Little Canada Man Sentenced to 20 Years for 2023 Murder of Woman at Eagan Hotel
Provided by the Dakota County Jail.
EAGAN, MINNESOTA - Philip Jedidiah Wong, 27, of Little Canada, Minnesota, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for the October 2023 murder of 53-year-old Jianqin Zhang, a woman from China, at an Eagan hotel. Dakota County Attorney Kathy Keena announced the sentencing late Wednesday morning, August 13, 2025.
Judge Tanya O’Brien handed down a 240-month sentence, giving Wong credit for 658 days already served in custody. Wong entered a guilty plea for 2nd Degree Murder with Intent Not Premeditated in March 2025 and will remain in the Dakota County Jail until he is transferred to the Minnesota Department of Corrections.
Incident Details
The incident occurred on October 12, 2023, when Eagan police officers were called to a hotel just before midnight after a hotel employee found Zhang unconscious in her room. Responding officers found her lying face down on the bed and cold to the touch. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
An autopsy conducted by the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office determined the cause of death to be strangulation, ruling it a homicide.
According to the criminal complaint, Wong had gone to the hotel earlier that day in response to an online ad for a massage. After the massage, Wong paid Zhang for sex. Investigators later learned that Zhang told Wong there were hidden cameras in the room and demanded additional payment. Wong admitted to “choking her out,” claiming he believed she was still breathing when he left.
Evidence and Investigation
Hotel surveillance video placed Wong at the scene between 2:54 p.m. and 3:48 p.m., wearing an Atlanta Falcons hat later recovered from the hotel room. Investigators also recovered multiple cell phones, condoms, clothing, and other items during a search of the room.
Witnesses told police that Wong admitted to choking Zhang after she threatened to blackmail him over the alleged hidden cameras. A subsequent search of Wong’s residence revealed clothing matching the surveillance footage and his cell phone.
Friends and associates of Zhang told investigators she was a sex worker and that her employer became concerned when she stopped answering her phone that afternoon. Messages from Zhang’s phone stopped around 3:45 p.m.
