The other daughter of a couple accused of killing their 5-year-old and hiding her body in their restaurant will remain in Stark County’s care while the parents’ court cases proceed.
The Jackson Township couple, Mingming Chen, 29, and Liang Zhao, 34, appeared in red jumpsuits and shackles at a Stark County Family Court hearing on Thursday afternoon. Both agreed, Chen through a Mandarin interpreter, to relinquish their still-living 6-year-old daughter to the county for care while their cases are ongoing.
Judge David Nist said the county would care for the girl because no family could be located who would take her in. Zhao’s family is mostly in New York, court officials said, and Chen’s family is in China.
Nist also ordered the couple not to have contact with the girl. The two are also required to undergo parenting evaluations as soon as their court cases wrap up.
They’re due in court next for pretrial hearings at 9 a.m. Feb. 8.
According to police reports, the couple said their daughter, Ashley Zhao, disappeared from the back room of the family restaurant, Ang’s Chinese Cuisine, sometime Monday afternoon or evening. Police initially suspected she slipped out the back entrance and got lost in the woods behind the shopping plaza where the restaurant is located. A statewide alert was issued largely because of cold temperatures that would put her in danger.
The next day, police discovered the girl’s body “concealed” inside the Portage Street Northwest restaurant. They have not released more details on how or where she was found. Police said they believe Chen beat Ashley until she died, and Zhao hid her somewhere inside.
As recorded on a 911 call of the incident obtained by the Canton Repository, Zhao told police calmly on Monday evening that Ashley was missing.
“I can’t find my daughter,” he said, explaining he saw her sleeping in the back room about 3 or 4 p.m.
He said they didn’t check on the girl for about five hours because the restaurant became busy. Only he and his wife worked there, he said, and the restaurant doesn’t have security cameras that would have recorded what happened to her.
Nick Glunt can be reached at 330-996-3565 or nglunt@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @NickGluntABJ and on Facebook @JournoNickGlunt .