Owners of Chinese Happiness restaurant; employee questioned
D’IBERVILLE – Authorities said they have a person of interest in custody in connection with a triple homicide that occurred earlier this month in Harrison County. Captain Clay Jones, the Operations Commander of the D’Iberville Police Department, said on Oct. 5, an 8-year-old girl returned home from school and discovered the bodies of her mother, father and aunt at their home in D‘Iberville. All three had been murdered.
Jones said 40-year-old Mei Rong Li, her husband, Rong Chen, 40, and her sister, 53-year-old Mei Jin Li had each been stabbed to death at the couple’s residence in the 10000 block of Seymour Avenue.
All three victims were initially from China, and the couple were the owners of Chinese Happiness, a restaurant on Central Street in D’Iberville.
Neighbors said the husband, Chen, was last seen that morning in their yard with his youngest child just before she got on the school bus.
The couple has four children ages 8 to 16 which have since been placed in foster care.
Reportedly, the 8-year-old was the first to arrive home later that afternoon and she happened upon the bodies. Witnesses said she went to a nearby business, Stringer Auto Center, where the owner, Paul Powell, said he called police.
“I looked up and there was a little girl. I could tell she was really super upset, crying and couldn’t really talk and she’s just saying, `our waitress killed my aunt.’ And I said, `what’, and she said, `he killed my aunt,”’ Powell said in a statement.
Captain Jones said although an employee of the victims has been taken into custody on unrelated charges filed by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and still remains a person of interest, the D’Iberville Police Department continues to ask for the public’s help in this matter.
“Anyone who may have information regarding this case or who may have been in the area on or around Seymour Avenue on the morning of Wednesday, October 5, 2011, between the hours of 6:00 am and 11:30 am is asked to contact the police,” Jones said. “It is possible that a citizen witnessed something that did not appear suspicious at the time; and therefore, did not attract attention. However, that small bit of information just might be what is needed to connect the dots to solve this crime.”
On Monday, Oct. 17, D’Iberville Police Chief Wayne Payne said crime scene investigators had gathered forensic evidence from the victims’ residence and from the victims themselves and that the evidence had been delivered to the Mississippi State Crime Laboratory in Jackson for analysis.
Payne further said that when the murders occurred on Oct. 5, a massive joint investigation was launched by several state and federal organizations including the D’Iberville Police Department, the Biloxi Police Department, Harrison County Sheriff’s Office, Harrison County Coroner’s Office, Harrison County District Attorney’s Office, U.S. Marshals Service, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), ICE- Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Keesler AFB with language translation.
“The investigation of these murders has crossed city, county, state, federal and International jurisdictions,” Payne said. “Personnel from this investigative team have combed the crime scene and recovered a variety of evidence; including DNA evidence. Investigators canvassed the neighborhood door-to-door, looking for potential witnesses. They conducted interviews, served search warrants and are examining other leads and clues. So far, despite the efforts of theses investigators, the murders remain unsolved.”
Payne said he continues to look to the citizens of D’Iberville and Harrison County for their continued support and he appeals to the public for information which he hopes will lead to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the murders.
“We have a responsibility to these victims, their families and our citizens to arrest those who committed these terrible crimes,” he said. “We will investigate and pursue the person or persons responsible until they are arrested or all leads are exhausted.”
Anyone with information regarding this crime, can contact the D’Iberville Police Department at 228-396-4252 or Crime Stoppers at 877-787-5898/ www.crimestoppers.com
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