On a cold February morning in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, the quiet of the pre-dawn hours was shattered by violence. At approximately 5:30 a.m. on February 5, 2016, Kor Yang, a 52-year-old Asian man, was fatally shot after answering a knock at his door. The assailant, or assailants, fled the scene immediately after the attack, leaving a family in shock and a community searching for answers.
Inside the home at the time of the shooting were Yang's wife, her two children, and her grandson, none of whom were physically harmed in the incident. Police believed the shooting was a targeted attack, not a random act of violence, though a specific motive was not immediately clear.
The investigation into the homicide led authorities to identify two suspects in the case: Quinn Orn Smith, then 22, and Joe Vang, then 25. Investigators alleged that Smith and a second suspect, believed to be Vang, went to Yang's residence with the intent to cause harm. Evidence cited in a criminal complaint pointed to DNA from both men being found on a handgun discovered near the crime scene. Ballistic testing from the Wisconsin State Crime Lab reportedly confirmed that this was the same weapon used to fire the shots that killed Kor Yang.
Despite the initial charges, the path to justice proved to be complex. Quinn Orn Smith was arrested and charged with first-degree intentional homicide, to which he pleaded not guilty. However, in May 2017, the Manitowoc County District Attorney's Office made the decision to dismiss the case against him, citing insufficient evidence to secure a conviction at that time. Prosecutors noted that the investigation was still active and that charges could be refiled in the future. Smith, who had been released on a recognizance bond months earlier, returned to his home in St. Paul, Minnesota. The second suspect identified in the investigation, Joe Vang, remained elusive, and police continued to seek him in connection with the fatal shooting.
