The Ocean Parkway Doe and Mo Zhang: Are The Cases Related?

The Ocean Parkway Doe is the skeletal remains of a homicide victim believed by investigators to have been transgender. This is so because upon first glance, the victim was found in women's clothing but through DNA testing, it was determined that the doe had the Y-chromosome.

On April 4, 2011 while searchers went down Ocean Parkway, a 12-mile stretch of beach in Long Island, New York, searching for missing prostitute Shannan Gilbert, more skeletal remains were discovered after an initial five women were found in December of 2010. This discovery of the "Gilgo Beach Four" (Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, Amber Lynn Costello) and the rest of Jessica Taylor's remains (Jessica went missing in July 2003, found that same month, and identified in March 2004) led to police announcing a serial killer on Long Island. Ocean Parkway Doe continued to lay there until April of the following year, once search parties came back after a "wicked" winter storm made it impossible to search for remains. The murders stopped in December after the story was released but more victims from years past would be found. These included: The Manorville Jane Doe, Fire Island Jane Doe, Baby Doe, Bag of bones (later matched with a dismembered torso found in 1997, also matched with DNA of Baby Doe), and Ocean Parkway Doe being found after Jessica Taylor, which left police "stumped" 'cause at first they were only finding biological women. The neighborhood where the victims were discovered were shaken up but not too worried since all of the victims were involved or believed to be involved in the sex trade. This was so until the remains of a small child wrapped in a blanket were found.

Soon thereafter a composite sketch of the Ocean Parkway Doe was released; leading internet sleuths to come up with possible identities. Enter Mo Zhang. Mo was a Chinese foreign-exchange student being sponsored by a family in Yorktown, Virginia. Zhang disappeared from a church lock-in on August 9, 2006. He is rumored to be out of the state; only fueling rumors that the doe could be Mo Zhang. Even more curiosity fell upon armchair detectives when a picture of Mo lined up well with the composite of the doe. Both Zhang and the doe have unique noses, that when laid on top of each other, align perfectly. (Mo Zhang pictured right) 

Yim Yeung-Tsui, a Chinese student at SUNY (State University of New York) was also considered as a possible match to the Ocean Parkway Doe but was ruled out through DNA. (Yim Yeung-Tsui pictured left)

My theory is that Zhang, a gifted student but troubled youth accepted a chance to be in an environment accepting of transsexuality, like let's say New York. The chance was by way of a foreign-exchange student program, which Mo qualified for. His sponsors were most likely religious (most religions don't accept the transgender lifestyle) sending him to church, where either he was open about his plans to transition and met with opposition, or he kept it hidden and was just annoyed by all of the talk of religion. This caused him to leave the lock-in; hitchhiking to New York where reality of a cruel world set in, as a then seventeen-year-old Mo had: no education, job skills, or people he knew in New York; putting him in a situation of homelessness and survival sex. He may have found some other more experienced trans women who guided him; allowing him to have access to the female clothing. On just a usual night, the killer, probably bisexual or curious picked Mo up and took him back to his house. I disagree with the police theory that the killer beat Zhang to death upon finding out he had male genitalia; that example is so played out, especially since the doe was dressed at the time of discovery. I doubt a transphobic man would want to dress a trans woman, touch her, etc. So I surmise that they finished having sex either for the first time with each other, or that it was a regular thing that the killer didn't feel comfortable with anymore, so he killed her.

Currently Mo's biological family have been hard for police to track down to obtain a DNA sample for comparison. They are most likely still in China and the school where Mo either went to for a few days, or was going to go to, threw out his records. I also doubt the sponsors kept any of Mo's possessions like a toothbrush, hair brush, etc. for DNA samples, so it's hard to say if this case will ever be solved.