Mingming Chen attends a hearing where her defense attorney argued a police interview in which Chen acknowledged killing her 5-year-old daughter should be excluded from the Chinese woman's murder trial because a translator wasn't present, on Monday, Oct. 16, 2017, in Stark County Common Pleas Court in Canton, Ohio. Chen, of Jackson Township, Ohio, pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity Thursday, Oct. 12, 2017, in the death of Ashley Zhao, whose body was found hidden in the family's North Canton, Ohio, restaurant on Jan. 10, 2017, a day after she was reported missing. Chen cried as portions of a police interview were played Monday, Oct. 16, 2017, on a projection screen in the courtroom. (Michael Balash/The Canton Repository via AP)
Republished October 17, 2017 - 10:14 AM
Original Publication Date October 17, 2017 - 6:16 AM
CANTON, Ohio - A defence attorney argues that a police interview in which a Chinese woman acknowledged killing her 5-year-old daughter should be excluded from her Ohio murder trial because a translator wasn't present at that point.
Twenty-nine-year-old Mingming Chen, of Jackson Township, pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity in the death of Ashley Zhao. Her body was found hidden in the family's North Canton restaurant after she was reported missing in January.
The Repository reports prosecutors noted in court on Monday that Chen hadn't requested the translator to return when she acknowledged killing Ashley.
Authorities allege that Chen repeatedly punched her daughter and that Chen's husband, Liang Zhao, tried to revive the girl before helping to hide the body.
Zhao pleaded guilty to charges including obstructing justice and corpse abuse.
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Information from: The Repository, http://www.cantonrep.com
News from © The Associated Press, 2017