A new trial date has finally been set for Jeffery Bernard Morris, the accused murderer of poker pro Susie Zhao. In a hearing held yesterday in an Oakland County, Michigan courtroom, Morris's trial has been scheduled to begin on September 26, 2022.
Morris, a 61-year-old drifter with a lengthy criminal record in both Michigan and Florida, has been held without bail since being arrested August 1, 2020 near Pontiac, Michigan. Morris was arrested a few weeks after the burned body of Zhao was discovered in the parking area of a forest preserve west of Pontiac. In the weeks following the discovery of Zhao's s body, which also showed signs of sexual assault, authorities unraveled a trail of evidence that led solely to Morris.
Morris faces two charges that could bring him a lifetime sentence if found guilty. He was charge first with felony murder, and later, with first-degree premeditated murder, due to the nature of Zhao's killing. The 30-year-old Zhao had returned from Los Angeles to the northwestern Detroit suburbs only weeks prior to her murder, to live with family.
Trial process plagued with delays, new attorney onboard
Morris's trial has already been delayed on multiple occasions. Two separate pandemic-related postponements have occurred, and his case was also pushed back due to a clerical error when the second murder charge was not properly recorded into his records.
