. Because the university is a state institution, the agreement required legislative approval, which the Utah Executive Appropriations Committee granted unanimously through Senate Joint Resolution 11, sponsored by Sen. Jerry Stevenson. The resolution released the state from further liability on all claims arising from Dong's death.

As part of the settlement terms, the university agreed to work with the family to establish a permanent memorial on campus honoring Dong's memory. Stewart said at the time that the family hoped her memory would inspire efforts to prevent intimate partner violence on college campuses.