The Mysterious Marina Death of Lingyan Zou

[XLFD]

I greatly thank the FOIA Coordinator of Mason County for actually releasing records dealing with the autopsy and coroner findings in the death of the young lady on June 2, or before, that was found in the Ludington Municipal Marina.  Release of such records lately by City and County agencies has been a struggle.

The Death Scene Investigation Report was created by Tiffany Lamb, a field investigator for the County.  On this document we find that a person named Bob Nelson originally reported the incident, the water temperature was in the low 50s.  The narrative in that document went as followed:

"The body of an unidentified female in her mid twenties to early thirties was found by a passerby. Decedent was found face down floating in water of Ludington munipal’s marina near dock “F”. Decedent is approximately 135lbs, 5’0 inches tall with shoulder length black hair and appears to be of Asian decedent. Upon examination of body on scene no outward sign of trauma seen. The decedent was wearing a silver colored bracelet on her left wrist, both earlobes appeared to be pierced no obvious tattoos or birthmarks found on body. The decedent was found wearing no shoes, black stretch pants, red underwear, a bluish/gray 3/4lengh pinstriped shirt and a tan lace bra. In order to determine if any outward signs of trauma were present decedent’s pants and underwear taken off and submitted as evidence to LPD Detective on scene, her shirt was also unbuttoned but left on persons and transported wearing her bra and shirt to the morgue to be collected as evidence at time of autopsy. Circumstances surrounding death and identification still pending at this time."

The death certificate pronounced the dead woman as Lingyan Zou, as contrasted with the name the Ludington Police Department released to the media.  Though the name "Lingyan Zou" was used throughout the autopsy, death certificate, and toxicology report, the LPD has never corrected this oversight:   Lingyan Zou Death Certificate

We then get to the thirteen page autopsy report.  This was conducted on June 3, and printed out on June 16.  The autopsy narrative:  "I was notified on Saturday, June 2, 2012 of the death of a young Asian woman by Tiffany Lamb, a medical legal investigator, was called to the Ludington Marina in front of PM Steamers restaurant to investigate a body found floating in the water. The decedent was a 24 year-old Asian woman, 5'1" tall weighing an estimated 135 pounds. She had no identification papers. The body was brought to the morgue by EMS and the refrigerator door was sealed by members of the LPD. An autopsy was scheduled for Sunday at 10: 00 A.M.  As per the LPD, the patient is on medication  (info redacted)

She had been an inpatient at (info redacted) Hospital in New York City where she was diagnosed and treated for (info redacted).

The body was removed from the refrigerator under supervision of members of the LPD. Evidence tape was intact. The body clothed in a bra and shirt. The pants and panties had been removed by the LPD prior to arrival in the morgue. The body was thoroughly photographed. Fingerprints were obtained followed by fingernail scrapings. A "rape-kit" to contain oral, vaginal and anal swabs along with hair was obtained and sent with the LPD. Blood for toxicology was obtained from the right femoral artery. A complete autopsy ensued."

The autopsy also declares that there is no trauma to the body, head, neck or other parts of the body.  It does declare the lungs have congestion, focal atelectasis and a few areas of autolysis.  This is consistent with not getting air into the lungs, and hence drowning.

It says under toxicology:  "Postmortem toxicology performed by IVMS Labs is negative for therapeutic drugs and drugs of abuse."  Effectively, this toxicology report said she had positive results for caffeine, which meant she had probably had a bit of coffee, tea, or soda pop prior to her death.  It does not show any use of abused drugs or alcohol above any reporting limits:  Lingyan Zou Toxicology .

At the end of the autopsy, M.E. Marc Keen says there are no abnormal findings, and issues the opinion:  "This patient with a well-documented record of (information redacted) was found floating in the water.  There was no trauma. There were no drugs in her system. She probably committed suicide."    Here is that report in its entirety.

Lingyan Zou Autopsy Report

On July 7, I also sent a FOIA request to the City of Ludington asking for "All records in possession of the City of Ludington and its agencies dealing with the investigation of the death of Ling Lang Zou that occurred down at the Ludington Municipal Marina on June 2, 2012."  On July 16, I got back the same response I got when I requested records concerning investigations into the 'Baby Kate' case a year after she disappeared and after someone had been sentenced to 10-15 years.  So...

Over a month after the toxicology report was sent back to the LPD and coroner (June 14), over a month after the autopsy report was finalized (June 16), over a month after the LPD investigator said the investigation was about to close, the City of Ludington FOIA Coordinator John Shay, with Ludington Police Chief Mark Barnett's approval has said that the investigation records of this death cannot be released because of FOIA exemption in section 13 (1) (b):  Investigating records compiled for law enforcement purposes, but only to the extent that disclosure as a public record would do any of the following:

(i) Interfere with law enforcement proceedings.

(ii) Deprive a person of the right to a fair trial or impartial administrative adjudication.

(iii) Constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.

(iv) Disclose the identity of a confidential source, or if the record is compiled by a law enforcement agency in the course of a criminal investigation, disclose confidential information furnished only by a confidential source.

Is there to be a law enforcement proceeding, trial, or confidential source on this incident, with no evidence of foul play?  You cannot commit an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy on a dead person.  What are they hiding this time?

Why is LPD's Chief Mark Barnett refusing to put out records that by law, should be released?  Why did he release misinformation about the woman's name, and never corrected it?  Why is a coroner's opinion allowed to be the probable cause of death, when he never actually investigated anything but the victim, whose cause of death was drowning/asphyxiation?

Lingyan Zou was not dressed in a manner to take a suicidal plunge that night, she did not know how deep the marina was where she entered it but should have known the water was very cold; she was not intoxicated with any drugs or alcohol, and it is inconclusive whether she had any of the medications in her system that she took for her illness (which has been reported as schizophrenia), since the toxicology tests likely didn't cover those.

More than likely, the City of Ludington is afraid to show us the records we pay them to produce because it would show the liability they had for this woman's death.  Anyone can misstep or trip on the transient marina docks and fall into the deep water and drown in quick fashion from the shock of the fall or the cold water.  Why would anyone put a sidewalk on the side of a cliff with no guardrail?

[In Dulci Jubilo]

I still cannot, CANNOT believe, that, based on the ME's findings of well.... nothing, that a METHOD of death - "she probably committed suicide," is listed.  I am not a medical expert, but I just don't see this type of autopsy report flying in a major metropolitan area.

[Willy]

I'm no medical expert but I didn't see anything on the report that stated a cause of death other than suicide. If she had drowned would not her lungs contain water. If she didn't drown shouldn't there be signs she suffered hypothermia from being in the cold water? The report also states there were no signs of adnormalities. I would think that any sign of drowning or hypothermia would constitute signs of adnormalities so do we assume she neither drowned or succumed to hypothermia. So my question is what was the cause of death? X, I'm glad your checking into this because unless or until local authorities come clean about the cause of death I see a real problem in how suspicious deaths are handled by Ludingtons police and medical examiner.

[XLFD]

Good points Willy, In Dulci; the conditions of the lungs isn't necessarily conclusory for drowning, but it sure points that way.  By this report one might conclude that she "thought" herself to death, according to the opinion, offered without reasons, of Marc Keen.   

[Marty Redman]

Thanks for providing us the written information you received, it gives the findings here more authenticity.  That opinion is out of whack with reality.  I was up in Ludington earlier this month and saw a family of five walking down that strip of concrete by the side of the marina with a young kid mere inches from the side sevoral time not looking where he was going.  Nobody would willingly jump into a cold, stagnant marina to kill themselves even if they were looney tunes when there is so many other ways to do it. 

How come they released her schizoprenia publicly, but blacked it out on the autopsy?

[XLFD]

It is possible, but it is also very possible to drown in water without having your lungs fill with water.  I am not a Medical Examiner, but the conditions of the lungs (the lungs have congestion, focal atelectasis and a few areas of autolysis) conforms to the cause of death being due to the inability of Lingyan to breathe. 

So hypothetically, she could have been suffocated/asphyxiated elsewhere and then dumped into the marina.  If this were the case we would have to ask why she didn't fight to avoid it (no damage to her body, no forensic evidence of any other person's involvement), and why did the person who placed her in the marina take such a risk of going to that very public area, in sight of all the whole marina boats just off downtown Ludington on the weekend after Memorial Day to place her in the water halfway down the partially illuminated transient docks?

[XLFD]

This afternoon Ludington FOIA Coordinator/City Manager John Shay, apparently responding to this article sent me the four documents I was sent from Medical Examiner Keen and said:  "I have attached the records from the marina-drowning investigation that Dr. Keen has already released to you.  The City will not release any additional records as the requested records are investigative records compiled for law enforcement purposes and disclosure would interfere with law enforcement proceedings, deprive a person of the right to a fair trial or impartial administrative adjudication, constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy or disclose the identity of a confidential source or disclose confidential information furnished by a confidential source." 

He never discloses why it "would", which is mandated by the law and court precedent, nor narrows down any of the conclusory statements.  Nor does he explain what good an exact duplication of records I already have would do for me, or fulfill my FOIA request of the City of Ludington.   

 

[XLFD]

Good question.  What our local law enforcement seems to believe is that if you say an investigation is ongoing you can avoid giving out investigatory records, even though that has been strictly limited by courts in Michigan and elsewhere.  That was previously analyzed here.

[XLFD]

The Autopsy records the LPD had that I was just given this afternoon, had more information on it than the Coroner's A.R.

In the narrative it says:

As per the LPD, the patient is on medication for a psychiatric disorder.
• Fluphenazine: 5mg po bid
• Divalproex: 250mg po bid
• Trazodone: 50mg po qhs
• Benztropine: 0.5mg po bid
• Acetominophen
She had been an inpatient at Bellevue Hospital in New York City where she was diagnosed and treated for schizophrenia and depression. She had prior attempts at suicide and ongoing suicidal ideations.

The ME opinion has "mental illness" in the place where the prior redaction took place. 

[XLFD]

The toxicology report did not cover any of these particular drugs, and I don't know enough to say whether they would create a positive result for a different type of drug that was tested for.  The official word was that she had went off her medication, but can that be concluded?

[XLFD]

Fluphenazine is an antipsychotic medication used to treat schizophrenia and psychotic symptoms.

Divalproex is used for the treatment of the manic episodes of bipolar disorder.

Trazodone is used to treat depression.

Benztropine is an anticholinergic drug used in patients to reduce the side effects of antipsychotic treatment.

Acetaminophen is Tylenol, et. al.

[In Dulci Jubilo]

Johanna, she was an employee of China Buffet restaurant.    Most Chinese restaurant workers start out at a "clearing house" for restaurant employees in NYC when they first come over.   

Here's an article, one of several, that I came across when I googled the subject a couple of months ago.   http://www.resident.com/node/191

[AQUAMAN]

I suppose we can all speculate on this unfortunate death into next year. For me, the lesson to be learned as X pointed out is when and if the COL is going to put up a hand rail or guard rail in that area of the marina/boardwalk so this is more safe for walkers in the future. I hear no such talk nor emphasis on this matter yet at all, which I would think would be on the minds of several down at city hall. Perhaps they want this to occur multiple times into the future before something is done?