Killing of Ashley Zhao

Killing of Ashley Zhao
Photo of Ashley Zhao released by police to ask for public help in searching for her
LocationJackson Township, Ohio, U.S.
DateJanuary 9, 2017 (2017-01-09)
Attack type
Child homicide by beating, filicide
VictimAshley Zhao, aged 5
PerpetratorsMing Ming Chen (mother)
Liang Zhao (father)
MotiveRage, resentment
VerdictPleaded guilty
ConvictionsChen:
Involuntary manslaughter[a]

Chen and Zhao:

SentenceChen:
22 years in prison, plus deportation following release
Zhao:
12 years in prison

Ashley Zhao (December 30, 2011 – January 9, 2017) was a 5-year-old Chinese American girl who was discovered dead in her family's restaurant in Jackson Township, Stark County, Ohio, U.S., on January 10, 2017. Her death sparked an investigation led by the local police department in cooperation with the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.[1]

Ming Ming Chen (born 1987/1988),[2] Ashley's mother, was charged with her death and convicted of involuntary manslaughter.[3] Ashley's father, Liang Zhao, was also tried and found guilty of obstructing justice and corpse abuse for assisting Chen in hiding the body.[4] Chen and Zhao were sentenced to 22[3] and 12[4] years in prison respectively.

Missing persons report and discovery of body

On January 9, 2017, Ashley Zhao disappeared from Ang's Asian Cuisine, a restaurant owned by her parents. She was reported missing on the same day[5] at around 9:00 PM. Her parents told the police that she may have "wandered out a back door".[6]

On the morning of January 10, authorities issued a Statewide Endangered Child Alert for her.[7]

On January 11, while searching the restaurant, police found her corpse "concealed" in the kitchen, close to the freezer.[8]

Chen and Zhao were arrested for their daughter's death on January 11; at the Massillon Municipal Court,[6] their bonds were set at $5 million each because the judge believed that they posed a flight risk.[9] Although her parents had reported her missing, the police believed that Chen had repeatedly punched Ashley in the face until she died.[10]

Ming Ming Chen

Charged with murder and felonious assault,[6] Ming Ming Chen confessed to police during an interrogation to beating Ashley to death.[11] She talked about how she was exhausted by working at the restaurant and that Ashley had become disobedient.[12] After informing her husband that Ashley was dead, she tasked him with hiding the body.[13]

On October 12, 2017, Chen pleaded not guilty to the murder charge by reason of insanity.[14][15]

On December 29, 2017, after she pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter, she was sentenced to 22 years in prison. As she had come to the United States illegally when she was a teenager, she will be deported back to China after being released from prison.[16]

Liang Zhao

As part of a plea deal, Zhao, a U.S. citizen, agreed to testify against Ming Ming Chen in exchange for a sentence of 12 years in prison.[17]

According to Zhao, when he found Ashley, she was lying on the floor with head injuries (that Chen presumably inflicted)[18] and "green fluid" coming out of her mouth. He took her to the bathroom to clean the fluid off her face; by that point she had stopped breathing. He tried to perform CPR, but did not successfully revive her.[17] He also confessed to helping Chen hide Ashley's body in the restaurant following her death.[19] On September 11, 2017, he pleaded guilty to two counts of child endangerment, corpse abuse, obstruction of justice, and evidence tampering.[17] He was sentenced to 12 years in prison on January 10, 2018.[4]

Memorials

On January 17, 2017, hundreds of mourners gathered outside the restaurant and set up a memorial.[20]

Notes

  1. ↑ Both Chen and Zhao were initially both charged with murder, but those charges were dropped in plea deals.
  2. ↑ Two counts for Zhao.

References

  1. ↑ "Missing 5-year-old found dead inside restaurant". WEWS. January 10, 2017. Retrieved December 11, 2021.
  2. ↑ "Lawyer: Chinese mom's confession should be kept out of trial". The Seattle Times. October 17, 2017. Retrieved May 22, 2024.
  3. 1 2 "Ming Ming Chen sentenced to 22 years for death of 5-year-old daughter in Stark County". Cleveland 19. December 29, 2017. Retrieved December 17, 2021.
  4. 1 2 3 "Dad who hid daughter's dead body in restaurant sentenced". New York Post. Associated Press. January 11, 2018. Retrieved December 17, 2021.
  5. ↑ "Parents charged after dead girl found "concealed" in family's restaurant". www.cbsnews.com. January 10, 2017. Retrieved December 19, 2021.
  6. 1 2 3 Truesdell, Jeff (January 11, 2017). "Missing Ohio Girl Found Dead in Chinese Restaurant; Parents Charged". people.com. Retrieved December 19, 2021.
  7. ↑ "Statewide endangered child alert issued for missing Ohio girl". WKRC. January 10, 2017. Retrieved December 19, 2021.
  8. ↑ Wagner, Meg (January 11, 2017). "Missing Ohio girl's body found in family's restaurant; parents charged in her beating death". nydailynews.com. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
  9. ↑ "Police allege mother struck girl found dead, "concealed" in family restaurant". www.cbsnews.com. January 11, 2017. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
  10. ↑ "Missing girl found dead in restaurant, parents charged". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. ISSN 1539-7459. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
  11. ↑ Foster, Ally (January 4, 2018). "Mum confesses to killing daughter". news.com.au. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
  12. ↑ "Video: Mother Calmly Confesses to Killing Her Daughter, 5". Time. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
  13. ↑ Harris, Chris (January 3, 2018). "'I Just Killed Her and She Died': Ohio Mother's Chilling Confession to 5-Year-Old Daughter's Murder". people.com. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
  14. ↑ "Mom enters insanity plea in slaying of girl found hidden in family restaurant". www.cbsnews.com. October 13, 2017. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
  15. ↑ Rossi, Madison (October 16, 2017). "Ohio Mom Pleads Not Guilty by Insanity in Daughter's Death". people.com. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
  16. ↑ "Woman gets 22 years in Ohio prison for killing daughter". The Seattle Times. December 29, 2017. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
  17. 1 2 3 Truesdell, Jeff (September 12, 2017). "Dad Pleads Guilty to Hiding Daughter's Body in Restaurant". people.com. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
  18. ↑ "Mom beats kid, leaves her to die in family's Chinese restaurant". New York Post. January 11, 2017. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
  19. ↑ Burke, Minyvonne (September 12, 2017). "Man admits to hiding 5-year-old daughter's body in family restaurant after his wife allegedly beat child to death". nydailynews.com. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
  20. ↑ "PHOTO GALLERY: Memorial for five year old, Ashley Zhao". CantonRep.com. January 20, 2017. Retrieved April 23, 2026.
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