According to Wang's mother and lawyer, he died on Monday. Wang's wife Cao Shuxia received a call from police notifying her that her husband had died at a military hospital in the city of Hengyang where he had been held. The police officer on the phone did not offer any explanation of the cause of death.
据王美余的母亲和律师透露，他已于周一去世。王美余的妻子曹曙霞接到警方电话，声称其丈夫死于衡阳市内的某家部队医院中，而拘留王美余的看守所恰好位于衡阳。警官在电话中未对其死因作出任何解释。