Authorities have announced a breakthrough in the case of murdered professional poker player Susie Zhao. Police have charged Jeffery Bernard Morris, a convicted sex offender with Zhao’s death.

Authorities revealed that Morris met with the victim the night before her body was discovered in the parking area in White Lake Township. The Oakland County Medical Examiner stated that the exact cause of death remains unknown, pending a toxicology report. 

A local resident discovered Zhao’s charred remains on the morning of July 13 and police believe she may have been targeted because of her poker profession.  

Early reports from authorities indicate that they were able to use cell phone records to show that Zhao had met Morris at the Waterford Motel the previous evening, but the nature of how the victim knew her attacker remains unclear.