Foul play claimed in trunk death

The father of May Mengyao Zhou, the Stanford doctoral student who was found dead in the trunk of her car in Santa Rosa in January, wants police to view her exhumed body, citing a private autopsy that he said revealed injuries from blunt-force trauma.

"This is a homicide case now . . . This is confirmed by our pathologist," Yitong Zhou of San Diego said Monday, insisting that Santa Rosa police detectives travel to Southern California. "Nothing is better than coming down to look at the body themselves."

The privately hired pathologist found "multiple sites of trauma" in the area of the 23-year-old's "head and extremities," according to a statement posted on the family's Web site.

Zhou would not name the pathologist or provide a copy of the autopsy report to Santa Rosa police or the media, saying Monday "it will jeopardize the investigation."

The first autopsy, conducted Jan. 26 through the Sonoma County coroner's office, revealed a potentially toxic amount of an over-the-counter antihistamine, diphenhydramine, in Zhou's body. A day earlier, when Zhou's 2006 Toyota Corolla was towed from a Santa Rosa Junior College parking lot and her body was discovered inside the trunk, police said items found in the trunk indicated a possible suicide.

The initial autopsy showed no signs of blunt force trauma, coroner's Sgt. Mitch Mana said Monday.

The case remains open, and Santa Rosa Police Sgt. Paul Henry said he has a "strong interest" in reviewing the report by the Zhous' pathologist.

"I am absolutely committed to finding the truth of this case, to the extent possible. I am willing to consider any possibility," Henry said. "Up until this point, they have refused to provide the report that supports their conclusion."

Zhou went missing Jan. 20 after leaving her on-campus apartment complex in Palo Alto. Stanford police tracked her scent with a bloodhound and checked cell phone and credit card records in attempts to find her, but neither their investigation nor Santa Rosa police have turned up evidence suggesting she was murdered.

"There were no indications showing any type of abduction or foul play," said Deputy Chris Cohendet of Stanford's Department of Public Safety.

Henry said he could not confirm any information uncovered in the second autopsy, which Zhou's family said was performed May 10.

"We still have not identified a single person who would want to do any harm to May Zhou," he said.

Yitong Zhou, meanwhile, said he wants to receive documentation from the first autopsy, which local authorities said they would not turn over until Santa Rosa police complete their investigation.

News Researcher Teresa Meikle contributed to this report. You can reach Staff Writer Katy Hillenmeyer at 521-5274 or katy.hillenmeyer@pressdemocrat.com.