Prafull Koli
07-22-2004, 02:02 PM
Confirmed Capture
from webpost on Cp24
http://www.pulse24.com/News/Top_Story/20040722-009/Image-4.jpg
There have been so many questions about the tragedy surrounding the death of Cecilia Zhang: who took the nine-year-old from her Whitehorn Crescent home last October? What was the motive for her abduction and murder? And what finally led police to the two suspects arrested for the crime on Wednesday?
After ten long months, it appears we’re much closer to all those answers. Peel Police arrested 21-year-old Min Chen in Scarborough at 11am on Wednesday. He’s been charged with first-degree murder, and was taken into custody with incident. The Shanghai native has been in the country on a student visa since 2001.
The Zhangs had rented the basement of their home to student tenants over the years, and police spent months trying to track all of them down. But they were never able to find them all.
A female is also said to be in custody, charged with being an accessory after the fact. Both appeared in Brampton court on Thursday morning. Chen is being held at the Maplehurst Correctional facility and will back before a judge on August 19th.
Peel homicide detectives inherited the puzzling mystery last March, when the body of the missing youngster turned up in a wooded area near Mississauga. They've been working in tandem with their Toronto counterparts ever since, trying to find any evidence about who took the talented Grade 4 student from her Whitehorn Crescent bedroom last October.
Authorities had been on the hunt for both a motive and a suspect in the disturbing case, scouring neighbourhoods, searching nearby college dorms and even offering a $50,000 reward for her return. The high profile search also landed the story on several editions of "America's Most Wanted", as police looked for any tip that might prove to be the case breaker.
The only known clues - beyond the forensic evidence found with the child - involves the home of the family itself. Cecilia had been sleeping in a different room than she normally did on the fateful night she was taken to accommodate a visiting grandfather - something only a culprit with knowledge of the home would likely have known.
And there were two mysterious and unexplained hang-up phone calls made from several booths the day of the crime. Cops traced the location where the calls came from, but were stumped about who may have made them.
Police have refused to release any details about the evidence they’ve assembled. But they believe they’ve gotten the right person. “We have resolved this case and we intend to bring the person responsible to justice,” a sombre and emotional Peel Chief Noel Catney noted at an afternoon press conference.
http://www.pulse24.com/News/Top_Story/20040722-012/Image-4.jpg
http://www.pulse24.com/News/Top_Story/20040722-009/page.asp
Peel Regional Police Media Release
http://micro.newswire.ca/62804-0.html
from webpost on Cp24
http://www.pulse24.com/News/Top_Story/20040722-009/Image-4.jpg
There have been so many questions about the tragedy surrounding the death of Cecilia Zhang: who took the nine-year-old from her Whitehorn Crescent home last October? What was the motive for her abduction and murder? And what finally led police to the two suspects arrested for the crime on Wednesday?
After ten long months, it appears we’re much closer to all those answers. Peel Police arrested 21-year-old Min Chen in Scarborough at 11am on Wednesday. He’s been charged with first-degree murder, and was taken into custody with incident. The Shanghai native has been in the country on a student visa since 2001.
The Zhangs had rented the basement of their home to student tenants over the years, and police spent months trying to track all of them down. But they were never able to find them all.
A female is also said to be in custody, charged with being an accessory after the fact. Both appeared in Brampton court on Thursday morning. Chen is being held at the Maplehurst Correctional facility and will back before a judge on August 19th.
Peel homicide detectives inherited the puzzling mystery last March, when the body of the missing youngster turned up in a wooded area near Mississauga. They've been working in tandem with their Toronto counterparts ever since, trying to find any evidence about who took the talented Grade 4 student from her Whitehorn Crescent bedroom last October.
Authorities had been on the hunt for both a motive and a suspect in the disturbing case, scouring neighbourhoods, searching nearby college dorms and even offering a $50,000 reward for her return. The high profile search also landed the story on several editions of "America's Most Wanted", as police looked for any tip that might prove to be the case breaker.
The only known clues - beyond the forensic evidence found with the child - involves the home of the family itself. Cecilia had been sleeping in a different room than she normally did on the fateful night she was taken to accommodate a visiting grandfather - something only a culprit with knowledge of the home would likely have known.
And there were two mysterious and unexplained hang-up phone calls made from several booths the day of the crime. Cops traced the location where the calls came from, but were stumped about who may have made them.
Police have refused to release any details about the evidence they’ve assembled. But they believe they’ve gotten the right person. “We have resolved this case and we intend to bring the person responsible to justice,” a sombre and emotional Peel Chief Noel Catney noted at an afternoon press conference.
http://www.pulse24.com/News/Top_Story/20040722-012/Image-4.jpg
http://www.pulse24.com/News/Top_Story/20040722-009/page.asp
Peel Regional Police Media Release
http://micro.newswire.ca/62804-0.html