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Cameron Isaac, who shot and killed a Syracuse University student five years ago, will continue his life sentence in prison after his appeal was rejected.

The appellate division of New York State Supreme Court’s Fourth Judicial Department ruled on June 11 to reject Issac’s appeal from his murder conviction. The court sustained the lifetime sentence on Isaac, the defendant-appellant who shot and killed Xiaopeng “Pippen” Yuan in a marijuana deal in 2016.

The court’s decision states that evidence has overwhelmingly suggested Isaac “schemed for months” to set up Yuan in order to rob a great quantity of marijuana from him.

“Given the overwhelming circumstantial evidence, the notion that some unknown person or group just happened to have robbed and murdered the victim at the very place and time that defendant designated is so implausible that it could not create a reasonable doubt as to defendant’s guilt,” the court’s decision reads.

Yuan, who was a Chinese international student, was found dead at the Springfield Garden Apartment Complex in Dewitt on Sept. 30, 2016. Yuan was a junior mathematics major studying in SU’s College of Arts and Sciences. He died after being shot twice, as one of the bullets traveled through the side of his chest and took away his life.

The Chinese consulate general in New York expressed concerns in a 2016 statement after Yuan’s body was identified.

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READ MORE ABOUT YUAN:

• Xiaopeng “Pippen” Yuan remembered by friends and professors for friendly, polite demeanor
• Memorial service held for murdered SU student Xiaopeng “Pippen” Yuan

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Following evidence found on Yuan’s cellphone, the authorities used text messages, videos, phone records and cell tower information to trace the murder directly to Isaac. Isaac was arrested 47 days later along with his nephew, Ninimbe Mitchell, who was also arrested for his role as a willing accomplice who drove Issac to and from the crime scene.

Issac was charged by Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick and was convicted of first-degree murder. He was sentenced to life in prison without parole in September 2017 by now-retired Onondaga County Supreme Court Justice John Brunetti, while Mitchell received a 15-year prison sentence for robbery.

Published on June 20, 2021 at 4:18 pm

Contact Francis: btang05@syr.edu | @francis_towne