On Tuesday, Michigan police publicly identified a badly burned body found last week as professional poker player Susie Zhao.
On July 13, two men going to work discovered Zhao’s remains in a Department of Natural Resources parking area located near the Pontiac Lake State Recreation Area. White Lake Township police Lieutenant Christopher Hild said they believe Zhao, 33, was killed at the park sometime after 11:45 p.m. on July 12, according to Hometown Life.
Law enforcement identified her remains through fingerprint analysis. Zhao’s vehicle was not found in the parking area, and Hild told the news outlet that police are unsure why she was at the park.
Zhao was known in the professional poker circuit as Susie Q. Zhao’s former roommate Yuval Bronshtein told WXYZ that Zhao bounced between cities, including Los Angeles and Las Vegas, and had recently moved back to Michigan to be closer to family and deal with some issues in her personal life.
Reports indicated Zhao lived in Los Angeles and moved in with her parents in Michigan on June 9.
Police said Zhao’s murder may be related to gambling in other states or to someone she recently met.
“You have to determine whether or not this is a cover-up, or this may be some sort of retaliatory incident because of her profession,” Hild told WKYT.
It is not yet known how Zhao died, as toxicology and autopsy results are pending. WDIV reported that the FBI is involved in the ongoing investigation.
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[Featured image: Susie Zhao/Facebook]
