Prosecutors charged Aili Wang with aggravated assault after alleging she poisoned a Wyoming colleague's tea.

A felony charge and a raised bond are process. They are not a conviction. CBS News and the Associated Press reported that Wang allegedly bought acrylamide on eBay and that the chemical was first detected when the alleged victim's wife and others tested water from the coffee maker he used to brew tea. She remained jailed without bail in Los Angeles as of Tuesday, Oct. 13–14 coverage, with extradition to Wyoming still ahead.

CBS News and the Associated Press reported that Aili Wang, 32, a University of Wyoming microbiology graduate student from China, was arrested Oct. 6, 2026, at Los Angeles International Airport. Prosecutors allege she sought to return to China. The outlets reported she was carrying multiple laptops, portable external digital storage devices, accessories, physical records, and written materials. Those items are what police said they seized. They are not a finding that she stole research.

The Associated Press and CBS News, citing a University of Wyoming campus police affidavit, reported that the alleged victim — identified in court papers only as K.T. — began experiencing symptoms, and that his wife and others boiled down coffee-maker water from a shared Laramie office and isolated 63 milligrams of white powder that tested positive for acrylamide. The outlets reported Wang allegedly bought acrylamide on eBay twice last summer and later asked eBay to delete her account. An affidavit's allegations are the charging narrative. They are not a jury's findings.

CBS News reported that campus police and the alleged victim set up surveillance in the shared office. The affidavit, as those outlets summarized it, said Wang was recorded Sept. 27 going through the alleged victim's desk, and on Oct. 1 taking photos and manipulating notebooks on his desk and rinsing his mug with liquid from her own mug. During an Oct. 5 campus police interview, she allegedly said she "had not used acrylamide in years." A charge of felony aggravated assault and battery in Wyoming carries up to 10 years and a $10,000 fine, CBS News reported. Judge Robert Sanford raised bond to $1.5 million cash-only for extradition. Microbiology professor Mark Gomelsky told the Associated Press the accusations left him reeling and that it is unclear whether the alleged victim will fully recover. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.