Latest / Crime Stories with Nancy Grace / Little Ashley Zhao Found Dead In Chinese Restaurant

Transcript

Little Ashley Zhao Found Dead In Chinese Restaurant · Crime Stories with Nancy Grace

• 0:07
  Speaker 1: Family and concerned residents were outside of A's Asian Cuisine
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: where Ashley Jaw was reported missing, hoping to lend a
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: hand in the search for the young girl. We have
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: the family. We need to help, right, We need to
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: we need to help to find the baby. This is
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Local shops were spreading the word,
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: putting up missing signs to alert customers. Ashley would always
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: say hello to me when I was going in and
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: out sometimes and stuff. So yeah, it's just they're they're
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: very nice, fool for hours law enforcement in the community.
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: We're searching around the area where five year old Ashley
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: was last seen. The whole family. Try for you canner,
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: which is my nephew reaching. The body of a five
• 0:51
  Speaker 1: year old girl who had been missing since the last
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: night has been found. A beautiful five year old little
• 0:59
  Speaker 1: girl is dead, her body hidden in a Chinese restaurant.
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: Just let that soak in for a moment. A five
• 1:09
  Speaker 1: year old little girl is dead and her body has
• 1:14
  Speaker 1: been found concealed hidden in a local Chinese restaurant. For
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: this case, we traveled to Jackson Township in Ohio, where
• 1:24
  Speaker 1: a five year old little girl, Ashley, went missing, After
• 1:30
  Speaker 1: a quick search by her parents, the mother calls her
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: in as a missing child to the local police and
• 1:37
  Speaker 1: that starts a desperate search for five year old Ashley.
• 1:42
  Speaker 1: At first, police are working under the theory the little
• 1:45
  Speaker 1: girl had simply wandered away, but it was believed it
• 1:50
  Speaker 1: was believed to have occurred around four thirty on a
• 1:53
  Speaker 1: Monday afternoon there in Jackson Township when they thought the
• 1:57
  Speaker 1: girl had wandered away. The desperate search in suit, including
• 2:01
  Speaker 1: bringing in police canines to find the girl. Was that
• 2:06
  Speaker 1: how she was ultimately discovered her body concealed in a restaurant.
• 2:12
  Speaker 1: What we do know is that it was Tuesday before
• 2:17
  Speaker 1: her body was found. This five year old child's dead
• 2:21
  Speaker 1: body lay hidden in a Chinese restaurant for at least
• 2:26
  Speaker 1: twenty four hours before she was found. Now, according to
• 2:31
  Speaker 1: a press release from Jackson Township Police, it was determined
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: that little Ashley z Out was found dead concealed inside
• 2:39
  Speaker 1: the building on Tuesday. We now believe we know who
• 2:45
  Speaker 1: police consider as the prime suspects. With me as investigative
• 2:49
  Speaker 1: reporter Alan Duke. Alan, have you seen the picture of
• 2:54
  Speaker 1: little Ashley. She looks like a doll, She looks she
• 2:58
  Speaker 1: is so perfect. She looks like a doll that you
• 3:03
  Speaker 1: would buy at the store. Her her little hair is
• 3:07
  Speaker 1: so perfect and silky and framing her little face. She's
• 3:12
  Speaker 1: got beautiful brown eyes that stare out from under her bangs.
• 3:16
  Speaker 1: Her mother frantic when she calls police bring in the
• 3:22
  Speaker 1: FBI in the Ohio b c I to investigate the
• 3:27
  Speaker 1: disappearance and death. As of right now, I don't know
• 3:31
  Speaker 1: exactly where in the Chinese restaurant she was found, but
• 3:37
  Speaker 1: I know it was Angs Asian restaurant, Angs Asian Cuisine.
• 3:44
  Speaker 1: How how can you be at a restaurant and not
• 3:47
  Speaker 1: know there's a dead body in there when you look
• 3:49
  Speaker 1: at it from the outside, Alan, it's very small. How
• 3:52
  Speaker 1: where are you going to hide a body in this
• 3:54
  Speaker 1: little restaurant? I just don't understand how you hide a
• 3:57
  Speaker 1: body in a Chinese restaurant and it's air for twenty
• 4:00
  Speaker 1: four hours and nobody owners, employees, bus boys, and patrons
• 4:07
  Speaker 1: don't know there's a dead body there. I mean, how
• 4:10
  Speaker 1: many people did they serve that day with a dead
• 4:13
  Speaker 1: five year old child hidden there? I don't think it
• 4:15
  Speaker 1: would be possible to hide the body away from uh
• 4:19
  Speaker 1: the employees or the owners. Well, they did the body
• 4:23
  Speaker 1: was hidden. She went missing in Monday on Monday and
• 4:26
  Speaker 1: the body was not found until the next day, Tuesday.
• 4:31
  Speaker 1: We are talking about five year old Ashley after a
• 4:36
  Speaker 1: desperate search was launched for her on Tuesday in an
• 4:38
  Speaker 1: effort to find her. Police now say the child was
• 4:43
  Speaker 1: concealed hidden inside Angs Asian cuisine restaurant. Now, this is
• 4:50
  Speaker 1: what we believe happened. We believe now the people responsible
• 4:56
  Speaker 1: are in fact the mother, Ming Ming Chin. Now reports
• 5:01
  Speaker 1: are that she punched the five year old repeatedly bludgeoning her,
• 5:06
  Speaker 1: beating her particularly in the head and face. The child
• 5:10
  Speaker 1: falls to the ground. When the father discovers her, she's
• 5:15
  Speaker 1: lying down with a green liquid coming from her mouth.
• 5:19
  Speaker 1: He tries to clean her face to wash off the liquid,
• 5:22
  Speaker 1: and it's then he realizes she's not breathing. He performs
• 5:27
  Speaker 1: CPR and cannot revive her. But think about it, Alan,
• 5:30
  Speaker 1: even if that is true, he had to go along
• 5:33
  Speaker 1: with the cover up. It will be argued at trial.
• 5:37
  Speaker 1: I mean police were called. He stood by when they
• 5:39
  Speaker 1: seeing canines to search for her. They're turning everything up
• 5:43
  Speaker 1: upside down trying to find the little girl. What is
• 5:45
  Speaker 1: he doing twiddling his thumbs. So if he helped, is
• 5:49
  Speaker 1: he just as liable as she for the death or
• 5:52
  Speaker 1: is in a much lesser crime. Well, if it's true
• 5:54
  Speaker 1: that he found her body, then he's going to be
• 5:57
  Speaker 1: in for obstruction and justice and conspira see of a
• 6:01
  Speaker 1: felony nature to hide a body and obstruct police. But
• 6:05
  Speaker 1: the mother, you know, people say, why why would she
• 6:10
  Speaker 1: do it? I've never seen a single child murder Alan
• 6:14
  Speaker 1: where there was a quote motive like revenge or you
• 6:18
  Speaker 1: did it for money. It's just so Usually somebody gets
• 6:21
  Speaker 1: mad and kills the child. That's not a motive. That's
• 6:24
  Speaker 1: I got mad and did it. That's not a defense.
• 6:27
  Speaker 1: I'm speechless to hear the hear this as as grandfather,
• 6:31
  Speaker 1: I just cannot imagine. You know, you and I have
• 6:33
  Speaker 1: covered some pretty pretty nasty ones, but this one. Hiding
• 6:38
  Speaker 1: it in a restaurant where you're serving food. Think about it, Alan,
• 6:41
  Speaker 1: Think about it. They calling dogs to scour the wooded
• 6:45
  Speaker 1: area behind the restaurant, Volunteers, locals, police all helping with
• 6:51
  Speaker 1: the search to find this girl. What were the mom
• 6:53
  Speaker 1: and dad doing serving customers? What were they doing while
• 6:57
  Speaker 1: everybody else is looking for their child? And they've got
• 6:59
  Speaker 1: the child hidden in the restaurant, a statewide endangered child
• 7:03
  Speaker 1: advisory had been issued. Everybody's looking for the child. How
• 7:08
  Speaker 1: would they imagine that they would keep that child concealed
• 7:10
  Speaker 1: even long? Awful another thing, In a way, it reminds
• 7:13
  Speaker 1: me of John Benet. You're looking for the child and
• 7:18
  Speaker 1: she's right there under your nose the whole time. The
• 7:20
  Speaker 1: whole time she was right under their noses. But why
• 7:23
  Speaker 1: would police have a reason to disbelieve the mother who called?
• 7:25
  Speaker 1: She called nine one one. I'd like to hear that
• 7:28
  Speaker 1: this ends in a lightly like voluntary manslaughter, ten years
• 7:33
  Speaker 1: to serve. She'll be out in three years. Once again,
• 7:36
  Speaker 1: a child's life is going to count for less in
• 7:40
  Speaker 1: a court of law than an adult, like somehow because
• 7:43
  Speaker 1: they're a child, they have because they're shorter and way less,
• 7:46
  Speaker 1: they have less feelings and endured less pain when they
• 7:49
  Speaker 1: were murdered. I mean, this child was beaten dead with
• 7:52
  Speaker 1: green liquid coming out of her mouth. I mean, I
• 7:54
  Speaker 1: think this should be a death penalty case myself, and
• 7:57
  Speaker 1: I don't want to get all crazy about death penalty good,
• 8:00
  Speaker 1: death penalty bad. But if you're gonna have the death penalty,
• 8:04
  Speaker 1: then you beat a child dead and stick her body
• 8:07
  Speaker 1: in your Chinese restaurant. Uh, you need the death penalty.
• 8:12
  Speaker 1: If we're gonna have the death penalty, then this is
• 8:15
  Speaker 1: the case for it. That's what I would argue. Weigh
• 8:18
  Speaker 1: well the local authorities. The prosecutor obviously is is like
• 8:23
  Speaker 1: minded with you asking for five million dollars in bond
• 8:26
  Speaker 1: for both the mom and the dad. They're not getting
• 8:29
  Speaker 1: out on bond. I can tell you that people want
• 8:31
  Speaker 1: to get out on bond to either skip town or
• 8:35
  Speaker 1: to be able to work on their defense. Now, two
• 8:37
  Speaker 1: thousand and sixteen was the second year without any executions
• 8:41
  Speaker 1: in Ohio. That doesn't mean the death penalty does not
• 8:45
  Speaker 1: exist in Ohio. There is capital punishment in Ohio. Almost
• 8:51
  Speaker 1: everywhere in the country. It's by the needle, death by needle,
• 8:54
  Speaker 1: lethal injection. So there are aggravated circumstances that call for
• 8:59
  Speaker 1: the death penalty. One, if it's a public figure like
• 9:03
  Speaker 1: the president or a cop. If it was murder for hire,
• 9:07
  Speaker 1: if it was to obstruct police and detection, if the
• 9:12
  Speaker 1: offender was already in jail or in detention like you
• 9:16
  Speaker 1: commit a murder behind bars, If the part already had
• 9:20
  Speaker 1: previous offenses essential to the killing if m let me
• 9:25
  Speaker 1: think right here, what else if it's during an aggravated robbery, burglary, rape,
• 9:30
  Speaker 1: or arson, you know, like a felony murder, that would count.
• 9:34
  Speaker 1: You could do that here. This could be an aggravating circumstance, Allen,
• 9:38
  Speaker 1: because if this child was beaten during the commission of
• 9:43
  Speaker 1: the crime, that could be an aggravated murder. That might
• 9:46
  Speaker 1: work also in that jurisdiction. If the victim is under
• 9:50
  Speaker 1: thirteen years of age, that's a qualifier for the death
• 9:53
  Speaker 1: penalty in Ohio. So it meets an aggravating circumstance. And
• 9:58
  Speaker 1: I don't want the prosecution to crap out on this.
• 10:02
  Speaker 1: They need at the at the least a life sentence
• 10:05
  Speaker 1: without parole. But it's very unlikely, really, isn't it, Nancy,
• 10:09
  Speaker 1: that they're going to seek the death penalty in this case.
• 10:12
  Speaker 1: I mean, this is a case of parents perhaps getting
• 10:16
  Speaker 1: very very angry at a child, but not premeditated, did
• 10:19
  Speaker 1: not intend to kill the child. Premeditated, Not premeditated. Wait
• 10:22
  Speaker 1: a minute, Premeditation under the law can be developed in
• 10:27
  Speaker 1: the twinkling of a nye. The time it takes you
• 10:29
  Speaker 1: to raise a gun and pull a trigger. It does
• 10:31
  Speaker 1: not require a long thought out plan such as poisoning
• 10:34
  Speaker 1: over a period of time or hiring a hit man. Okay,
• 10:38
  Speaker 1: the eye got mad and beat my child dead is
• 10:41
  Speaker 1: not a defense, and it does not reduce this from
• 10:45
  Speaker 1: murder to voluntary I'm on this and I'm watching. I
• 10:49
  Speaker 1: am watching these prosecutors. Now, I'm not screaming this has
• 10:53
  Speaker 1: to be the death penalty. But what I am saying
• 10:55
  Speaker 1: is this is a murder, and that mother needs to
• 10:59
  Speaker 1: pay the only day for murder with at least life
• 11:02
  Speaker 1: behind bars. At least Why is this child's life worth
• 11:07
  Speaker 1: less than somebody else's. It's not you know, you just
• 11:11
  Speaker 1: rubbed me the wrong way, Alan, you did. I was
• 11:14
  Speaker 1: just asking a question, Nancy, Yeah, you were just asking
• 11:17
  Speaker 1: any question. I was just just saying, I'm a parent,
• 11:21
  Speaker 1: I'm a grandparent, and parents can try you, and you
• 11:25
  Speaker 1: really have to remember your own strength and be very
• 11:30
  Speaker 1: careful with these these general creatures. All that was before
• 11:33
  Speaker 1: the advent of the iPad. Now the I you got
• 11:36
  Speaker 1: the iPad, you got the power. Now whenever my children
• 11:40
  Speaker 1: are naughty, I'm going to take your iPad. They immediately
• 11:44
  Speaker 1: fall in step. I mean, it's just like I can't
• 11:46
  Speaker 1: believe it. It's worse than time out and I was
• 11:49
  Speaker 1: against it. I was against Santa when he brought them
• 11:52
  Speaker 1: the iPad. I didn't I disagreed with Santa giving them
• 11:55
  Speaker 1: the iPads, but Santa did what he thought was best.
• 11:58
  Speaker 1: And boy, it has helped so much. It'll be so much.
• 12:03
  Speaker 1: I don't even you know what. I don't even feel
• 12:05
  Speaker 1: like smiling or laughing as I'm talking about Ashley. But
• 12:07
  Speaker 1: this is what I know. I'm watching this case, Allan,
• 12:10
  Speaker 1: and it's not going to become just a statistic if
• 12:13
  Speaker 1: I have anything to do with it. Everyone, thank you
• 12:15
  Speaker 1: for being with us. Goodbye friend,