A brand new trial date has been set for a person accused of killing a former skilled poker participant whose burnt stays have been present in a state leisure space in White Lake Township in 2020.
In Oakland County and elsewhere, trials have been placed on maintain resulting from restrictions imposed by reported COVID-19 an infection charges. Amongst them is the case towards Jeffery Morris, 61, charged with felony homicide and first-degree premeditated homicide for the dying of Susie “Susie Q” Zhao, 30. Felony homicide is homicide in the course of the fee of one other felony. On this case, the prosecution alleges Morris is linked to a sexual assault Zhao suffered earlier than her dying.
At a court docket listening to Thursday, Oakland County Circuit Decide Martha Anderson scheduled trial to start Sept. 26. The trial had been rescheduled a couple of instances earlier than resulting from COVID-19 restrictions on the courthouse. And extra not too long ago, it was scheduled for this June — however the decide agreed to a later date on request of protection lawyer Michael McCarthy.
McCarthy, court-appointed to symbolize Morris, instructed the decide he’s had the case for simply two months resulting from former court-appointed lawyer Pamela Johnson being dismissed as a result of she was going into non-public observe.
“My predecessor had the case for effectively over a yr,” McCarthy stated, in asking for a later date. McCarthy additionally stated Morris has raised “investigative points…that apparently weren’t raised earlier than” in addition to different causes a delay was warranted to provide him extra time to arrange.
Assistant prosecutor Marc Keast had no objection to the brand new date.
Zhao’s slaying was decided to be significantly brutal, primarily based on post-mortem outcomes. Throughout a 2020 preliminary examination, Andrew Hanosh, MD, deputy health worker for Oakland County, testified that Zhao had been sexually assaulted and had intensive injury to her genital space. He additionally stated a minimum of 90 % of Zhao’s physique was burned, and that she was alive when set on fireplace as indicated by soot in her airway and different findings.
Morris, described by police as a homeless transient with an in depth felony file, was arrested July 31, 2020, 18 days after two passersby got here throughout Zhao’s stays in a DNR parking space. Morris’ previous run-ins with the legislation embrace a 1989 conviction for rape in Pontiac.
As knowledgeable poker participant, Zhao had runs on The World Collection of Poker Predominant Occasions. She had reside earnings of $224,671, based on Herndon Mob, a poker database.
Zhao’s Fb web page acknowledged that she attended Bloomfield Hills’ Cranbrook Kingswood College and went on to check psychology at Northwestern College. It additionally acknowledged that she lived in Los Angeles and was initially from Beijing, China.
Police stated she moved again to Oakland County not lengthy earlier than her dying. She divided her time between her dad and mom’ dwelling in Waterford and the Sherwood Motel in Waterford, the place she and Morris had been collectively earlier than she was killed, police stated.
Sherwood is held within the Oakland County Jail, denied bond.