Min Chen

Parties and identities

Min Chen (born January 30, 1983) was a Chinese visa student from Shanghai, China. He had lived in Canada on a visa since 2001.

Cecilia Zhang (also known as Dong-Yue Zhang; March 30, 1994 — October 20, 2003) was the victim. Cecilia Zhang was the daughter of Raymond Zhang and Sherry Xu.

Raymond Zhang and Sherry Xu provided victim impact statements.

Min Chen’s defence lawyer was John Rosen.

The offence

Cecilia Zhang was abducted from her home during the early hours of October 20, 2003, originally described as a kidnapping attempt that went wrong.

Chen allegedly entered Zhang’s home through a kitchen window and removed Cecilia between 3:00 AM and 4:00 AM, leaving by a side door.

Chen had been in the Zhang home at least four times and knew a female boarder who lived there between September 2002 and March 2003. Police said Cecilia would have been comfortable in Chen’s company under normal social circumstances.

According to an agreed statement of facts read in court, Chen killed Cecilia by placing his hand over her mouth as he carried her from her home.

Cecilia tried to scream and Chen covered her face with a towel and held his hand over her mouth. Cecilia had stopped struggling by the time Chen placed her inside the trunk of his car. When Chen checked on Cecilia later, he discovered that she had stopped breathing.

Chen admitted in a statement of facts that it was “a botched kidnapping attempt” and that he “didn’t have any plans to take her anywhere.” He said he was hoping he could leave her in the trunk, phone the family, get the money, and then let her go.

Chen later visited the trunk liner replacement attempt sites after being identified as a prime suspect.

A statement in court included that the murder was a kidnapping attempt that went wrong; the agreed statement of facts described that the “gifted Grade Four student was snatched from her home in October 2003 as her parents slept metres away.”

Chen’s lawyer described the kidnap plan as spontaneous and said it “wasn’t as if there were days or weeks of planning.”

John Rosen said:

"It wasn't as if there were days or weeks of planning. He went to the house probably, in my opinion, not knowing exactly what he was going to do," Rosen said.

Rosen also said Chen came without several items and left fingerprints:

"He came without any weapon, without any mask, without any means of overcoming any resistance, without any noxious substance, tape, rope, gags -- nothing like that -- and most importantly, came without gloves and left his fingerprints on the window."

CCTV/CTV.ca reporting included a description of the early morning attempt:

"Fearing that she was going to scream, he attacked her, wrapped the towel around her head, put his arm around her neck, choked her and dragged her outside to his trunk and put her in," he said.

And:

"So this was a botched kidnapping attempt, a very incompetent one as well, because he didn't have any plans to take her anywhere. He was hoping that he could just leave her in the trunk, phone the family, get the money, and then let her go," Murphy said.

In the agreed statement of facts, Chen said:

"it was never his plan to harm or to cause the death of Cecilia."

The agreed statement of facts also included:

"He wanted to keep her alive, obtain a sizable ransom and return her to family."

The court heard that Chen went to the home in October 2003 to kidnap Cecilia for ransom. The case included that Cecilia’s parents mortgaged their home and friends raised a $165,000 reward for her safe return, though no demands were ever made.

Background

Min Chen was a Shanghai native who lived in Canada on a student visa starting in 2001.

Chen stopped his English studies at a Seneca College campus located very close to Cecilia’s home in North York, Ontario.

He did not complete Grade 12 level courses at a local private academy.

Chen’s father was an airline executive and his mother was a Shanghai police officer. Chen had been receiving money from his parents back in China.

The agreed statement of facts described a motive connected to deportation risk and need for money:

• It stated Chen feared deportation back to China.
• It stated Chen needed $25,000 to enter into a marriage of convenience as a means of obtaining right of permanent residence in Canada.
• It stated Chen was failing in his college studies and was “being a visa student who was broke.”

The sentencing reporting also described counsel and prosecutors arguing about parole eligibility, including that Chen’s lawyers asked for 12 years and Crown lawyers asked for parole eligibility in the 17- to 20-year range.

Human rights lawyers noted that under Chinese law, when Chen completed his sentence and was deported back to China, he would likely face a second trial and sentence in China, and that Canadian law forbids double jeopardy while Chinese law permits it if a Chinese resident commits a crime on foreign soil. It was stated that trial and punishment in the other country was seen as a mitigating factor but did not preclude further imprisonment or even execution in China.

Investigation and police actions

After the abduction, police treated the case as one involving a search and public communication.

Police release of reward and statements included:

• Oct. 20, 2003: Cecilia’s parents discovered their daughter was missing when they entered her bedroom to wake her for school; a window on the house had been tampered with; Sherry Xu answered a phone call that was later traced to two different pay phones in the Brampton and Mississauga area.
• Oct. 22, 2003: Police stressed they thought Cecilia was still alive but did not believe her abduction was a random occurrence; Deputy Chief Mike Boyd was quoted saying:

• Oct. 24, 2003: Cecilia’s parents appeared publicly for the first time since her abduction and made a plea for her safe return.
• Oct. 25, 2003: Cecilia’s neighbours set up a special fund for reward donations for tips leading to safe return.
• Oct. 26, 2003: Cecilia’s mother issued an open letter to three Chinese-language newspapers, begging for her return; the letter included:

"I don't seek retribution and I won't bring this to the courts. I am begging you, release my Cecilia,"

"There is nothing that convinces us that this is a random attack by a predator, nothing to this point in the investigation,"

• Oct. 27, 2003: Toronto police announced a $50,000 reward for the safe return of Cecilia and noted a reward fund set up by Cecilia’s neighbours contained $15,000.
• Nov. 1, 2003: Cecilia’s parents appeared on America’s Most Wanted to an estimated 10 million viewers; investigators received 13 new tips after the show aired.
• Nov. 12, 2003: Police announced Cecilia’s parents were not suspects and released videos of Cecilia and copies of her schoolwork.
• Dec. 2003: Chinese police joined a global search for Cecilia.
• Dec. 23, 2003: Toronto police urged Cecilia’s abductors to come forward with a ransom demand.
• Jan. 22, 2004: Police ruled out money as the motivating force; the $165,000 reward fund dropped to $65,000 as some reward donations pegged to expire on Chinese New Year were cancelled.
• Feb. 2004: About 4,000 taxicabs displayed Cecilia’s photo in an attempt to gain more information.

The case included major investigative milestones relating to jurisdiction and remains:

• March 27, 2004: A hiker in a ravine in Mississauga, Ont., near Toronto, found Cecilia Zhang’s remains.
• March 28, 2004: Police confirmed the remains found the previous day were those of Cecilia Zhang.
• April 1, 2004: The Peel Regional Police force took over the Cecilia Zhang murder investigation, with the cooperation of Toronto police, because Cecilia’s body was found in their jurisdiction.

Arrest and early legal steps

Min Chen was arrested on July 22, 2004, and charged with first-degree murder. He was also described as having been arrested in the murder of Cecilia Zhang.

A timeline entry included:

• July 22, 2004: Police in Brampton, Ont., announced Min Chen, 21, a visa student from Shanghai, China, had been arrested and charged with first-degree murder.
• July 23, 2004: Police released the woman arrested on the same day and said she would be treated as a witness in the case.

It was stated that Chen told investigators he never meant to kill Cecilia and did not think her parents would involve the police. The reporting also stated that after police informed Chen he was the prime suspect, he visited 14 different car-care locations attempting to replace the liner in his trunk where he had stowed Cecilia’s body.

Trial and plea

May 1, 2006: The judge in the trial of Min Chen met with Crown and defence lawyers and later announced that the trial would be put off until May 9; John Rosen said there was a “logistical reason” for the delay.

June 6, 2005: The preliminary hearing began in Brampton, Ont.; the judge imposed a publication ban on all details, and the hearing was expected to last 15 days.

Chen pleaded guilty to second-degree murder on May 9, 2006, entering the plea on what would have been the first day of his trial.

Min Chen originally was charged with first-degree murder.

John Rosen told reporters about the parties’ interests; Rosen said:

"There is one factor I think everybody should keep in mind and that is that Sherry Xu and Raymond Zhang, the parents of Cecilia Zhang, are emotionally fragile," and: "My client had no desire to put them through unnecessarily a lengthy and difficult trial that would further compromise their mental and physical well-being."

Neither Cecilia’s parents nor Chen were in the courtroom when the guilty plea was entered.

The judge asked Chen directly if he understood that pleading guilty to second-degree murder would mean a sentence of life in prison, and Chen replied that he did.

Sentencing and parole

May 12, 2006: Min Chen was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum 15 years before becoming eligible for parole.

A timeline entry stated that on May 12, 2006, Chen would spend 15 years in prison before becoming eligible for parole.

At the parole hearing in a Brampton court:

• Crown lawyers asked for parole eligibility in the 17- to 20-year range.
• Chen’s lawyers asked for 12 years.
• Justice Bruce Durno was described as ruling Friday morning on Chen’s parole eligibility.
• CTV’s legal expert Steven Skurka said:

"I expect though that we're looking at 15 to 20 years before there's any eligibility for parole and then of course once that's finished, he has to deal with the legal system in China -- far worse,"

Skurka also said:

"China takes the position no matter what happens in Canada with a Chinese resident, they'll independently look at the case and believe me, he faces far worse in that country."

Victim impact statements

In a victim impact statement played in court, Raymond Zhang expressed grief and loss; he said:

"Oct. 20, 2003, is the darkest day in my life. My beloved Cecilia was kidnapped from our home. After the day, my whole world collapsed,"

and:

"I will never see my beloved Cecilia again in this life. I will not be able to hear her laughter again, and I will not get another hug or kiss from her. No words can express the pain, the loss and the anger in my heart."

Sherry Xu’s video showed where the tape had been stopped and started again as she broke down weeping. She said:

"She was abandoned in the wilderness by her murderer and was covered by snow for 161 days,"

and:

"How cruel is the human heart? Cecilia will never come back. She is gone forever."

Outside the courthouse, Peel Region police Sgt. Todd Moore read a statement on behalf of Cecilia’s parents; it included:

"We have experienced a sense of loss that cannot be explained in understandable terms... each day has been extremely difficult,"

and:

"Two-and-a-half years have passed and each single day has been extremely difficult. The fact that there is now a guilty plea by the person accused in this case brings some sense of closure to us, but no act will ever bring our dear Cecilia back."

Timeline

• 1998 — Cecilia and her parents moved to Toronto from Jiangsu province in China.
• January 22, 2004 — Police ruled out money as the motivating force in Cecilia’s case; the reward fund dropped from $165,000 to $65,000.
• February 2004 — About 4,000 taxicabs displayed Cecilia’s photo to seek information.
• March 27, 2004 — A hiker in a ravine in Mississauga, Ont., near Toronto found Cecilia Zhang’s remains.
• March 28, 2004 — Police confirmed the remains found the previous day were those of Cecilia Zhang.
• April 1, 2004 — Peel Regional Police took over the investigation, with cooperation of Toronto police.
• May 1, 2006 — The trial was put off until May 9; John Rosen said there was a “logistical reason” for the delay.
• May 9, 2006 — Min Chen pleaded guilty to second-degree murder; he had been charged with first-degree murder.
• May 10, 2006 — Reporting described Chen’s guilty plea and the agreed statement of facts.
• May 12, 2006 — Min Chen was sentenced to life in prison with parole eligibility after 15 years.
• July 22, 2004 — Police in Brampton announced Min Chen, 21, had been arrested and charged with first-degree murder.
• July 23, 2004 — Police released the woman arrested the same day and said she would be treated as a witness.
• June 6, 2005 — Preliminary hearing began in Brampton; the judge imposed a publication ban on all details.
• July 22, 2004 — Police announced the arrest of Min Chen and first-degree murder charge.
• October 20, 2003 — Cecilia’s parents discovered Cecilia missing; a window was tampered with; phone calls were traced to pay phones; Chen’s botched kidnapping attempt occurred between 3:00 AM and 4:00 AM.
• October 22, 2003 — Police announced they thought Cecilia still alive but did not believe abduction was random; Mike Boyd was quoted.
• October 24, 2003 — Cecilia’s parents made a public plea for safe return.
• October 25, 2003 — Cecilia’s neighbours set up a special fund for reward donations.
• October 26, 2003 — Cecilia’s mother issued an open letter to three Chinese-language newspapers.
• October 27, 2003 — Toronto police announced a $50,000 reward.
• November 1, 2003 — Cecilia’s parents appeared on America’s Most Wanted to an estimated 10 million viewers; investigators received 13 tips.
• November 12, 2003 — Police announced Cecilia’s parents were not suspects and released videos and copies of schoolwork.
• December 23, 2003 — Toronto police urged abductors to come forward with a ransom demand.
• Jan. 22, 2004 — Reward changes were made after police ruled out money as motivating force.

Other details

Chen’s visa was to have expired in August 2004.

It was stated that Chen entered Canada on a student visa on New Year’s Day 2001, a month before his 18th birthday, and he had lived in Canada since 2001.

The material included that Cecilia and Chen met through a woman who lived briefly in the Zhang home between September 2002 and March 2003.

The reporting stated that after Cecilia disappeared, a door-to-door search occurred in the area surrounding the family home in northeast Toronto and extended to an international probe with local investigators collaborating with police in Asia.

The case included that police urged abductors to consider surrendering early because police “don’t intend to give up,” with Homicide Inspector Rick DeFacendis asking for the public’s patience in a case he said would be difficult to solve.

A quote attributed to Peel Regional Police Chief Noel Catney said Chen had met Cecilia and had been in her family’s home at least four times.

A note in the case included that Cecilia’s case received international attention; her parents appeared on America’s Most Wanted and the search involved police in China. It was also stated that it was widely speculated Cecilia had been abducted for ransom though no demands were ever made.

A description stated that her remains were found five months after the abduction and about three days before what would have been Cecilia’s 10th birthday.