Missing Stanford graduate student found dead Thursday (Santa Rosa, CA)

Santa Rosa Press-Democrat ^ | 26 Jan, 2007

[MIT-Elephant]

Missing woman found dead at SRJC Suicide suspected after Stanford graduate student discovered in trunk of her car in parking lot By JEREMY HAY AND BOB NORBERG THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

The body of a missing Stanford University student was found Thursday in the trunk of her car in a Santa Rosa Junior College parking lot, where the car may have been parked for days as her family and police searched for her.

Santa Rosa police said there are signs that Mengyao "May" Zhou, a 23-year-old graduate engineering student, killed herself. But they left open the possibility a crime may have been committed.

Her father, Yitong Zhou, resisted the suggestion his daughter committed suicide, saying police haven't shared details of what they found with him.

"If they can show me the evidence, I will accept, but currently it looks like I have more questions than answers," said Zhou, a software engineer.

May Zhou went missing Saturday and was last seen leaving her Palo Alto apartment to go shopping. Police said her credit cards, cell phone and e-mail account had not been used since.

[MIT-Elephant]

I knew this girl, at both colleges she attended. Very sad and very mysterious - I know that many people at Stanford are skeptical of the suicide suspicion.

[Gay State Conservative]

A suicide victim found in the trunk of her car???????????

[pillut48]

Beat me to it! How suspicious is that little factoid?!

I used to live in Santa Rosa, and it's got basically a small town mentality, but NO one thought to search for her car at the college prior to now??

[GreenLanternCorps]

She climbed into her trunk, closed the lid, and killed herself?

Am I the only one who finds this implausible?

[MIT-Elephant]

She didn't go to SRJC. She lived in the Peninsula.

[Red Badger]

Suicide in a trunk?..............Kervorkian suicide, maybe.......

[geopyg]

Unless she is found to have a bunch of drugs in her body I would think it would be prety odd to try to commit suicide by putting yourself in your trunk - unless the exhast was rerouted or she was in a garage or something.

Thoughts and prayers for this young gilr and her family and friends.

[al baby]

Sounds like a good one for mythbusters

[MIT-Elephant]

Well, looking at it from a how-to point of view, she could have shot herself in the trunk, or poisoned herself beforehand and concealed her body.

I am not a suicide expert and I suspect crime was involved...

[Yossarian]

NO one thought to search for her car at the college prior to now??

It's 87 miles from Palo Alto (where she was a student) to Santa Rosa (where she was found) as shown by this Google map here.

[NormsRevenge]

The car was found at a location reportedly 90 miles away from her Stanford housing.

I hear you on public awareness , it was a public lot I think, but that its presence caught no one's attention for a few days is sad. It just added to the family's anguish.

[Gay State Conservative]

Who's investigating this case...the National Park Service Police?

[knarf]

Without violation or dishonor ... what did you know of her?

Was she a good student? A partier?

Just curious ,,, this may have been a drug hit.

[mosesdapoet]

After killing herself she climbed into the trunk of her car and closed it.

[flashbunny]

There was a case in wisconsin where a man ran his car into some sort of above ground gas tank, everythign started on fire, and he locked himself in the trunk of a car. Really bizarre.

[Uncle Hal]

I will really believe she committed suicide in the trunk when they tell me she shot her self in the back of her head and then strangled herself.

[The Lumster]

Was she a good student? A partier?

I didn't know her but other reports said that at the age of 23 she had already graduated from MIT, completed a Masters, and was working on a PHD. She also held several patents through some telecom company.

Drugs don't seem to fit in this case

[Old Professer]

Ready or not, here I come!!!

[SubGeniusX]

Suicide niote found in Car:

"Dear Police Officer and whoever reads this note,

Goodbye cruel world. I'm going to kill myself and put myself in the trunk of my car. James Johnson had nothing to do with this. I really wanted to go out with him and I loved all of his late night phone calls. My father made me go to the police and get a restraining order against him because he just doesn't understand what love is. If I can't have her James Johnson, I don't want to live. Because I really love James Johnson and not that snotty punk Steve Smith who's captain of the football team. Even though I kept going out on dates with Steve Smith, I really loved James Johnson. In fact, Steve Smith probably did this, I mean if I hadn't killed myself, he probably would have done it. I'll bet he's a child molester, too. You should arrest Steve Smith. Not for killing her me because I killed myself, but just because he's probably the guy who's been stalking me. Not James Johnson.
Well, gotta go. Bye."

[A_perfect_lady]

I suppose it's possible that she overdosed and climbed into the trunk to be sure no one would find her unconscious and take her to a hospital. Making absolutely sure, I mean. But still... very odd... if this were the case I guess we'd have to agree that this was no "cry for help."