August 6, 2020
Police have arrested 60-year-old Jeffrey Morris for the murder of a 33-year-old professional poker player, Susie Zhao. Morris was formally arraigned Tuesday from a hospital bed after suffering an undisclosed medical issue earlier that day, according to MSN News.
Zhao’s charred body was found on the morning of July 13 in Pontiac Lake State Recreation Area.
Morris was arrested on Friday, July 31. The alleged motive is unclear at this time. Investigators initially looked into Zhao’s lifestyle as a professional poker player. However, according to Click on Detroit, that’s not likely the case. Their sources indicate Morris met Zhao at a local hotel. Her phone records eventually lead to Morris’s arrest.
Morris apparently has a history of violent tendencies. A local couple in the area that rented out a basement to Morris ended up kicking him out after he became violent.
Another one of Morris’s former landlords also came forward for an interview.
“[Morris] answered an ad from me to rent a basement from me,” former landlord Dawn Carr explained to Fox 2 Detroit. “I rented to him for about four months. He seemed like a real creeper, and I had to get him out of here, so I evicted him.”
Morris was charged with first-degree premeditated homicide, according to a District Court clerk in Oakland County, Michigan. Morris has an extensive criminal background. From domestic violence, assault with intent to rob while armed to failure to comply with sex offender reporting duties. Morris is a registered sex offender in the state of Michigan for a 1989 third degree (force or coercion) conviction.
Feature Images via New York Post & MSN News