GUILTY MI - Susie Zhao, 33, professional poker player, found fatally burned, Detroit, 13 Jul 2020 *arrest*

[Niner]

Looks like they moved the trial date up.

Docket Update:

02/16/2022 APP APPEARANCE FILED

02/16/2022 MPS MIFILE PROOF OF SERVICE FILED

02/16/2022 AFFIDAVIT/PROOF OF SERVICE FILED

02/14/2022 JNA JUDGE NOT AVAILABLE COVID-19 EMERG OPS

02/14/2022 APJ ADJ-JUDGE 06172022 TO 06062022 BY NOTICE

02/14/2022 APR DATE SET FOR TRIAL ON 06062022 08 30 AM Y

02/14/2022 MRR REQ/NTC-FILM/MEDIA COVERAGE FILED

01/26/2022 MRR REQ/NTC-FILM/MEDIA COVERAGE FILED

link: Court Explorer

 

[Niner]

Thursday, February 17th:
*Pretrial Hearing (@ 10:30am CT) – MI – Susie Zhao (33) (last seen by her mother on July, 12, 2020 @ 5:30pm leaving home, found July 13, 2020 near Pontiac Lake State Recreation park in White Lake Township @ 8:30am, Detroit; due to severe burns (90%) to her face & body, authorities needed a week to identify Zhao) - *Jeffery Bernard Morris (60/now 61) was arrested (7/31/20) after being pulled over on a warrant in Ypsilanti & charged (8/4/20) & arraigned (9/24/20) with 1st degree premeditated murder & charged (3/8/21 & 1/11/22) & arraigned (4/15/21) with homicide felony murder. Plead not guilty. Denied bond.
Zhao was bound with zip ties, tortured, sexually assaulted & set on fire after meeting a convicted sex offender at a motel the night before her badly burned body was found. Morris is a Tier 3 sex offender.
Trial was set to begin on 6/17/22 reset to 6/6/22.
Court info from 8/4/20 thru 9/16/21 reference post #116 here:
MI - Susie Zhao, 33, professional poker player, found fatally burned, Detroit, 13 Jul 2020 *arrest*
11/9/21: Motion praecipe (request for action) filed to Judge for 12/1/21. Motion filed to withdraw as defense counsel/NOH//Defendant. 11/10/21: People's response filed Motion to withdraw. 12/1/21 Update: Order filed allow attorney to withdraw. Court to appoint new counsel. Defense motion to withdraw as counsel-granted. Zoom video appearance. Next pretrial hearing on 1/20/22.
12/16/21: Notice filed of appointment of counsel. 1/11/22: Notice Court Admin filed amendment, add Count 2-Homicide felony murder. In August, 2021 a change in counsel prompted Judge Martha Anderson to push the trial date from September to January 3, 2022. Then, in December, the court announced that Morris had a new attorney. The Oakland County Indigent Defense Services Office appointed Michael McCarthy to represent Morris, replacing Pamela Johnson. Next up, there was a paperwork problem. The initial charge against Morris was “homicide – murder first degree – premeditated.” However, after a hearing early in 2021, Judge Kelly Kostin allowed the addition of “homicide – felony murder” to be added as another charge. That was when Kostin bound the case over to the Circuit Court. However, the clerk did not add that second count before the case was bound over. So, on 1/11/22, the initial court revised the bind over document & sent it to the Circuit Court. 1/18/22: Pretrial on 1/20/22 has been rescheduled to 2/17/22 @ 10:30am, as defendant/attorney unavailable.
1/26/22: Req/Notice-Film/media coverage filed. 2/14/22: Judge adjusted trial date from 6/17/22 to 6/6/22 by Notice. Judge not available COVID-19 emerg. ops.

 

[JerseyGirl]

Accused killer of former pro poker player ‘Susie Q’ gets new trial date

At a court hearing Thursday, Oakland County Circuit Judge Martha Anderson scheduled trial to begin Sept. 26. The trial had been rescheduled a few times before due to COVID-19 restrictions at the courthouse. And more recently, it was scheduled for this June — but the judge agreed to a later date on request of defense attorney Michael McCarthy.

@Niner

 

[Niner]

Docket update:

Date Code Desc
02/17/2022 OTH ZOOM VIDEO APPEARANCE

02/17/2022 PTH PRE-TRIAL HELD CONT TO TRIAL

02/17/2022 AID ADJOURN FOR INVESTIGATION/DISCOVERY

02/17/2022 APC ADJ-COUNSEL 06062022 TO 09262022 BY NOTICE

02/17/2022 APR DATE SET FOR TRIAL ON 09262022 08 30 AM

02/16/2022 APP APPEARANCE FILED Order Document

02/16/2022 MPS MIFILE PROOF OF SERVICE FILED Order Document

02/16/2022 AFFIDAVIT/PROOF OF SERVICE FILED Order Document

02/14/2022 JNA JUDGE NOT AVAILABLE COVID-19 EMERG OPS

link: Court Explorer

 

[JerseyGirl]

Accused Susie Zhao Killer Gets Hearing; Trial Pushed Back to September

Morris, wearing an orange jumpsuit and with a cloth mask pulled over his chin, appeared at a pretrial hearing via Zoom on Thursday, Feb. 17, during which Oakland County Circuit Judge Martha Anderson scheduled a new trial date for Sept. 26.

 

[Niner]

Looks like the moved the trial date... again...

04/19/2022 JIT JUDGE IN TRIAL

04/19/2022 APJ ADJ-JUDGE 09262022 TO 10032022 BY NOTICE

04/19/2022 APR DATE SET FOR TRIAL ON 10032022 08 30 AM Y

04/19/2022 ADJ ORDER OF ADJOURNMENT FILED TRIAL Order Document

04/18/2022 MPS MIFILE PROOF OF SERVICE FILED Order Document

04/04/2022 MPS MIFILE PROOF OF SERVICE FILED Order Document

04/04/2022 AFFIDAVIT/PROOF OF SERVICE FILED Order Document

03/24/2022 AFFIDAVIT/PROOF OF SERVICE FILED Order Document

03/24/2022 MPS MIFILE PROOF OF SERVICE FILED Order Document

03/16/2022 AFFIDAVIT/PROOF OF SERVICE FILED Order Document

03/16/2022 MPS MIFILE PROOF OF SERVICE FILED Order Document

02/17/2022 OTH ZOOM VIDEO APPEARANCE

link: Court Explorer

 

[Niner]

Docket update - finally - but no hearing dates listed yet. I have trial starting on 10/3/22. And it looks to me like they want to move the trial date... again...


Date Code Desc
08/18/2022 MPS MIFILE PROOF OF SERVICE FILED Order Document

08/18/2022 ANS ANSWER FILED TO MTN ADJ JURY TRIAL/DFT Order Document

08/18/2022 AFFIDAVIT/PROOF OF SERVICE FILED Order Document

08/17/2022 MPR MOTION PRAECIPE FILED FOR 08242022 JUDGE 10

08/17/2022 MPS MIFILE PROOF OF SERVICE FILED Order Document

08/17/2022 MTN MOTION FILED ADJ JURY TRIAL

05/31/2022 TRN TRANSCRIPT FILED PRETRIAL 02/10/21 Order Document

05/20/2022 MPS MIFILE PROOF OF SERVICE FILED Order Document

05/20/2022 AFFIDAVIT/PROOF OF SERVICE FILED Order Document

05/03/2022 AFFIDAVIT/PROOF OF SERVICE FILED Order Document

05/03/2022 MPS MIFILE PROOF OF SERVICE FILED

link: Court Explorer

 

[Niner]

More docket updates.

Date Code Desc
09/09/2022 AFFIDAVIT/PROOF OF SERVICE FILED Order Document

09/07/2022 MPR MOTION PRAECIPE FILED FOR 09142022 JUDGE 10

09/07/2022 AFFIDAVIT/PROOF OF SERVICE FILED Order Document

09/07/2022 MPS MIFILE PROOF OF SERVICE FILED Order Document

09/07/2022 BRF BRIEF FILED SUPPT MTN INTRO OTHER ACTS/PLF Order Document

09/07/2022 MTN MOTION FILED ADMIT OTHER ACTS/NTC/PLF Order Document

09/02/2022 MPS MIFILE PROOF OF SERVICE FILED Order Document

09/02/2022 GIF GEN INFO FILED 2ND AMD Order Document

08/24/2022 OTH DEF'S ATTY WAIVED DEF'S PRESENCE

08/24/2022 M MOTION FOR 1ST ADJ OF JURY TRIAL - DENIED

link: Court Explorer

 

[Niner]

ate Code Description
09/15/2022 ORD ORDER FILED GRANT MTN ADMIT EVID Order Document

09/14/2022 M MOTION TO ADMIT OTHER ACTS EVIDENCE PURSUANT

09/14/2022 OTH TO MRE 404(B) - GRTD

09/14/2022 MPS MIFILE PROOF OF SERVICE FILED Order Document

09/13/2022 AFFIDAVIT/PROOF OF SERVICE FILED Order Document

09/13/2022 MPS MIFILE PROOF OF SERVICE FILED Order Document

09/13/2022 JI JURY INSTRUCTIONS FILED Order Document

09/12/2022 AFFIDAVIT/PROOF OF SERVICE FILED

link: Court Explorer


Still no court date since 2/17/22. I do have his trial starting on 10/3/22 though.

 

[Niner]

Docket update - as far as I can tell his trial is still on 10/3/22.

Date Code Desc
09/19/2022 MPS MIFILE PROOF OF SERVICE FILED Order Document

09/19/2022 GIF GEN INFO FILED 3RD AMD

linK: Court Explorer

 

[Niner]

Docket Update:

Date Code Desc
09/27/2022 MRR REQ/NTC-FILM/MEDIA COVERAGE FILED

09/27/2022 STP STIPULATION FILED FOR TRIAL/JOINT

09/27/2022 MPS MIFILE PROOF OF SERVICE FILED

09/26/2022 MRR REQ/NTC-FILM/MEDIA COVERAGE FILED


link: Court Explorer

 

[Niner]

Article on the trial coming & the crime.

Susie Zhao Murder Trial Set to Start Next Week

The full murder trial is scheduled to begin next Monday, October 2nd in the Oakland County courthouse in Michigan

www.pokertube.com

They have the trial started Monday, Oct. 2nd, but of course Monday is the 3rd...

 

[Niner]

Monday, October 3rd:
*Trial set to begin (@ 8:30am CT) – MI – Susie Zhao (33) (last seen by her mother on July, 12, 2020 @ 5:30pm leaving home, found July 13, 2020 near Pontiac Lake State Recreation park in White Lake Township @ 8:30am, Detroit; due to severe burns (90%) to her face & body, authorities needed a week to identify Zhao) - *Jeffery Bernard Morris (60/now 62) was arrested (7/31/20) after being pulled over on a warrant in Ypsilanti & charged (8/4/20) & arraigned (9/24/20) with 1st degree premeditated murder & charged (3/8/21 & 1/11/22) & arraigned (4/15/21) with homicide felony murder. Plead not guilty. Denied bond.
Zhao was bound with zip ties, tortured, sexually assaulted & set on fire after meeting a convicted sex offender at a motel the night before her badly burned body was found. Morris is a Tier 3 sex offender.
Trial was set to begin on 6/17/22 continued to 6/6/22 continued to 9/26/22 & continued to 10/3/22.
Court info from 8/4/20 thru 1/26/22 reference post #122 here:
https://www.websleuths.com/forums/t...rned-detroit-13-jul-2020-arrest.534103/page-6
2/14/22: Judge adjusted trial date from 6/17/22 to 6/6/22 by Notice. Judge not available COVID-19 emerg. ops. Pretrial hearing on 2/17/22. 2/17/22 Update: Oakland County Circuit Judge Martha Anderson scheduled trial to begin 9/26/22. The trial had been rescheduled a few times before due to COVID-19 restrictions at the courthouse. And more recently, it was scheduled for this June — but the judge agreed to a later date on request of defense attorney Michael McCarthy. McCarthy, court-appointed to represent Morris, told the judge he’s had the case for just two months due to former court-appointed attorney Pamela Johnson being dismissed because she was going into private practice.
3/16/22: MiFile Proof of service filed. Affidavit/proof of service filed. 3/24/22: MiFile Proof of service filed. Affidavit/proof of service filed. 4/4/22: Affidavit/proof of service filed. MiFile proof of service filed. 4/19/22: Order of adjournment filed re trial. Trial is reset from 9/26/22 to 10/3/22 by notice; Judge in trial. 4/22/22: MiFile proof of service filed. Affidavit/Proof of service filed. 5/3/22: MiFile proof service filed. Affidavit/Proof of service. 5/20/22: MiFile proof service filed. Affidavit/Proof of service. 5/31/22: Transcript of 2/10/21 pretrial hearing filed.
8/17/22: Motion filed to adjust jury trial. MiFile proof of service filed. Motion praecipe filed for 8/24/22. 8/18/22: Affidavit/proof of service filed. Answer filed to Motion to adj. jury trial/draft. MiFile proof of service filed. 8/24/22: Motion for 1st adjustment of jury trial-Denied. Defense's attorney waived defendant's presence. 9/2/22: General info filed 2nd amended. 9/7/22: Motion filed admit other acts/Notice. Brief filed suppt. Motion introduce other acts. Motion praecipe filed for 9/14/22 Judge. 9/12/22: Memorandum filed of law/support answer to Motion/defendant. Anser filed to Moiton/Notice admit other acts for defendant. 9/13/22: Jury instructions filed. 9/14/22: MiFile proof of service filed. Motion to admit other acts evidence. 9/15/22: Order filed: Motion admit evidence-granted. 9/19/22: General info filed-3rd amended. MiFile proof of service filed.
9/27/22: Request/Notice-film/media coverage filed. MiFile proof of service filed. Stipulation filed for trial/joint.

 

[Niner]

Date Code Desc
10/03/2022 JTB JURY TRIAL BEGUN 0.75 - TO CONTINUE ON 10/4/2022.

09/30/2022 MRR REQ/NTC-FILM/MEDIA COVERAGE FILED

link: Court Explorer

 

[Niner]

https://www.casino.org/news/susie-zhao-murder-trial-poker-player-was-schizophrenic-court-hears/

Oct. 3, 2022
The trial of a transient sex offender accused of murdering professional poker player Susie “Susie Q” Zhao got underway Monday at the Oakland County Circuit Court in Michigan.
[.....]
Chief prosecutor John Skrzynski said Monday that Morris used Zhao to make his “pornographic fantasies come true and then burned her alive,” as reported by The Oakland Press.
[.....]
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 that their phones were present near the Pontiac Lake Recreation Area at the approximate time of the murder.
[.....]
Defense lawyer Michael McCarthy will argue the evidence against his client is largely circumstantial. McCarthy said Morris had been looking forward to “his day for vindication” in court after two years in the county jail. While Zhao unquestionably suffered a “terrible death,” there were no eyewitnesses to the killing, McCarthy added.

Skrzynski says he has 17 potential witnesses.

The trial is expected to last a week.


Looks to me like they have a jury already & trial has started with opening statements... ??

 

[Niner]

Tuesday, October 4th:
*Trial continues (Day 2) (@ 8:30am CT) – MI – Susie Zhao (33) (last seen by her mother on July, 12, 2020 @ 5:30pm leaving home, found July 13, 2020 near Pontiac Lake S
tate Recreation park in White Lake Township @ 8:30am, Detroit; due to severe burns (90%) to her face & body, authorities needed a week to identify Zhao) - *Jeffery Bernard Morris (60/now 62) was arrested (7/31/20) after being pulled over on a warrant in Ypsilanti & charged (8/4/20) & arraigned (9/24/20) with 1st degree premeditated murder & charged (3/8/21 & 1/11/22) & arraigned (4/15/21) with homicide felony murder. Plead not guilty. Denied bond.
Zhao was bound with zip ties, tortured, sexually assaulted & set on fire after meeting a convicted sex offender at a motel the night before her badly burned body was found. Morris is a Tier 3 sex offender.
Trial began on 10/3/22. (expected to last 1 week).
Court info from 8/4/20 thru 9/76/22 reference post #133 here:
https://www.websleuths.com/forums/t...rned-detroit-13-jul-2020-arrest.534103/page-7
10/3/22 Monday, Trial Day 1: Jury selection began & ended. Opening statements by Chief prosecutor John Skrzynski & defense attorney Michael McCarthy.
For more info see post #135 (article) here:
https://www.websleuths.com/forums/t...rned-detroit-13-jul-2020-arrest.534103/page-7
Trial continues on 10/4/22.

 

[Niner]

Testimony begins in Jeffery Bernard Morris murder trial

The first day of testimony in the murder trial of Jeffery Bernard Morris finds prosecutors building the framework of evidence against him.

www.poker.org

Oct. 4, 2022
The first day of testimony in the murder trial of Jeffrey Bernard Morris, the accused killer of professional poker player Susie Zhao, has completed in an Oakland County (Michigan) Circuit Court. Morris, now 62, looked on as prosecutors called roughly half of the 17 witnesses and experts expected to testify.
[.....]
Before testimony began this morning before presiding judge Martha Anderson, final pre-trial procedures occupied Monday’s schedule. The final phase of jury selection took place, with prospective jurors questioned and approved or dismissed before the official 12-person jury was seated. Morris is charged with counts of felony murder and premeditated murder, and the jury must unanimously reach a verdict, or a hung jury could be declared.

Monday’s final pre-trial matters included the opening statements from both the Oakland County prosecutors and Morris’s state-appointed defense. The prosecution added a few details to what was already known, including that Zhao had been diagnosed with schizophrenia in 2018, and that she had been reported to have been acting erratically earlier in the day she met with Morris, according to Zhao’s parents and a close friend of Zhao’s.
[.....]
Morris’s defense counsel, Michael McCarthy, countered by telling the jury that Morris’s defense would focus on reasonable doubt, since there were no direct witnesses to the killing. McCarthy did acknowledge that Zhao died a violent death but instructed jurors to judge the matter clinically, rather than based on emotion.
[.....]
Prosecutors followed a roughly chronological path through the case as it was received by Oakland County law enforcement, beginning with the discovery of Zhao’s body on the morning of July 13. One of the park workers who discovered the body testified to the circumstances surrounding the gruesome scene. That led to testimony from the Oakland County forensics department, whose pathologist assigned to the case testified in greater detail about the condition of Zhao’s body.
[.....]
Perhaps the most contentious exchanges during the trial’s first day of testimony came when the owner of a gas station near the Pontiac, Michigan motel where Zhao and Morris met testified regarding Morris’s two visits to the gas station on July 11 and 12. The station’s owner testified that Morris was a regular visitor to the station, and on July 11, tried to buy a two-gallon gas container and fill it with gas.
[.....]
Thorough security footage did come into the case via the testimony of a Meijer security manager later called to testify. Following Zhao’s murder and the identification of Morris as a possible suspect, he had been contacted through the store’s management to review footage and see if Morris could be identified, since one of the items found in Morris’s possession was a house-branded jar of petroleum jelly.

A lot more in the article. And another one I found:

Testimony begins Tuesday for pro poker player Susie ‘Susie Q’ Zhao murder case

Witness testimony begins Tuesday morning in the trial of a felon accused of killing a former pro poker player by setting her on fire after sexually assaulting her.

www.theoaklandpress.com

 

[Niner]

Wednesday, October 5th:
*Trial continues (Day 3) (@ 10am CT) – MI – Susie Zhao (33) (last seen by her mother on July, 12, 2020 @ 5:30pm leaving home, found July 13, 2020 near Pontiac Lake State Recreation park in White Lake Township @ 8:30am, Detroit; due to severe burns (90%) to her face & body, authorities needed a week to identify Zhao) - *Jeffery Bernard Morris (60/now 62) was arrested (7/31/20) after being pulled over on a warrant in Ypsilanti & charged (8/4/20) & arraigned (9/24/20) with 1st degree premeditated murder & charged (3/8/21 & 1/11/22) & arraigned (4/15/21) with homicide felony murder. Plead not guilty. Denied bond.
Zhao was bound with zip ties, tortured, sexually assaulted & set on fire after meeting a convicted sex offender at a motel the night before her badly burned body was found. Morris is a Tier 3 sex offender.
Trial began on 10/3/22. (expected to last 1 week).
Court info from 8/4/20 thru 9/76/22 & Trial Day 1 (10/3/22) reference post #136 here:
https://www.websleuths.com/forums/t...rned-detroit-13-jul-2020-arrest.534103/page-7
10/4/22 Tuesday, Trial Day 2: Before testimony began this morning before presiding Judge Martha Anderson, final pretrial procedures occupied Monday’s schedule. The final phase of jury selection took place, with prospective jurors questioned & approved or dismissed before the official 12-person jury was seated. Morris is charged with counts of felony murder & premeditated murder & the jury must unanimously reach a verdict, or a hung jury could be declared.
Monday’s final pretrial matters included the opening statements from both the Oakland County prosecutors & Morris’s state-appointed defense attorney Michael McCarthy.
State witnesses: Michelle Lagrou, a childhood friend of Zhao’s who was one of the last people to see the poker player alive. Oakland County Sheriff’s Office detective Joseph Marougi. Jessica Drager, a forensic scientist for the Michigan State Police who stated that vaginal swabs from Zhao revealed Morris’ DNA to be present. Prosecutors read a statement from Zhao’s mother, Fang Dai, who stated that she had picked Zhao up at the gas station on July 12 & taken her to her house. Dai and her husband left to get dinner later that evening and Zhao was gone when they returned. Oakland County law enforcement (no names given), beginning with the discovery of Zhao’s body on the morning of July 13. One of the park workers who discovered the body testified to the circumstances surrounding the gruesome scene. That led to testimony from the Oakland County forensics Dep., whose pathologist assigned to the case testified in greater detail about the condition of Zhao’s body. Perhaps the most contentious exchanges during the trial’s first day of testimony came when the owner (no name given) of a gas station near the Pontiac, Michigan motel where Zhao & Morris met testified regarding Morris’s two visits to the gas station on July 11 & 12. The station’s owner testified that Morris was a regular visitor to the station & on July 11, tried to buy a two-gallon gas container & fill it with gas. Thorough security footage did come into the case via the testimony of a Meijer security manager later called to testify. Following Zhao’s murder & the identification of Morris as a possible suspect, he had been contacted through the store’s management to review footage & see if Morris could be identified, since one of the items found in Morris’s possession was a house-branded jar of petroleum jelly.
For more info see post #137 (article) here:
https://www.websleuths.com/forums/t...rned-detroit-13-jul-2020-arrest.534103/page-7
Trial continues on 10/5/22.

 

[Niner]

Docket update:

Date Code Desc
10/05/2022 JTC JURY TRIAL CONTINUED DAY 0.75; TO CONTINUE ON 10/7/2022.

10/04/2022 JTC JURY TRIAL CONTINUED DAY 1.00 - TO CONTINUE ON 10/5/22.

10/03/2022 JTB JURY TRIAL BEGUN 0.75 - TO CONTINUE ON 10/4/2022.

link: Court Explorer

 

[Puzzles8]

Trail coverage, thought not necessarily in sequence.

Detective Says Accused Susie Zhao Murderer Searched 2,000 Times for Violent Assault

Read about the testimony that was shared on Day 3 of the trial of Jeffery Bernard Morris.

www.pokernews.com

Here's What Witnesses Testified to on Day 2 of the Susie Zhao Murder Trial

Read what witnesses had to say during Day 2 of the trial of Jeffery Bernard Morris.

www.pokernews.com

Detective Says Accused Susie Zhao Murderer Searched 2,000 Times for Violent Assault

Read about the testimony that was shared on Day 3 of the trial of Jeffery Bernard Morris.

www.pokernews.com

Jury Selection, Opening Statements Make Up First Day of Susie Zhao Murder Trial

Morris, who is accused of murdering poker player Susie Zhao in 2020, finally stands trial.

www.pokernews.com

Trial for Man Accused of Killing Poker Player Susie Zhao Begins Tomorrow

Over two years after Zhao's body was discovered, her accused murderer will stand trial.

www.pokernews.com

https://www.pokertube.com/article/s...defendant-s-kidnap-and-🤬🤬🤬🤬-internet-searches

Detective Says Accused Susie Zhao Murderer Searched 2,000 Times for Violent Assault

Read about the testimony that was shared on Day 3 of the trial of Jeffery Bernard Morris.

www.pokernews.com

Rest in peace dear girl.

JMO