At around 8 a.m. on July 13, 2020, the United States** received a report from a resident of the town of White Lake that a severely burned body had been found in a remote park.
After forensic identification, the victim was first restrained by others, suffered a crime, and then was maliciously ignited. It was ascertained that the deceased was burned while he was alive.
As the female body had been burned beyond recognition, a few days later, the identity of the deceased, an Asian professional poker player, was confirmed through DNA testing, namely Susie Zhao, an Asian professional poker player.
A few weeks before Ms. Zhao's case, the 33-year-old woman moved back to the Pontiac area, Michigan, from Los Angeles to live with her parents. After living in Los Angeles for nearly 10 years, she was suddenly faced with some "challenges in her personal life."
According to her friends, she moved back to her hometown in June 2020. Susie Zhao's mother last saw her daughter around 5.30pm on July 12, when she left her home in the town of Watford without revealing her destination.
A few days later, the authorities confirmed that the nameless body they found was that of Suqian Zhao.
I play poker for a living, which is kind of weird because I'm a girl. ”
Texas Hold'em is a popular card game and one of the most important events in international poker tournaments, including the World Series of Poker and the main event of the World Poker Tour.
The goal of Texas Hold'em is to win the jackpot and is played similarly to Stud, speculating on the opponent's hand by observing the bets of other players. In the game, players need to use their knowledge of mathematics and psychology to make decisions.
In China, Texas Hold'em is considered illegal gambling and is not recognized as a competitive sport. In 2015, the China Texas Hold'em Poker Tournament held in Nanjing was investigated and punished for public reports, and the organizers were detained.
In Nanjing, a major poker tournament is underway, with more than 2,000 people participating, including the famous singer Wang Feng. Susie Zhao is a professional poker player who has competed in the World Series of Poker several times and won $187,441 in WSOP events, with a net worth of about $1 million, and playing Texas Hold'em is her main income**.
Her highest achievement was in 2012, when she finished 90th and won $73,000. In Las Vegas, her record is widely circulated, once winning $4 million in a single game.
Her friend Michelle Laglou said: "Everyone likes her because she never argues with people, there is no conflict. ”
Susie Cho's death left her fans unable to get a response on her Facebook because she would never be online again. Her friends, including Clayton Fletcher and Shack Harris, also tweeted their condolences.
It was revealed that through the use of tracking data and cameras, they successfully zeroed in on the suspect - 61-year-old Jeffrey Bernard Morris.
Cell phone tower records show that Susie and Morris stayed at the Sherwood Motel on July 12 and did not leave together until about 5 a.m. the next morning.
Based on cell phone records and surveillance footage, we found Morris driving around 5 a.m. to a remote park where Susie Zhao's body was found. The park has heathlands, marshes, ponds, forests, farms, river bottoms, and lakes.
Cell phone tower records show that both Susie Zhao and Morris used cell phones in the area. In addition, cameras at the Major store also captured Morris's Audi.
He found out that Morris had stolen Susie's cable belt and Vaseline from there. His car was also caught on camera near the cremation site. We also found Morris's ** number through Susie Zhao's mobile phone and located his location through her mobile phone.
The FBI assisted the White Lake Township Police Department in their investigation of the case, and they found Morris's car and confiscated it.
They managed to intercept Morris and arrest him near 1275 Michigan Avenue. They did not immediately reveal the identity of the suspect to the public. According to the documents, during the search of the vehicle, multiple shoe prints were found in the back seat and roof, as well as some hair, fibers and other items in the trunk that may contain blood samples.
*A bloodstained sheet was also found in Morris's duffel bag, which contained his personal belongings and identification documents. In addition, there was a wooden baseball bat inside the car with blood stains on the end of the bat.
After the police checked his phone, Morris tried to delete all communications with Susie Zhao.
According to Morris's confession, he and Susie Zhao checked into the Sherwood Motel at around 9:26 a.m. and went to a nearby store together to buy alcohol. However, Susie Zhao left the hotel at midnight with all her belongings, but according to the tower location, she did not leave the hotel with Morris until 5 a.m. and stayed in the park for about 7 minutes.
* Confirmed that Morris is a homeless man with the nearest known address in Pontic, and that his landlord kicked him out a few months ago. At the trial, Prosecutor Frazzi called a number of witnesses, including FBI** and White Lake Police Department Detective Thomas Soracin.
Ronald Greenwald, a resident of White Lake who was the first to find Susie's body, said he wasn't sure if it was a store mannequin or a Halloween prank.
* During the investigation, it was found that before Zhao Suqian was killed on July 12, she had contacted the suspect Morris eight times through **. Motel employees confirmed that Susie and Morris sometimes stay there.
In addition, Morris's cell phone and web records show that he visited several violent pornography**, violently*** and planned to remove the back seat of an Audi car.
Medical experts also confirmed that Zhao Suqian died from severe violent blows and heat burns on her body, and that smoke and soot were found in her lungs, indicating that she was burned alive.
Zhao Suqian's hands were tied very tightly, which further proved that she had been seriously criminalized. All this shows that this is an extremely cruel case, and Zhao Suqian suffered extreme pain and fear in loneliness and helplessness.
In opposing the deliberate allegation, Morris' defense lawyer, Pamela Johnson, found DNA from another man in a cotton swab. Johnson hinted that another person may have used Morris's phone.
Johnson insisted that the prosecution's adverse evidence was not enough to prove Morris's guilt and asked Claxton District Court Judge Kelly Costin 52-2 to dismiss the case.
However, Judge Costin did not take Johnson's argument and ruled that there was enough evidence to take the case to court. At the arraignment on August 4, 2020, Morris did not plead guilty and his lawyer could not be reached.
Then, in September 2020, Morris was charged with the crime of willful intent, and as the details of the case were revealed, prosecutors added a second charge, and he was also charged with felony.
Morris has a significant criminal record in both Michigan and Florida. His lengthy criminal record includes a number of violent crimes, including a ** case committed in Michigan in 1989.
Morris's ** appears on the Michigan Sex Offender Register.
He has been convicted of three previous crimes and will become the fourth offender if convicted (or pleaded guilty) this time. According to the law, he will be sentenced to up to 25 years in prison, and he is in his 60s, which means he may spend the rest of his life in prison.
It is worth mentioning that Michigan has abolished the death penalty. ** said they were still trying to find out Morris's motive for the crime. Prior to the arrest of the suspect, investigators said they were investigating whether the victim's life as a professional poker player was related to her.
However, with Morris under their watchful eye at the moment, this possibility no longer seems to be there. Officer Chris Heard stressed, "Susie's death is not the end of the investigation, but the beginning of the quest for justice for her and her family. ”
Family, friends, and members of the poker community are all waiting for the outcome of Susie Zhao's case, hoping for an answer, but the trial has been delayed due to unforeseen obstacles.
On July 31, 2020, ** arrested Morris on unknown evidence. During his incarceration, he needed to be hospitalized for some reason, but his life was not threatened.
Considering his serious crimes and past criminal record, Claxton District Judge Kelly Coster denied his bail application on the grounds that his crimes were serious.
After being discharged from the hospital, he was sent to the Oakland County Jail. Not only did the Claxton District Court 52nd add a second** charge against him, but it also decided to take the case to a higher level of Oakland County Circuit Court for trial.
Judgment Day Delays: From March to September 2021, this is only the first time it has been postponed, but it seems to herald more extensions. The progress of the case has also been affected by the ravages of the virus, such as errors in documents and the suspension of the court.
The Chief Circuit Judge warned that COVID-19 will continue to affect the functioning of the court, making future hearings potentially delayed further.
At the online pretrial hearing on Feb. 17, we saw Morris's latest image: he was dressed in an orange jumpsuit with a cloth face covering on his chin. Oakland County Circuit Court Judge Martha Anderson was originally scheduled to hold Morris' trial on June 16, 2022, but she agreed to postpone the trial process because Morris's attorney said it needed more time to find and review the evidence.
Accordingly, a new trial date is scheduled for 26 September. The date was changed at the request of Michael McCarthy, who had not been Morris's legal adviser for a short time.
In his letter requesting a postponement of the hearing, he noted that Morris had raised a number of "investigative issues" that had not been mentioned before. We look forward to seeing the outcome of the trial on 26 September.
Epilogue Morris thought he could escape the punishment of the law, but he was exposed by modern criminal investigation methods and lies full of loopholes. ”
The location of the phone alone exposes him to the sight of the **. In any case, we must always remember: "If the way of heaven is good, the wicked will kill themselves." ”