Poker player found burned at Michigan park met suspect at motel
WHITE LAKE TOWNSHIP, MI - A professional poker player whose burned body was found at a Michigan recreation area last month apparently met the suspect charged with her murder at a motel.
Jeffery Bernard Morris, 60, of Pontiac, was arraigned Tuesday, Aug. 4, on the charge of first-degree premeditated murder, The Detroit News reports. He is suspected of killing 33-year-old Susie “Susie Q” Zhao, a professional poker player who had recently moved to Michigan to live with her mother.
Zhao’s burned body was found on July 13 near a trail head at Pontiac Lake State Recreation Area in White Lake Township, Oakland County. Police now believe that Zhao met Morris at a motel the night before her body was found, Detective Lt. Chris Hild said during a news conference.
Police have not yet identified a motive for the alleged murder but have ruled out a connection to Zhao’s poker career, police said. Morris is described by police as a transient, homeless, convicted sex offender. He was arrested on Friday, July 31.
Cell phone records review by local and FBI investigators led to the belief that Morris and Zhao met at a Waterford Township motel where Zhao had stayed on several other occasions, police said. The relationship – if any – between the victim and suspect is not yet known.
Clarkston District Judge Kelley Kostin denied bond Friday due to the severity of the crimes and set a probable cause for Aug. 18.
The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information about this case is asked to contact the FBI at 1-800-CALLFBI or submit tips online to tips.fbi.gov.
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