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Probe on Chinese woman’s death rules out foul play
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Posted on Mar 15 2005
Authorities ruled out any foul play behind the death of a Chinese woman whose body was found at a Lower Base beach last Thursday, concluding that she committed suicide.
Citing findings of a police investigation, CNMI chief prosecutor David Hutton said yesterday that 23-year-old Hui Xia Yang suffered from severe depression and jumped from a pier in Lower Base, without the ability to swim.
“After conferring with [police] detective Babauta and commander Ed Manalili, we’ve determined that the death was suicide in an investigation that included deciphering e-mails,” Hutton said.
“Before committing suicide, she was undergoing severe depression and she believed that her condition was hopeless. Before she committed suicide, she destroyed her employee and travel documents,” he added.
The chief prosecutor also said that the woman had gouged her photo in her identification card, indicating that she was depressed.
An autopsy of the woman’s body indicated that she died of drowning. Police earlier said that the body remained in the water for several hours before it was discovered, adding that fish and crabs might have caused the bruises on her face.
Hutton said the autopsy revealed no external trauma or prior-drowning asphyxiation, ruling out the possibility that the woman might have been strangled to death before drowning.
Police earlier said that the body was found fully clothed and wet last Thursday. The woman used to work as a hand sewer for Concorde Manufacturing, a garment factory in Lower Base. The company had reported the woman as missing last Wednesday before the discovery of the dead body.
