NORTH CANTON, OH (WCMH) -Police confirmed that 5-year-old Ashley Zhao, last seen at Ang’s Asian Cuisine in North Canton was found dead Tuesday evening and that her parents have been taken into custody.
Zhao was found dead and hidden inside the restaurant, WKYC reported. Both parents were given a $5 million bond on Wednesday.
Ashley Zhao was previously last seen at Ang’s Asian Cuisine at 4925 Portage St. NW in North Canton around 5pm Monday, according to the Ohio Attorney General’s Office. According to police, her parents said Ashley went to lay down in the back of the restaurant around 4pm. When her mom went to check on her around 9pm, Ashley was gone.

Stark County Sheriff’s Office investigators say Mingming Chen, Ashley’s mom, struck her daughter in the head multiple times with her fist. Ashley also suffered injuries to her body, which led to her death. Police say the brutal beating happened around 9:15am Monday morning.

According to WKYC, officers believe that Liang Zhao, Ashley’s father, found out that Chen had bashed Ashley’s head on the floor twice and noticed a green fluid coming from her mouth. He discovered she had stopped breathing after trying to clean her up. Officers say he tried to revive Ashley with CPR, but his attempts were unsuccessful.
Chen has been charged with murder and Zhao has been charged with complicity to commit felonious assault.
