{"id":235356,"date":"2022-10-03T18:53:05","date_gmt":"2022-10-03T23:53:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=235356"},"modified":"2022-10-05T17:48:15","modified_gmt":"2022-10-05T22:48:15","slug":"susie-zhao-murder-trial-poker-player-was-schizophrenic-court-hears","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/susie-zhao-murder-trial-poker-player-was-schizophrenic-court-hears\/","title":{"rendered":"Susie Zhao Murder Trial: Poker Player was \u2018Schizophrenic,\u2019 Court Hears"},"content":{"rendered":"

The trial of a transient sex offender accused of murdering professional poker player Susie \u201cSusie Q\u201d Zhao got underway Monday at the Oakland County Circuit Court in Michigan.<\/p>\n

\"Susie
\u201cSusie Q,\u201d main picture, was much loved by the California poker community. Prosecutors say she was brutally murdered by homeless sex offender Jeffrey Morris, top left. (Image: Casino.org\/White Lake Police Department)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Jeffrey Morris, 62, is charged with first-degree premeditated murder and felony murder. Prosecutors say he sexually assaulted 30-year-old Zhao before dousing her body in petroleum and setting her on fire while she was still alive.<\/a><\/p>\n

Chief prosecutor John Skrzynski said Monday that Morris used Zhao to make his \u201cpornographic fantasies come true and then burned her alive,\u201d as reported by The Oakland Press<\/em>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Zhao\u2019s burnt body was discovered<\/a> by two local men at the Pontiac Lake Recreation Area in Oakland County, Mich. in July 2020.<\/p>\n

Her wrists had been bound with zip ties. There was extensive damage to her genitals. Around 90% of the body\u2019s surface area had been burned, according to the coroner\u2019s report. She was identified by her fingerprints.<\/p>\n

Free Spirit<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Zhao had recently returned to her native Michigan after a decade in California, pursuing a career as a high-stakes poker player. She had net career tournament earnings of $224,671, according to the Hendon Mob Database, but she was predominantly a cash game player.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe was a free spirit in the truest sense. She played by her own rules, followed her dreams,\u201d<\/strong> friends said at a July 2020 police press conference. \u201cEverybody loved her.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Skrzynski said Monday he believed Zhao was suffering from schizophrenia at the time of her murder, a detail previously unreported.<\/p>\n

Morris was arrested by White Lake police and an FBI task force ten days after the discovery of the body. He was driving west along I-275, around 30 miles from where the body was found.<\/p>\n

He sustained injuries during his arrest and was charged with murder while still in his hospital bed. He has a lengthy criminal record, including a 1989 conviction for rape.<\/p>\n

Morris Wants \u2018Vindication\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Skrzynski told the jury that cell phone evidence would be presented that showed Morris and Zhao were together in the hours leading up to her killing. He said their phones were near the Pontiac Lake Recreation Area at the approximate time of the murder.<\/p>\n

Morris was also caught on security cameras allegedly shoplifting cable ties and petroleum jelly at a nearby store.<\/p>\n

\n

Defense lawyer Michael McCarthy will argue the evidence against his client is largely circumstantial. McCarthy said Morris had been looking forward to \u201chis day for vindication\u201d in court after two years in the county jail. While Zhao unquestionably suffered a \u201cterrible death,\u201d there were no eyewitnesses to the killing, McCarthy added.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Skrzynski says he has 17 potential witnesses.<\/p>\n

The trial is expected to last a week.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The trial of a transient sex offender accused of murdering professional poker player Susie \u201cSusie Q\u201d Zhao got underway Monday at the Oakland County Circuit Court in Michigan. Jeffrey Morris, 62, is charged with first-degree premeditated murder and felony murder. Prosecutors say he sexually assaulted 30-year-old Zhao before dousing her body in petroleum and setting […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":235357,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[60,14],"tags":[83045,81863,82002,83044,83043,13692],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nSusie Zhao Murder Trial: Poker Player was \u2018Schizophrenic,\u2019 Court Hears<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Jeffrey Morris on trial for murder of professional poker player Susie Zhao, aka \u201cSusie Q\u201d at Oakland County Circuit Court, Michigan.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/susie-zhao-murder-trial-poker-player-was-schizophrenic-court-hears\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Susie Zhao Murder Trial: Poker Player was \u2018Schizophrenic,\u2019 Court Hears\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Jeffrey Morris on trial for murder of professional poker player Susie Zhao, aka \u201cSusie Q\u201d at Oakland County Circuit Court, Michigan.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/susie-zhao-murder-trial-poker-player-was-schizophrenic-court-hears\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-10-03T23:53:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-10-05T22:48:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/SUSIE-Q.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2464\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1824\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@casinoorgphilc\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/susie-zhao-murder-trial-poker-player-was-schizophrenic-court-hears\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/susie-zhao-murder-trial-poker-player-was-schizophrenic-court-hears\/\",\"name\":\"Susie Zhao Murder Trial: Poker Player was \u2018Schizophrenic,\u2019 Court Hears\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/susie-zhao-murder-trial-poker-player-was-schizophrenic-court-hears\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/susie-zhao-murder-trial-poker-player-was-schizophrenic-court-hears\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/SUSIE-Q.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-10-03T23:53:05+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-10-05T22:48:15+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/58769b72851c8cf117fb58ca150ebf8b\"},\"description\":\"Jeffrey Morris on trial for murder of professional poker player Susie Zhao, aka \u201cSusie Q\u201d at Oakland County Circuit Court, Michigan.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/susie-zhao-murder-trial-poker-player-was-schizophrenic-court-hears\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/susie-zhao-murder-trial-poker-player-was-schizophrenic-court-hears\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/susie-zhao-murder-trial-poker-player-was-schizophrenic-court-hears\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/SUSIE-Q.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/SUSIE-Q.jpg\",\"width\":2464,\"height\":1824,\"caption\":\"\u201cSusie Q,\u201d main picture, was much loved by the California poker community. 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