Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
CANTON, Ohio (AP) — An Ohio couple who reported their 5-year-old daughter missing before her body was found hidden at their restaurant in January have pleaded not guilty to murder and corpse-abuse charges.
Mingming Chen and her husband, Liang Zhao, entered their pleas Wednesday in a Canton courtroom. They remain held under $5 million bond.
Authorities say Chen repeatedly punched Ashley Zhao. They say Liang Zhao unsuccessfully tried to revive the girl and then tried to help conceal her death.
Authorities say Zhao told 911 dispatchers on Jan. 9 his daughter was sleeping in the back of Ang's Asian Cuisine restaurant in North Canton before she vanished. Police found the girl's body hidden inside the business the next day.
Chen and Zhao are Chinese. Chen's attorney has declined to comment. Zhao's attorney can't be reached.
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.