Murder In America - EP. 146: OHIO - They Found A Child's Body In The Wall

Episode Date: March 8, 2024

In 2017, young Ashley Zhao disappeared from the restaurant that her parents operated in Ohio. It was only when they searched the last place that authorities thought she would be, that they found her- in the walls of the restaurant. So, who killed Ashley? Listen to today's episode to find out. - Stay Connected: Join the Murder in America fam in our free Facebook Community for a behind-the-scenes look, more insights and current events in the true crime world: https://www.facebook.com/groups/4365229996855701 If you want even more Murder in America bonus content, including ad-free episodes, come join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/murderinamerica Instagram: http://instagram.com/murderinamerica/ Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/people/Murder-in-America-Podcast/100086268848682/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/MurderInAmerica TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@theparanormalfiles and https://www.tiktok.com/@courtneybrowen Feeling spooky? Follow Colin as he travels state to state (and even country to country!) investigating claims of extreme paranormal activity and visiting famous haunted locations on The Paranormal Files Official Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheParanormalFilesOfficialChannel - (c) BLOOD IN THE SINK PRODUCTIONS 2024 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week's episode is sponsored by Hocum, the new film that critics are calling Damian McCarthy's most unnerving horror yet. From the director of Audity, Hocom stars Adam Scott, in a deeply monstrous horror that bloody disgusting called Pure Nightmare Fuel that holds you firmly in its grip. Don't miss Hocom, the groundbreaking new horror from Damian McCarthy, now playing in theaters. This episode is sponsored by Better Help. is a journey. I know this. I think we all know this. Some days feel good and other days feel absolutely overwhelming. Whatever's keeping you up at night. It's easy sometimes to feel like you have to figure it all out on your own. But the truth is, nobody has all the answers. And no journey should be taken alone. However, having someone with you to listen, to understand, and to support you,

can make all the difference. I know that I'm a huge therapy advocate I've advocated for therapy for years. And if you want to give therapy a try, BetterHelp is a great place to start. BetterHelp work according to a strict code of conduct and are fully licensed in the U.S. BetterHelp also does the initial matching work for you so you can focus on your therapy goals. A short questionnaire helps identify your needs and preferences, and their 12-plus years of experience and industry-leading match fulfillment rate means they typically get it right the first time. And something that I love is if you aren't happy with your therapist match, you can switch to a different therapist at any time from their tailored recommendations.

I've personally used BetterHelp in the past, and I think that if you're on the edge, if you're thinking maybe it's time to start therapy, I say just go ahead and do it. There's literally no downside because you don't have to be on this journey alone. Find support and have someone with you in therapy. Sign up and get 10% off at betterhelp.com slash MIA. That's betterhELP.com slash MIA. I really love to get dressed up every once in a while when I'm going out with my girlfriends or on a date night with Colin.

But lately I've been trying to be more intentional with my everyday wear. And I found that the best options that work for me are good quality, effortless pieces that will last me forever and they still look cute. Which is why Quince has always been my go-to. The thing I love about Quince is that all of their fabrics feel elevated. Their clothing always fits me perfectly. And I can just throw on anything from theirs and it looks so put together, but it's so effortless. Now that the spring season is upon us, Quince makes it so easy to refresh your wardrobe. with spring pieces that feel as good as they look.

I love that they always use premium materials like 100% European linen, organic cotton, and ultra-soft denim. And everything at Quince is priced 50% to 80% less than similar brands. They also work directly with ethical factories and cut out the middlemen, so you're paying for quality and craftsmanship, not the brand markup.

I recently have been on the hunt for a good denim skirt, And so I went to Quince and I ordered their stretched denim miniskirt and I am absolutely obsessed with it. It is so cute. I've already worn it several times. I have made a ton of different outfits with it. And I could not believe the price of it. I actually had to go back and double check it because it is such good quality. I could not believe how affordable it was. But that's been my experience with everything I've gotten from Quince. They are so affordable and their items are amazing. and I know you will love them too. So refresh your everyday with luxury that you'll actually use.

Head to quince.com slash America for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. Now available in Canada too. That's Q-U-I-N-C-E.com slash America for free shipping and 365-day returns. Quince.com slash America. The podcast is not suitable for all audiences. We go into great detail with every case. that we cover and do our best to bring viewers even deeper into the stories by utilizing disturbing audio and sound effects.

Trigger warnings from the stories we cover may include violence, rape, murder, and offenses against children. This podcast is not for everyone. You have been warned. Within the town of Massalon, Ohio, there is a small Chinese restaurant called Ing's Asian cuisine, and it's owned by the Zal family. In the years that the couple owned the restaurant, everything seemed to be going well, and the people in the community really enjoyed their food.

Some of the Yelp reviews from the restaurant read, quote, We've gotten takeout from there a few times and we've really enjoyed everything so far. They are quick to fill your order and everything is fresh. Portion sizes are good and prices are fair. Another reads, Aangs is the best Chinese takeout that my house has found in North Canton, Ohio. They are very friendly, and their food service is amazing. We have never had any issues with their food, or when ordering takeout and delivery.

They will continue to be our favorite place to order food from. We ordered tonight and the food was fresh, as well as every month that we ordered. I would be skeptical of someone claiming food poisoning from them. end quote. So as you can see, it was a local favorite, but soon enough, the restaurant would be known for more than just their Asian cuisine. Because on January 9th, 2017,

the owner is placed a distraught 911 call to the Jackson Township Police Department, and it was on that call where the couple reported that their five-year-old daughter, Ashley, had gone missing from the restaurant. Her parents said that, that they looked for her everywhere, but it seemed as if five-year-old Ashley had disappeared into thin air. So like any missing child case, investigators start by interviewing the parents to try and get a

possible timeline of her disappearance. However, after questioning them, they seemed to have more questions than answers. Like, how did Ashley disappear when her mother was at the restaurant the entire day? Did she walk out the door when her mom was distracted with customers? Did she wander off? Or did someone kidnap her? Unfortunately, the answers they were looking for were right there in front of them, hidden within the walls of the small family-owned restaurant.

So this is the heartbreaking story of Ashley Zau. I'm Courtney Browen. And I'm Colin Brown. And you're listening to Murder. in America. Ming Chen was born on December 3, 1987 in China, and before moving to the U.S., she worked there as an elementary school teacher. Now, according to reports, Ming Ming was involved with a spiritual practice known as Falun Gong.

The practice developed in the early 1990s in China by a man named Li Hongzi and an incorporated meditation and Qigong exercises to balance and enhance the flow of energy within the body. It also taught its followers the principles of compassion, forbearance, and truthfulness. Millions of Chinese people were drawn to the religion. It brought its followers spiritual fulfillment. People noticed health benefits, and it ultimately made them feel a deeper meaning of life. But the Chinese Communist Party was not a fan of this growing spiritual practice. In fact, they deemed Falun Gong as an evil cult that threatened its authority.

So, starting in 1999, they began really cracking down on trying to eradicate. the practice. One Chinese media publication reported Falun Gong is an evil force, which is anti-science, anti-humanity, anti-society, and anarchistic. It further added, it is also a troublemaking group that attempts to challenge the Communist Party and the government. It was reported that some people who believed in Falun Gong were arrested, beaten, and even torture. When the Chinese government found someone practicing Falun Gong, they were swiftly arrested, and some of the detainees were beaten with batons. tased, and they would have their feet and wrists shackled with a device known as D. Lau,

making it physically impossible for a person to sit down or walk. In addition to the horrendous beatings in torture, it has also been reported that Chinese officials murdered members of Falling Gong. Then after the murders, they would harvest their organs and sell them to people who needed transplants. So as you can imagine, when the Chinese government started to crack down on eradicating Falun Gong, Ming Ming Chen was desperate to leave her country. Even further, she had just been fired from her teaching position in China, so there wasn't much left for her there. And in 2009, she paid a, quote, snakehead, aka a human smuggler, $68,000 to sneak her into the United States. She wanted a better life for herself. So she did she just,

drained her entire savings in an attempt for the American dream. However, it was not an easy journey. Ming Ming Chen first flew from China to Mexico. She would stay there for about two months, and then she hid inside of a vehicle that smuggled her into the United States. But now that she was on U.S. soil, Ming Ming Chen would go to the United States Immigration Office and apply for asylum. As a little background information. Applying for asylum means that you're already in the United States, either by lawful or unlawful entry, and you were facing persecution or harm in whatever country you came from. To be eligible for asylum, according to Citizenpath.com, quote, the reason for persecution is related to one of five things. Race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular

social group or political opinion." So when Ming Ming stepped into the immigration office that day, she had her entire story rehearsed. She told the officer that in April of 2008, her home had been raided by the CCP due to her affiliation with Falun Gong. Ming Ming said that she was even arrested and detained for a whole month, where she faced intense brutality by two. Chinese officials. Ming Ming claimed that during her time at the detention center, female guards

beat her with batons and pushed her into walls. One female officer even tried to force her to sign a statement promising she would no longer practice Falun Gong. But Ming Ming refused. She told the immigration officers that her own mother begged her to sign the papers just so she could be released. and after a month of being in jail, she finally decided to sign it, just so she could be free. However, when she came back home, she learned that she had been fired from her teaching position. Ming Ming said that she tried to apply for other jobs, but she had been blacklisted. No one wanted to hire her because of her affiliation with Falling Gong. She had no job, no money, and she had the constant threat of going to be.

back to jail if she was caught practicing it again. So Ming Ming said that she had no other choice but to leave China and seek refuge here in America. Now if this story were true, Ming Ming could have been eligible for asylum here, but there were inconsistencies in her story. Now obviously you can't just walk into an immigration office, tell them a horrible story about where you came from and you're good to go. They verify things. They'll pick your story apart and ask you a ton of questions to make sure everything adds up. And in doing so, they didn't think Ming's story was truthful. For instance, in her original statement, she said that after she fled China, her brother was arrested by the Chinese government, simply because they were related.

And they told him that he wouldn't be released until his sister came back to China. But interestingly, in her application for asylum, Ming Ming failed to list her brother a as a family member, and she didn't mention anything about her brother's arrest. To them, it seemed like she made it all up, or at least embellished parts of her story. So ultimately, U.S. immigration denied her application for asylum due to her story not being credible. According to court documents, an immigration judge determined that Chen was not credible based in part on inconsistencies between her testimony, written submissions, and proffered supporting evidence. In the end, Ming Ming Chen was ordered to return to China in late 2009,

but she would continue to stay in the U.S. appealing their decision for the next three years. Yet, every time she was denied, the Board of Immigration Appeals stated, Chen had failed to overcome her lack of credibility with reasonably available corroborating evidence. By 2012, the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals told her they were no longer going to review her case, meaning there was nothing else she could do. she was to go back to China immediately, but she wouldn't. Ming Ming decided to stay here illegally. When she first came to the U.S. in 2009, she lived in New York, and while there she worked at a Chinese

restaurant. But little did she know she would end up marrying her boss's brother, Liang Zao. Liang also worked at the Chinese restaurant at the time. In fact, his sister owned the place, and she hired him after her delivery driver got into an accident. It seemed like fate. Not long after meeting each other, Ming Ming and Liang would fall in love. The two would date for just two months before getting married in March of 2010. Now, something to note about Liang was that he had been living in the United States for the past 20 years. So he had become a naturalized U.S. citizen.

And throughout that time, he lived part-time and part-time and he lived part-time in New York and part-time in Ohio. His family was in the restaurant business. Like we mentioned, his sister had a Chinese restaurant in New York, and he and his dad had opened one in North Canton, Ohio, called The Lucky Star, which was located at the Gander Mountain Plaza. For the last 11 years, he and his father's restaurant had become very successful. But his dad was getting older, so when Liang and Ming Ming got married,

They decided to take over the ownership of the Ohio restaurant, and they even changed the name to Eng's Asian cuisine. In the beginning, things seemed to be going well for the newlyweds. They were in love. Their restaurant was successful. And in October of 2011, they welcomed their first child, a daughter named Jojo, then a little over one year later in December of 2011. The couple would have another daughter named Ashley. By all accounts, they were a happy family. But, of course, having children does complicate things.

It definitely wasn't easy running a restaurant all by themselves while also caring for two young children. Even further, Liang and Ming Ming were the only employees at the restaurant, and their business was open six days a week. So they had their hands full. But luckily for them, they had many loyal customers around Canton that kept their business going. Some other Yelp reviews read, quote, We love Angs.

It's just the best Asian food we've ever had, and we've eaten at a lot of different Chinese food places. It's clean, the people are so very nice, and the food is delicious. Another review reads, quote, I love this place. The staff is very friendly, food is very good. Call ahead and they will have it ready for you when they say they will. Another one reads, quote, Great Chinese takeout.

I've been getting takeout from here for seven years. The food is always prepared fresh and is even hot after I get home. The family who runs it are very friendly and they make you feel very welcomed. End quote. So as you can tell, the people around Canton really enjoyed their food. One woman named Rebecca Dekoi, who ordered takeout from them at least twice a month, claimed that they had incredible Chinese cuisine.

But her favorite dish of theirs was beef, broccoli, white rice, and an egg roll. Rebecca would later tell the Canton repository, quote, They seem like really good, hardworking young parents, end quote. But soon enough, the pressure of owning a restaurant in caring for their two young children was too much for them to bear. After the birth of their second daughter, Ashley, Liang and Ming Ming were so overwhelmed that they decided to send Ashley to New York to live with Liang's parents so they could focus on their business. Ashley wasn't even a year old when she left, and she would stay with her grandparents for the next four years. During that time,

she only saw her parents once when she was about one year old. So life in New York was all Ashley knew. However, in October 2015, when Ashley was almost four years old, she was sent back to Ohio. According to Li Yang, he missed his daughter and wanted to have a relationship with her. And he was actually the one who helped bring her back home. But upon Ashley's return, the family continued to struggle balancing work life and parenting. In fact, many patrons of their restaurants said that the business was known to randomly close for the day out of nowhere. The business would then post on their Facebook saying they had to briefly close the restaurant due to a family member getting sick. Because Liang and Ming Ming were the only employees,

if someone in their family became ill, they didn't have enough hands to keep the restaurant running, so it wasn't easy. The family also didn't have any form of child care for their girls. So Jojo and Ashley spent most of their time at the restaurant while their parents worked. Their oldest daughter Jojo had recently started school and even started making some friends. And like most little girls her age, she wanted to play with those friends on the weekends. But Ming Ming and Liying could never step away from the restaurant to take her on a play date. So oftentimes, Jojo's friends would come to the restaurant to play. A woman named Nina Aman told a Canton repository that she often brought her daughter to the restaurant for play dates.

And both Jojo and Ashley always appeared to be polite. Nina also said that Ming Ming was a very private woman who didn't talk much. Usually, when she interacted with them, she would speak to Liang, who was very nice and friendly. She also said that it was clear the girls absolutely loved their father, describing them as daddy's girls. Now, almost everyone that came into Ang's Asian cuisine knew that Liang and Ming Ming were hard workers, with a lot of on their plates. They worked long hours, six days a week, and their two children were always there. Customers often saw the girls sitting at one of the open tables, playing on their tablets, or coloring to pass the time. One customer named Jackie Haven said both of the girls were, quote,

very polite, very inquisitive. They knew how to interact with people, end quote. But many people said the girls always looked bored, which is understandable given they were young and full of energy. Some customers even said that the girls would come by and talk to people while they ate. One of the regulars, Rebecca DeKoi, couldn't help but wonder how difficult it was for Liang and Ming Ming, raising a family and running a small business without any extra help. The last time she ordered takeout, one week before Christmas, 2016, she sat down at a table while she waited for her food and five-year-old Ashley approached her. Rebecca said that Ashley was excited for Christmas, and the two talked about Santa Claus until her food was ready.

But unbeknownst to everyone, tragedy was about to strike, and Liang and Ming Ming's lives were about to change forever, which brings us to Monday, January 9th, 2017. That morning, Ming Ming and Liang woke up, got drunk up, got drunk. and got their girls ready, just like they did every day. It was winter in Ohio, so it was cold out. Liang took Jojo to school, and Ming Ming put five-year-old Ashley in a purple coat and then carried her out to the rental car, where she was put in her car seat. Then from there, they drove to Eng's Asian cuisine to start their workday.

At 11 a.m., Liang and Ming-ming turned on the open sign, hanging in the front window. And throughout the day, they stayed busy making food for their customers. At around 4 p.m., it was time for Liang to pick up their oldest daughter, Jojo, from school. So he left the restaurant to go do that, while Ming Ming stayed behind with Ashley running the restaurant. About a half hour later, Jojo comes running through the front doors, with her father close behind. Jojo puts her stuff down in the back room and it's there where she notices her baby sister lying on a cot,

taking a nap. Now every day when Jojo gets off from school and comes to the restaurant, her parents are very busy. It's typically rush hour around that time, so Jojo usually grabs her tablet and stays out of her parents' way while they run the restaurant. And today was no different. Over the next few hours, Liang and Ming Ming work hard making food, completing online orders,

and cleaning up after the people who dined inside. It was a hectic day, but after a while, things started to slow down. Liang and Ming Ming finally had a minute to catch their breath and take a little break. However, the break wouldn't last very long, because shortly after 8 p.m., they noticed that 5-year-old Ashley was no longer in the back room. And after a quick look through the restaurant, it becomes clear that Ashley is nowhere to be found. So at around 8.45 p.m., Liang Zao quickly closes the restaurant and places a frantic call to 911. Jackson Thompson, please. Yes, I need some help.

Okay, where are you at? What? 4924 Portage Street. 4924 Portage, G. Yeah. What's going on? I can't find my daughter. Okay, how old is she?

Five. She just turned five. She just turned five. Sir, stop it. Okay, and you're at Aang's? Angs, yeah. When's the last time you seen her? Uh, this afternoon probably?

Around what time? Uh, three, maybe four? What? What? Do you haven't seen her in five hours? You saw her in five? What was she wearing? Oh, okay.

What? What was she wearing? She's wearing a purple winter coat. I don't know what those things are called, but they're not jeans. They're like... Like leggings? Yeah, yeah, yeah. What color were they?

Uh, grayish. Okay, and you haven't seen her in five hours? About, yeah. I mean, she was there sleeping, I mean, you know... Where was she sleeping? sleeping at in the restaurant? Yeah, yeah. She was sleeping there and I picked up my older daughter from school.

We all saw her sleeping there. So, and, you know, we went to work and, you know, we let her sleep. And we got busy and then, after it got busy, you know, we started cleaning up. And then, you know, we opened a door because she's out here. Hold on one second, okay? Okay, sir, what's your name? Leang, Leang Zao. Okay, do you have any videos or anything in there where you can see a video

to see if she was laying there? No, no, no, no. We don't have any security camera in the restaurant. We've been here for six years. We never had security cameras here. Okay. So we saw her, like all of us, like my wife, myself, and my older daughter. When we came back, when I picked up my older daughter from school, we saw her there sleeping.

Okay. And so was there any suspicious people that came in at all? Do you think she could have woke up and ran out somewhere? No, no idea. I mean, she was sleeping in the back. It's kind of hard to say when she was. She was... None of your employees had seen her?

There's only two of us. Just myself and my wife. There's nobody else in the restaurant. There's only three people in the restaurant. When you guys left, who was there with you? Who was there with your daughter when you guys left to go to your other kids from school? My wife, I go pick her up myself. My wife is here in the restaurant.

But when we came back, she's here. Like, my wife is here, the restaurant's open. The restaurant's always open. I usually open up, I pick my, I drop my daughter off. I'm sorry. I dropped my daughter off at school in the morning. And then we come here to open up. Well, right now though, like when you left, you said you, your wife, and your daughter left to go pick up your daughter from school?

No, I didn't say that. I said, my wife is here all the time. Okay, and your wife hasn't seen her either since around four or five o'clock? Okay, okay. I think you, okay, when we picked, I'm sorry, when I meant with myself, okay, when I went to pick up my daughter, when we came back, myself and my daughter, not my wife. My wife is here the whole time. And we came back. So your wife hasn't seen her since around the 4 or 5 o'clock either?

Uh, yes. Uh, you mean, uh, you know, the minute, and when we got busy, uh, usually we get these around 4 or 5 o'clock. That's the best time we can, you know, like. That's, what's your, um, what's your daughter's name? Ashley, Ashley. Okay. All right. All right.

My officer's outside if you want to go and meet my officer at the door, okay? She's here right now? Yeah, he's already outside. In the front or the back? He should be in the front. Okay, all right. Okay. Okay.

Thank you. Thank you. Uh-huh. Bye. Now clearly, a missing child is a top priority for police. So as you heard, an officer from the Jackson Township Police Department immediately made his way over to Eng's Asian cuisine, located at 4824 Portage Street, northwest. The restaurant was located in a pretty busy plaza in town.

so surely Ashley would be close by, or at least someone in the area would have seen her. And that was the idea at the start of the investigation that Ashley had wandered off. Liang and Ming Ming even told the officer that during rush hour, they had opened the back door of the restaurant, and they believed that she must have walked out,

which is something she had done multiple times in the past. When the officer asked if someone, could have kidnapped Ashley, Liang and Ming Ming were quick to rule that out. Yes, they were busy that day and definitely distracted, but they said they would have noticed if Ashley walked out the front door with someone. The only thing that made sense in their heads was that she went out the back door and wandered off. And that theory seemed the most likely, especially after investigators talked to Ashley's older sister, Jojo. The six-year-old told her, detectives that she had actually heard a noise coming from the back room in that she thought it

sounded like someone went out the back door. So after hearing this and getting a timeline of her disappearance, five-year-old Ashley Zow was officially declared missing. And from there, investigators went to the streets to try and find her. For hours, they combed through the area in and around Portage Street, but there were no signs of the missing child. The search for her went well into the night and into the next morning. And as each hour passed, investigators knew that the likelihood of finding her alive was dwindling. And there were so many scenarios that they were considering. Had Ashley wandered off into the wilderness somewhere? There were some wooded areas and bodies of water nearby and some busy highways.

Sadly, those were the best case scenarios here. They also had to consider that someone may have taken Ashley. If she wandered out the back door of the restaurant, did someone see her walking by herself and kidnap her? There were so many possibilities, and none of them looked promising. By the following morning, Ohio authorities issued a statewide endangible child alert so that everyone could be on the lookout for five-year-old Ashley Zow.

The Zau family was doing everything they could to help find Ashley. Many of her extended family members were joining investigators in the search. Ashley's great-uncle, Joey Lynn, went with members of their community to search in the wooded area outside of the restaurant. They also posted missing person flyers on multiple businesses at the Gander Mountain Plaza strip mall, where she went missing. The posters included a picture of Ashley and her. her description four feet tall 35 to 40 pounds black hair brown eyes and was last seen wearing gray

leggings and a purple winter coat meanwhile liang zau was devastated on the morning of january 8th he went to their family's restaurant to light a candle burn some incense and pray for his missing daughter soon after this the ohio bci crime scene unit arrived at the restaurant to conduct their investigation and at first they couldn't find any evidence that suggested ashley was abducted from the restaurant. After a while, it seemed as if she really did just walk away on her own. But like with any investigation, the crime scene unit had to cross all of their teas and dot all eyes, which meant they had to comb through the restaurant to see if there were any clues. After all, that was the last place Ashley was seen alive. So that afternoon, they taped off

the area with crime scene tape and got to work. Hello, I'm Annie Abraham here with Channel 3 News. We are currently at Ains Asian Cuisine Restaurant on Portage Street, Northwest. If you've been following this story, my own Ashley Jow has been missing since yesterday. She was lastly inside the restaurant. Her mom says she went to the back of the restaurant. Ang's Asian cuisine, she went to the back to lay down, and about four to five hours later, when her mom went to go check on her, she did not find Ashley Zhao inside that restaurant.

And that's why police have been searching the area all day. The most recent news at this point, you're looking at the scene right now. The crime scene unit with the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation is currently on scene. They just got on scene. I want to say about 10 minutes ago and did proceed to put teeth up around the area. Mind you, this is not what it looked like early. This has just been cornered off

by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation. We did try to track down a police officer who is securing the area. They did not release any information at this point. Of course, all this pretty brand new with BCI on scene. As news crews recorded the scene outside of the restaurant, crime scene investigators began their work inside,

starting with that back room, where Ashley was last seen sleeping on that cot. During their initial search, they didn't find any blood, weapons, or really anything that led to Ashley's parents being responsible. In the back of the restaurant, there's this large walk-in freezer that the couple used to store the restaurant's food.

Crime scene investigators searched the freezer, but they didn't find anything. No sign of Ashley Zhao. They had searched pretty much everywhere they could, except for the restaurant's walls. Up above the freezer, there were these panels that could be removed. So investigators took the panels down,

and there, In the walls of the restaurant, they found a large container of salt. Now, given that this is a restaurant, a container of salt is not out of the ordinary. But what restaurant owner hides salt within the walls? Upon seeing this, the investigators immediately knew that they had found what they were looking for. After retrieving the container, they all took a deep breath and popped open the lid. Then there, stuffed into the salt-filled container was the body of five-year-old Ashley's Al.

Some disturbing new allegations have come out about the Delphi murders and the suspect Richard Allen. When Courtney and I first covered this story on the podcast, we definitely had no idea that the case would take a turn quite like it has. But these new details and allegations are shocking, they're disturbing, and they're haunting. I recently visited Delphi, Indiana, and went out to the Monon High Bridge. bridge myself to film a full-length documentary that you can watch for free now on my YouTube channel, The Paranormal Files. So if you want to see our documentary about the crime, visiting the locations, and discussing in-depth these new allegations, just head to the paranormal files

on YouTube and you'll see my video. It's almost two hours long. It's very informative, but as a word of caution, it is disturbing. Just wanted to give that a shout out, and let's get back to the episode. Chief Brink would later tell the Canton Repository. We never stopped searching. We were searching from 9.30 p.m. Monday until her body was found. The body was concealed inside the restaurant. The BCI crime scene unit reportedly covered the restaurant windows with brown paper to avoid the media and local members of the community from being able to see inside. But as word got out, many loyal patrons of the restaurant showed up to the plaza in tears. Some even spoke with Channel 3 News, telling them that Ashley was the sweetest little girl.

They said she would even remember some of the customers, and when they walked inside of the restaurant, she would always greet them with a huge smile. And when they first heard about her disappearance, no one ever expected this outcome. In their minds, the friendly and welcoming owners could have never harmed their daughter. Many said they were very kind and friendly,

so from the beginning, they always assumed that Ashley would be found alive. But that wasn't the case. Ashley Zhao had been murdered. From there, The Ohio BCI crime scene unit arrived at the couple's apartment to search the residents, take pictures, and tow the rental car from the complex parking lot. And now it was time to question the people they thought were responsible.

Her parents. Immediately following the discovery of her body, both Liang and Ming Ming were brought to the police station for questioning. And as soon as detective sat with Liying, he was quick to tell them what happened. So let's go back to October of 2015. Ashley Zau was just months away from turning four years old when she was brought back to Ohio to live with her parents.

Back to a life, she didn't really know. Like we mentioned earlier in our story, Liang and Ming Ming sent Ashley to live with her paternal grandparents in New York. So she had been there for the majority of her life. Shortly after her birth, Her parents became overwhelmed with running the restaurant in Ohio and caring for two young girls. It was too much for them, so they sent her away. But in October of 2015, Ashley was finally back in Ohio to be with her family.

It was supposed to be a happy time, but it wasn't. You see, during her time in New York, Ashley's grandma had failed to potty train her, so at four years old, she was still wearing. diapers. Now over the years, Ming Ming seemed to really love her oldest daughter Jojo, but she didn't feel the same way about Ashley. According to her, Ashley was disobedient and refused to listen. She said that the four-year-old would also push her older sister when she didn't get her way, which is pretty normal with young siblings. However, Ming Ming didn't see it that way. In her eyes, Ashley was a bad child, and on top of that, she wasn't potty trained,

so she was constantly having to change her diapers. It was clear to everyone that Ming Ming didn't like her youngest daughter, and she would often direct all of her anger towards Ashley. It was also said that the more Ming Ming stressed about their business, the more she abused her. But from the outside looking in, the family appeared to be normal. At the time of our story, they were living one mile away from the restaurant at an apartment called Maple Wayview, located at 7300 Sunset Strip Avenue, Northwest. They rented Unit 11, which was an upstairs apartment that had a view of Interstate 77. Across the hall from the family lived a man named Kurt Clusty, and he would later say that

he only saw the family a handful of times, but I don't think I ever caught them at a bad moment, he said, they looked so nice, they seemed like good people. Downstairs neighbor Alex Clatt, who rented unit number one, told the Canton repository that he and the family often arrived at home at the same time every night, 10 p.m. He admitted they were always polite, but reserved. During the first year that Ashley was back home in Ohio, it was clear that Ming Ming didn't feel connected to her.

Because Ashley spent most of her life in New York, there was an emotional detachment between them. and many of their family members noticed. In fact, Liang would later tell the police that his mother, the one who raised Ashley, witnessed Ming Ming's bad parenting, and she tried to intervene. She would give Ming-ming tips on what worked best for Ashley, but this only seemed to make Ming-ming more mad. And look, I feel like any mom gets annoyed when someone judges their parenting.

But clearly, Ming Ming was not being a good mother to Ashley, and they were concerned. Her grandma would even send aunts and uncles by their place to check on Ashley because she was so worried about her. And because of all of this, Ming Ming had a lot of resentment towards her mother-in-law, especially because she didn't feel like she raised Ashley right during her time in New York. The fact that she didn't potty train her sent her into a rage. Ming Ming was also very upset because when Ashley came back to Ohio, she didn't know what her last name was, or whether or not she was a boy or girl. It just wasn't something they taught her. So Ming Ming was really upset about all of this.

Instead of being grateful that her mother-in-law took on the huge responsibility of raising her daughter, she was angry with her. And she was angry with Ashley, too. Liang said that he was concerned about his wife's anger towards Ashley. So much so, he even thought about sending Ashley back to New York. However, he decided that that wouldn't be a great idea because his mother's parenting had already caused so many problems. So they started talking about sending Ashley to China to live with Ming Ming's mom. But sadly, they would never get the chance.

On the morning of January 9th, 2017, the Zal family woke up and started getting ready for the day. Like every family, the parents had different morning responsibilities, and Liang was in charge of dropping Jojo off at school. So after Jojo got dressed that morning, they hopped in the car and he dropped her off. But when Leang came back to their apartment, he found his wife in a fit of rage. As soon as he walked through the doors, he could hear Ming Ming screaming at Ashley, saying, you were five years old and you still don't know how to go potty. Apparently, Ashley had pooped in her diaper, and instead of sitting in it,

she decided to take it off, and she left the diaper on the living room floor. Leang would later tell investigators, I came back and my wife was very angry with Ashley because she peed and pooped on her diaper. I know this doesn't sound like a big deal, but she's five years old and she's not potty trained. So that got my wife angry. It was 9 a.m. And Liying stood there,

watching his wife scream at his daughter, but it wouldn't stop there. It hardly ever did. He then watched Ming Ming grab Ashley and slam her head into the ground two times. Liang said that Ashley was clearly hurt. but she wasn't bleeding or crying. He said that she was breathing,

but she couldn't really move. She just laid there. Liang and Ming left Ashley there, thinking she would come out of it. But after a few minutes, they knew something was wrong when Ashley started gasping for air. Leang would later tell investigators.

She stopped. I didn't realize she stopped. I thought she was breathing normally, but then she started gasping. I can't recall exactly what it was like, but she was breathing a lot heavier than normal. It sounded like a snore almost. So at that point, we thought, okay, she's breathing normally now. So we didn't really pay attention to it.

Leying said that after Ashley started snoring, after getting her head bashed into the ground, they left her alone, assuming she was fine, and she continued to snore on the ground for two to three minutes. But after that, the snoring stopped. Liying said that she didn't look like she was breathing anymore, so he picked her up. But something didn't feel right. Liang then checked her pulse and couldn't find a heartbeat. He would later say, quote, I started panicking.

I tried to do CPR on her to get her to breathe. I did mouth to mouth and gave her chest compressions. I don't remember how long I did that for. It was a long time, maybe 15 minutes or half an hour or something like that. And that's when we realized she was gone." Liyang told investigators that he wished he had noticed she wasn't breathing sooner, saying, when she stopped doing that snore sound, if her heart stopped beating at that time, maybe I could have done compressions then.

I don't know. I know that I didn't start directly after she died. When she stopped doing that snoring sound, I thought she was breathing normally. At no point did Liang or Ming Ming think to dial 911 as their five-year-old daughter fought her life. After about 20 minutes of chest compressions, Liang said that Ashley did start to breathe a little again, but it's here where she started to vomit. Liang described it as a green colored bile that got all over her clothes. So he and Ming Ming quickly took her into the restroom and placed her into the bathtub where they washed her off. After she was cleaned up, her parents

took her back into the living room. Yang said that her eyes were open at this point, but they were rolling around inside of her head. Then, after a few minutes, she stopped breathing again, and it's here where Ashley finally succumbed to her injuries. But Ming Ming didn't shed any tears for her deceased daughter. Instead, she looked at her husband and said, Take care of it. During Liang's interrogation, the detectives asked him why he didn't call 911. He claimed that initially he told his wife to go pick up their daughter from school while he called for help. Liang planned on telling investigators that Ashley died in an accident. Maybe she fell and hit her head or something. In that way his wife, who was in the

U.S. illegally, wouldn't get in trouble. But together they decided against it. They knew that if they called the police, they would lose their other daughter, their restaurant, and Ming Ming would probably get deported back to China. Liang said, both of us were afraid of what was going to happen. We were afraid of what would happen to our daughter, what would happen to our family, the restaurant, the house, everything, everything in our lives that we worked so hard for for the past six years. It's just going to be gone.

So instead of calling for help, they came up with a plan. Liang and Ming Ming decided that they were going to dispose of her body and then report her missing, make it look like Ashley wandered out of the restaurant and was maybe kidnapped. Now, they didn't have all of the details figured out just yet. But one thing they did know was that if they didn't get to work and act as if everything was normal, it would raise some red flags. So with that, Ming Ming dressed Ashley's body in gray leggings, and a purple coat.

She then put her in her car seat, and from there they made their way to Ang's Asian cuisine. They arrived at the restaurant at around 10 a.m., carrying Ashley's dead body through the front doors. Liang would later admit that he was

a little nervous because there were some construction workers working on the roof of the restaurant. And the workers definitely saw them carry Ashley inside. But to them, she just looked like a little five-year-old taking a nap on her dad's shoulder. Once inside of the restaurant, they then placed Ashley on a cot in the back room.

Now, the reason they brought her to work is because they wanted to establish an alibi. And sadly, they would do this using their oldest daughter. In their minds, they would pick Jojo up from school and bring her to the restaurant, where she would see her little sister on the cot and think she was napping. Then from there they would dispose of Ashley's body and make it seem like she wandered out the back door. But Jojo seeing Ashley was a very important part of their plan. That way, if the police questioned 6-year-old Jojo,

she could verify that Ashley had been at the restaurant that day. And that's exactly how it played out. Liang and Ming Ming placed Ashley's body on the cot at around 10 a.m. And from there, they began preparing for the day's work. They turned on their open sign, thought out the food for the day, and began cooking Chinese cuisine for their loyal customers. For hours, people came in and ate food, completely unaware that a five-year-old's dead body was just feet away from them,

and the hands that were making their food were the same ones that had just murdered a child. Eventually, Liang would pick Jojo up from school and just like they had planned, she came back to the restaurant and saw her sister taking a nap. So now they had their alibi. But before they could make their next move, the clock hit 4 p.m. rush hour.

The orders began pouring in that day. as hungry people around Canton got off work. Liang and Ming Ming had to clear their minds, put on a smile, and serve their food, trying their very best to act normal. But once the restaurant was empty, and they had a second to breathe, they began discussing what they would do with Ashley's body.

Ming Ming suggested that they set her on fire somewhere, burning her remains. She also talked about Bishley's. barring her in a remote location, or even throwing her body into the ocean. But all of those options would take a lot of time and effort, and they were losing daylight. If they wanted to stick to the story that Ashley wandered out the back door while they were busy with customers, they needed to report her missing as soon as possible. So that's when Liang came up with an idea.

Within the walls of their restaurant, there was an opening above the walk-in freezer. They also decided that the best way for them to hide her would be to put Ashley in a salt container and tuck it in the wall above the freezer. They believed that the salt would help with the smell and the location above the freezer would slow down decomposition. They knew it wouldn't be a permanent fix, but it would buy them some time until they were ready to dispose of her. So with that, at around 7 p.m., Liang and Ming-ming pick up Ashley's body off the cot

and they shove her inside of the salt-filled container. By then, Ashley had been dead for more than nine hours, meaning her body would have been cold and stiff. It couldn't have been easy shoving her inside and they likely had to use a lot of force. But once she was secured, They closed the lid, put her into the wall of the restaurant, and at 8.45 p.m., they called 911 to report her missing.

Before the police arrived, Leang admitted that they secretly coached their oldest daughter on what to say when investigators asked her questions. They said things like, Remember seeing Ashley asleep in the back room when you got home from school? Jojo responded, Yeah, I remember, she was sleeping. They also said things like, we heard a sound come from the back room earlier.

It sounded like someone went out the back door. You heard that too, right, Jojo? Being six years old, Jojo went along with what her parents said, and she would later tell the investigators the same thing, completely unaware that she was helping her parents lie. Leang would later say, quote, Jojo is not a liar, but she's six years old, and when you lean her towards something,

that's where she's going to go." End quote. The Yang was very forthcoming during his confession. He even talked with investigators about all of the ways he planned on disposing of Ashley and his reservations, saying, Let's say that I went through with this and didn't get caught. I'm going to be looking over my shoulder for, I don't know how long, but it's a dead body, you know. If you put it in the ocean, the tides could wash it back.

someone could find it. If you burn it, there's a chance someone will see you because there's going to be a big flame. You know, we thought about all of this, and we weren't really too sure about what to do after that. Liang and Ming Ming figured that their plan was the best option. However, it wouldn't be long until it all came crashing down. The couple underestimated how much hard work goes into finding missing children. They truly thought that they would get away with this. They thought that investigators would believed their lie, search for their daughter, and when she wasn't found, they would give up. Then, once the heat died down, they would get rid of her body and move on with their lives.

Leying would later admit, quote, we didn't expect this. We didn't know the procedures or what exactly was going on. I didn't know I was going to come down here for a polygraph or be asked so many questions. I didn't know there was going to be so many people involved. If we had known that there were going to be 100 people searching for her, I don't even know. I'm so sorry. Sadly, Liang and Ming had such little respect for their daughter. They expected everyone else to feel the same. But the investigators working the case weren't going to give up on Ashley, like her parents did. And soon enough the truth would come to light. As the details of Ashley's murderer were revealed, Leang continued to defend his wife's character, repeatedly telling the detectives, my wife is not a bad person. He also talked about

how the first six years of Jojo's life were great. They never had any problems with Jojo, and his wife never once laid hands on her. Leang said that he wouldn't have married Ming-ming if she was physically abusive. And she wasn't, not until Ashley came back into their lives. Leang said that throughout Ashley's short time living with them, it was concerning seeing the way his wife treated their youngest daughter. Ming Ming would punch Ashley, kick her, twist her arm, leave bruises.

It was so bad sometimes, he even said he tried to step in and get Ming Ming to stop. But she never would. Leang also admitted that they never took Ashley to the doctor because her little body was constantly covered in bruises. Meanwhile, six-year-old Jojo was left alone, untouched, and unharmed. But again, throughout the confession, the Yang continued to defend his wife, saying that she was stressed with work, and that having a five-year-old that wasn't potty trained was pushing her to violence. Ming Ming was also known to call her mother in China anytime she was upset with Ashley, and she would say things like, I can't do this anymore, you have to take her from me.

It was obvious to everyone that Ming Ming truly didn't like Ashley. In her eyes, the little girl could do nothing right. Liang even admitted, I told myself and my wife, we knew something like this would happen eventually if Ashley wasn't sent away. The plan was to send her with my wife's mom in China. I was just hoping that it wouldn't come to this before we sent her away. And that part was just so infuriating to hear. Liang admitted that he knew his wife would eventually kill Ashley.

which is why they were trying to find her a new home. If only they would have, Liang also said that he never reported the abuse because he didn't want to lose his other daughter, their restaurant, and he didn't want his wife getting deported. But all of those fears that he just mentioned were his new reality. The Zal family was about to lose everything. Now towards the end of Liang's confession,

he expressed concern about his surviving daughter. daughter Jojo. He wanted to know what was going to happen to her now that her parents were going to jail. And interestingly enough, he told detectives that he didn't want his mother raising her. In fact, he said he would rather Jojo be put in foster care than to be raised by his mother in New York. But with that, Liang Zal was arrested for his daughter's murder. Now, from Leang's confession, he was very honest with investigators and it was a obvious that he was remorseful about what happened, but Ming Ming was a different story. The 30-year-old mother sat in a different interrogation room, and when detectives questioned her,

she was very cold and matter of fact. Ming Ming told the detective that Ashley wasn't a normal child, and everything she did was bad, including saying bad words, fighting with her older sister, and telling her parents she didn't want to live with them. Now, I did kind of edit this next next. part because English is not Ming Ming's first language. So it is kind of difficult to hear. But she told the detectives, quote, Ashley isn't like a normal girl. She does everything bad. She fights with my daughter. She says a lot of bad words. You know why? Because she wants to leave. She doesn't want to stay with us. I'm telling you the truth, sir. Now me and my husband have the

restaurant and the house, and it's all because of me and my husband's hard work. No one else. When Ash was almost four, or maybe three, his parents wanted to take Ashley to China. Do you know what she said? She said a lot of bad words. Do you know why she does that? Because she doesn't like me, because I don't have a green card. Now, I guarantee you Ashley didn't dislike her mom because she didn't have a green card. And she probably loved her mom. If she did act out in any way, it's probably because Ashley was facing unimaginable abuse at the hands of her mom, something she never deserved. When detectives asked Ming Ming what happened on the morning of the murder, she responded with no emotion, saying, quote, I killed her. Now, there is audio of both Ming-ming

and Liying's confession, but Liying's was so difficult to hear, so that's why we didn't include it. But Ming Ming's confession was a bit more clear. So here are portions of what she had to say. What happened next? How did she die? I'll kill her.

You killed her? Yeah. How did she die? Just kill her and then she died. Did you hit her? Yeah. How'd she hit her? How?

Yeah. Yeah. And to do that. The detective in the room is shocked by her lack of emotion. When asked why she doesn't seem sad about Ashley's death, Ming Ming responds saying, quote, I don't have any tears left. No, that you're not crying.

You said I don't have nothing left. Is that what you told me? You don't have no tears left. You don't have nothing left. Ming Ming, your daughter's dead. Ming Ming told the detectives that after she said, murdered Ashley, quote, I told my husband to take care of it. End quote.

And from there, he helped her cover up the crime. When asked exactly why she murdered Ashley, Ming Ming said, quote, I need to take care of everything from the restaurant. I only have two hands. I'm not a four hands kind of girl. I have two hands. I didn't want to do that to Ashley, but you can't control yourself sometimes. end quote.

So slowly but surely, investigators were getting a grasp of the Zal family dynamic. And sadly, Ashley Zow lived a hellish existence at the hands of her mother, a mother who loved and cared for her oldest daughter, but couldn't stand her youngest.

After Liying and Ming's confession, both were arrested for Ashley's murder. They also faced charges of endangering children, tampering with evidence, obstructing justice, and abuse of a corpse. If convicted, both faced 30 years to life in prison. Liang and Ming Ming were held at the Stark County Jail on a $5 million bond because they were both considered a flight risk.

Their oldest daughter, Jojo Zao, was taken into the custody of the county child welfare agency as Liang refused to have her live with family members. But as the news spread throughout North Canton, Ohio, local residents were horrified of the details of Ashley's death. On January 11, 2017, a vigil organized by the Unforgivans, a North Canton group that supports children with disabilities and autism, drew hundreds of people to the restaurant. One member of the group, a man named Patrick Jacobs, said, we felt something needed to be said. What happens to children is unforgivable. That's why we're called unforgiven. Multiple people in attendance brought balloons, flowers, and stuffed animals to honor and remember Ashley's au. Business owners in the area were stunned as they told local reporters that they never saw any type of abuse

and Ashley was smart, sweet, and full of energy. A woman named Antonet Gianotti, who knew and interacted with the family, showed up with a coloring book and crayons, saying, she was simply adorable, so cute. You'd see her coloring, so I brought her a coloring book and crayons. In March of 2017, both Liying and Ming Ming were indicted on all charges by a county grand jury. Stark County prosecutor John Ferreiro made a statement that read, quote, "'Any time you have a child victim, everyone takes it very personally, as well as the whole community, not just my office. We saw the outpouring from the community when the child was reported missing.

It's something like that that strikes a note. nerve because it's a child." End quote. The indictment stated, quote, Chen and Zhao, either acting as the principal offender or aiding and abetting another, did abuse Ashley Zhao. Chen and Zhao caused the death of the child as approximate result of committing or attempting to commit endangering children. Chen and Zhao treated a human corpse in a way that would outrage reasonable community

sensibilities." This case truly was heartbreaking all around. And to add insult to injury, Ashley wasn't even given a funeral. After her autopsy, her body was cremated and sent to her family members in New York. As for her sister Jojo, Liang's parents requested custody of her, but she remained in the custody of family services. According to the Canton Repository, allowing Liang's family members to gain custody. would take months, as there are often extensive interviews, background checks, and home evaluations

that need to be completed. In June of 2017, Ming's attorney, Richard Drucker, requested a psychiatric evaluation of his client. According to news reports, Drucker hoped to gain a not guilty by reason of insanity plea. After speaking with a mental health professional, Ming Ming reported, she was a battered woman as she was subject to physical and psychological abuse by her husband. and that she suffered from anxiety, depression, and panic attacks. The defense further added that the psychologist found,

Chen fulfills many of the criteria of battered woman syndrome, including depression, fear slash terror, hypervigilance, and impaired functioning. Ultimately, the prosecution claimed that the psychologist made no conclusion or finding regarding the defendant's status as a battered woman. However, the clinical psychologist recommended that her statement made to police be considered in the context of her dependence on her husband, her fear of him, her low self-esteem, and her sense of helplessness. According to court documents, Ming Ming asked to speak to her husband on numerous occasions

during her interrogation. She also told the psychologist that she did not want to hurt her husband by saying what really happened, that Liang caused her death. She stated that her husband told her to tell police that she hurt Ashley. In a court filing, the defense stated that Ming Ming's husband explained that if she confessed that he would be able to get out of jail and take care of their surviving daughter. Or he warned that her surviving daughter would be placed with other people if she didn't confess. Ultimately, the prosecution suggested that Judge Krissa Harnet prevent the term

battered woman or battered woman syndrome be brought up during her trial. On September 11, 2017, Ashley's father, Liang Zao, accepted a plea agreement in exchange for testifying against his wife in court. Due to his brutal honesty during his interrogation, the charge of murder was dropped, and he pled guilty to obstructing justice, gross abuse of a corpse, tampering with evidence,

and two counts of endangering children. Liang was sentenced to just 12 years in prison. During his sentencing, Leying addressed the county common pleas court and said, It goes without saying that I wish the situation was different, Not because I'm going to prison, but because my daughter is gone. And no one's going to remember her. No one but the people in my family.

I don't want to be rude, but none of you remember her. None of you. End quote. On October 12, 2017, Ming Ming Chen entered a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity. However, things later shifted on December 29, 2017, when she pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter, two counts of endangering children, tampering with evidence, obstruction of justice, and gross abuse of a corpse.

Here is what the judge had to say during her trial. Because you are not a U.S. citizen, I am required to advise you that if you are not a citizen of the United States, you are hereby advised that conviction of the offenses to which you are pleading guilty. may have the consequences of deportation, exclusion from admission to the United States, or denial of naturalization pursuant to the laws of the United States. Ultimately, Ming Ming was sentenced to 22 years in prison and would be deported back to China once her sentence is complete.

Her attorney, Richard Drucker, addressed the court and said, quote, She is very saddened by the loss of her child and asks for everybody's forgiveness, end quote. Stark County common pleas judge Krissa Harnett told Ming-ming that children rely on their parents to take care of them and provide them with love, safety, and protection. She added, in this case, I can't imagine the horror for your child, Ashley. Judge Harnett also said that although 22 years was not long enough, the guilty plea avoided a lengthy trial, which would expose their oldest child, Jojo,

to the sheer brutality of her sister's murder. She wanted Jojo to be able to live her life with the wonderful memories of her sister and not be subjected to the details surrounding her death. As she addressed Ming Ming, she also told her that Jojo was better off without having Ming as her mother. In conclusion,

Stark County Assistant Prosecutor, editor Dennis Barr added, this was a tragic case, but part of the reason we did this was we know she'll be in prison long enough that when she gets out, Jojo, her other daughter, will be a grown adult and able to protect herself. Today, Liang Zao is housed at the London Correctional Institution in Ohio. His expected release date is listed as August 16, 2028. His wife, Ming-Ming Chen, is serving her sentence at the Dayton Correctional Institution. and is expected to be released on July 31, 2038. Upon completion of her sentence, she is expected to be deported back to China.

Her defense attorney Richard Drucker later said, quote, I don't think she's a monster. I think she's a woman that made very poor choices in her life at the time. However, many people disagree. People around Ohio that know the case do think that Ming Ming Chen is a monster. and that she's getting what she deserves. After the brutal murder of Ashley Zhao, Ang's Asian cuisine permanently closed its doors.

And a few months later, many of the other businesses at the Gander Mountain Plaza would follow suit, leaving the location nearly abandoned. I guess it's hard to carry on with business there, knowing the horrors that were within those walls. And today, when citizens of Canton, drive by the plaza, they think about the five-year-old little girl whose life was taken far too soon by the people who were supposed to protect her. Good hair days do more than we give them credit

for. When your hair feels healthy, you show up differently. You feel more confident, more relaxed, and you're not constantly checking the mirror. Nutraful supports hair health from within and delivers results over time, so your hair becomes something you enjoy, not something you stress about. Nutraful is the number one dermatologist recommended hair growth supplement brand, and it's the number one hair growth supplement brand personally used by dermatologists. And Nutriful's hair growth supplements are peer-reviewed, NSF certified for sport, and clinically tested. It's obviously not a one-size-fits-all approach, and Nutraful offers multiple formulas for men and women, tailored to different life stages, like postpartum or menopause, and lifestyle factors, such as a plant-based diet, so you get support for your hair that's actually right for you. And adding Nutraful to your daily routine is easy. You can order online with no prescription needed,

with automated deliveries and free shipping to keep you on track. Plus, with a Nutraful subscription, you can save up to 20% and get added perks like a free Headspace membership to support your hair health journey. I know Courtney and I both have been using Nutraful shampoo and conditioner for years now, and we've been using their supplements for months. We figured at one point why not try their supplements because we love their shampoo and conditioner so much,

and yeah, it's one of those never looking, back situations, but you can let your hair become one less thing taking up space in your head and see thicker, stronger, faster growing hair with less shedding in just three to six months with Nutraful. For a limited time, Nutraful is offering our listeners $10 off your first month's subscription and free shipping when you visit Nutraful.com and enter promo code M-I-A. That's Nutraful.com spelled N-U-T-R-A-F-O-L dot com promo code M-I-A. Growing up, my mom was always the best at handling sticky, stressful situations. I mean, we have so many crazy family memories, so many things that stick out to me, so many trips that we took and just funny moments.

I mean, I remember specifically one just crazy time when we had jet skis and we took them out. We had rented them for the day and we took them out on this lake. And somehow something got on the engine of the jet ski. Mine stalled. My dad stalled. And my mom and sister had to come rescue us because we floated to shore on the other. side of the lake. We've got some hilarious pictures from that day. But it's just one of those memories that I don't want to let die. And aura frames can help keep those moments alive. So basically an aura frame is like a virtual frame that can display photos and videos from anywhere. You can

upload to the frame. You can share in new photos. You can constantly change the library. And it's really a perfect gift for a family member because you can personalize it at any time. And the Our frame is the perfect Mother's Day gift to capture the chaos that you might have put your own mom through and the memories that came with it. With free unlimited storage, you can add as many photos and videos to your aura frame as you want. And something that I love is that you can actually preload the aura frame with photos before it ships. And you can keep adding to it from anywhere at any time. Each aura frame also comes packaged in a premium gift box with no price tag,

so it's great if you're giving it as a gift. And actually, ORAFraM's run off a top-rated app. In fact, the app reached number one on the app store on Christmas Day, 2025. So make Mother's Day special with ORAFraM's. Named number one by Wirecutter, you can save on the gifts mom's love by visiting AuraFrames.com. For a limited time, listeners can get $25 off their best-selling Carver Matt Frame with code M-I-A. That's A-U-R-A-Frames.com promo code M-I-A.

Support the show by mentioning us at checkout, terms and conditions, apply. Hey everybody, it's Colin here. Thank you for listening to today's brand new episode of Murder in America. Our family is growing so much bigger online every single week. We appreciate every single person that's out there listening to the show. Thank you, thank you, thank you from the bottom of Courtney and I's hearts. And I want to give a shout out to some of our new patrons this week. Paula Saidi, Ryan Nack, Arianna, Raul Medina Jr., Marion Vegas, Calvin Neal, Megan Wilcoxon, Vicki O'Neill, Ashley Gladfelter, Jadelin, Avery Traumer, Matthew Luchin, Wendy Brown, Amber Clark, Haley, Jacob Geiman, and Will Parsons. Oh my God, we have so many patrons.

Every single week, our family on Patreon grows bigger and bigger. So, if you like Murder in America, you want bonus episodes of the show. You can't get enough. Head to patreon.com. For $5 a month, you get access to every episode of the show early and ad-free before it drops on the main feed. for $10 a month you get that plus two full length bonus episodes of Murder in America

and then for $20 a month you get a bonus episode every single week of the month plus early and ad free access to every episode of the show so if you love what we're doing here that is a great way to help support Courtney and I also be sure to follow us on Instagram

at Murder in America to see photos from every case that we cover and just recently I Colin released a documentary that I filmed in Delphi Indiana about the Delphi murders and some new evidence that's come out so if you'd like to go check that out you can watch it for free on youtube just head to my youtube channel the paranormal files the link is in the description of the podcast but anyways we will catch you all next week we appreciate and love you all so much

and i'll see you next time