(L.A.) Menghan Zhuang, 23, Died in Newhall
Case Number: 2025-02385
UPDATE: LASD says for this crime, they arrested Jack Minh Terry, 22 years of age, in Garden Grove on February 16. He is being held in Castaic on no bail.
Los Angeles County is reporting the death of a 23-year-old Asian female that occurred at her apartment in Newhall.
The coroner’s office identified the young woman as Menghan Zhuang, resident of The Vistas condominium complex at 21334 Nandina Lane.
Manner of Death: Homicide
Cause of Death: Multiple Injuries
RIP MENGHAN ZHUANG (August 15, 2001 – February 4, 2025)
Formal pronouncement of death was made on Tuesday at 7:03 p.m.
The decedent was a Chinese student from the mainland who was killed at an off-campus residence. She was a senior at CalArts, the California Institute of the Arts, where she was known by her English moniker Emily King. Her birth name appears to be 庄孟寒.
Late Wednesday, February 12, the L.A. Consulate of the People’s Republic of China issued the following statement:
关于领区一名中国留学生不幸遇害的情况通报
根据洛杉矶警方通报，就读于南加州一所高校的一名中国留学生近日在其校外住所不幸遇害，目前案件正在加紧调查中。
驻洛杉矶总领馆高度重视领区中国公民安全，对该中国留学生不幸遇害深感震惊和痛惜，向其亲属表示深切哀悼和诚挚慰问，对凶手犯罪行径予以强烈谴责。总领馆已敦促美方加快案件调查，尽快将凶手绳之以法。总领馆并与家属保持密切联系，协调校方等为善后处理等事宜提供积极协助。总领馆将继续密切跟进案件侦办情况，为家属提供必要支持。
Regarding the unfortunate murder of a Chinese student in the consular district:
According to the Los Angeles police, a Chinese student studying at a university in Southern California was recently killed at their off-campus residence. The case is currently under investigation.
The Chinese Consulate General in Los Angeles attaches great importance to the safety of Chinese citizens in the consular district. We are deeply shocked and saddened by the unfortunate murder of the Chinese student. We express our deep condolences and sincere sympathy to the relatives and strongly condemn the criminal acts of the murderer. The Consulate General has urged the United States to speed up the investigation of the case and bring the murderer to justice as soon as possible. The Consulate General has also maintained close contact with the family and coordinated with the school to provide active assistance in the aftermath. The Consulate General will continue to closely follow up on the investigation of the case and provide necessary support to the family.
關於領區一名中國留學生不幸遇害的情況通報
根據洛杉磯警方通報，就讀南加州一所高校的一名中國留學生近日在其校外住所不幸遇害，目前案件正在加緊調查中。
駐洛杉磯總領館高度重視領區中國公民安全，對該中國留學生不幸遇害深感震驚和痛惜，向其親屬表示深切哀悼和誠摯慰問，對兇手犯罪行徑予以強烈譴責。總領館已敦促美方加快案件調查，盡快將兇手繩之以法。總領館並與家屬保持密切聯繫，協調校方等為善後處理等事宜提供積極協助。總領館將繼續密切跟進案件偵辦情況，為家屬提供必要支援。
Newhall is the southernmost community in the city of Santa Clarita.
It is not the LAPD (Los Angeles Police Department) but the LASD (Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department) that has jurisdiction over the investigation.
Deputies from the Santa Clarita Valley sheriff’s station dispatched for a welfare check were the ones who found her body. (Update: During the presser below, the spokesperson said it was the roommate who found the body; he may have misspoken in answering a reporter’s question.)
LASD officials held a news conference on Thursday, February 13, at the SCV Sheriff’s Station, where they released information about a person of interest in the woman’s death.
“Homicide Bureau is seeking the public’s help in identifying a person of interest described as a male seen entering the victim’s apartment the night before and then seen exiting from her second-story bedroom window on the afternoon of the day she was discovered deceased,” said a Nixle alert released Wednesday afternoon.
Law enforcement described the possible suspect as appearing to be of Asian descent. Note that they have explicitly stated and emphasized that her male roommate, her cohabitant in a two-bedroom apartment, is NOT the person of interest.
Zhuang herself brought the man seen in the poster into the apartment on Monday night. The following afternoon, the man was seen exiting through a second-story bedroom window. A few hours later, her body was found lifeless with injuries to the upper torso.
Homicide Bureau Detectives are asking for the public's assistance in identifying a person of interest.
This individual is a male who was seen entering the victim's apartment the night before and later seen leaving through her second-story bedroom window on the afternoon she was… pic.twitter.com/r9lYWALjn9
— LA County Sheriffs (@LASDHQ) February 13, 2025
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is expected to approve a $20,000 reward for anyone who helps identify and locate the person of interest.
M. Butterfly is a play by David Henry Hwang. The video above was posted in November 2022.
The elderly gentleman in her more recent Instagram posts appears to have been only one of her numerous ex-boyfriends and BDSM partners.
Below is Menghan Zhuang’s views on BDSM, as of April 2024.
A true Dom is ALWAYS respectful, will guide you, instruct you, encourage you, help you, and drive you to reach your full potential.
Not in the bedroom, in LIFE.
A true Dom will be the most supportive person you’ve ever met. They’ll challenge you and teach you things about yourself you never knew.
They’ll bring out the very best in you.
BDSM stands for Bondage, Domination, Sadism, and Masochism. It refers to a wide range of consensual activities and relationships involving power dynamics, role-playing, and various of forms physical and emotional stimulation.
Bondage involves the use of restraints or other methods to restrict movement or control a person’s body. This can include using ropes, handcuffs, or other tools. Bondage is often about creating a sense of vulnerability and trust between the participants.
Domination refers to a power dynamic where one person (the dominant, or “dom”) takes a controlling or authoritative role over another person (the submissive, or “sub”). This can involve giving and receiving orders, and it often includes a significant emotional and psychological component.
Sadism, in the context of BDSM, refers to deriving pleasure from inflicting pain or control over another person. This is not about causing harm but rather about providing a controlled and consensual experience that both parties find pleasurable.
Masochism involves deriving pleasure from receiving pain or control. Like sadism, this is about consensual experiences where both parties agree to the activities and boundaries involved.
Emily King had an account on FetLife, a social network for the fetish or ‘kink’ community. Presumably, her killer was a fellow member.
Extreme pain is pleasure. It excites the numb nerves.
— Menghan Zhuan, March 2024
Elaine O’Hara, a 36-year-old woman from Dublin, was killed by Graham Dwyer, who had a fetish for stabbing women during sex. O’Hara had a “Master and Slave” relationship with Dwyer before her murder in 2012.
The 2015 trial and conviction of Dwyer led to the circulation of evidence concerning O’Hara’s and Dwyer’s involvement in the BDSM sexual subculture. The evidence of Dwyer’s sadistic sexual practices led to the murder being called one of the most shocking crimes in Irish history.