Body of Xiaojia "Grace" Chen, 47, of Austin, TX Found 2/19/14-Ruled Homicide

[MuffyBee]

http://www.statesman.com/news/news/crime-law/officials-woman-found-dead-in-northwest-austin-was/ndWxJ/
Officials: Woman found dead in Northwest Austin was murdered
February 20, 2014

A woman whose body was found in a Northwest Austin office building Wednesday afternoon has been identified as 47-year-old Xiaojia “Grace” Chen of Austin, according to police. Her death has been ruled a homicide.
Someone who worked in the building found Chen’s body in a second-floor room at the Galleria Oaks shopping center at 13376 N. U.S. 183 near Anderson Mill Road and reported it to police about 3:35 p.m. Police said she suffered trauma to her body, which had been in the location for about two hours.
A suspect is still at large and police said that it is possible that Chen was randomly targeted.
Chen and her husband own the Grace Language and Cultural Institute located in the shopping center. She was well-liked among her clients and was very friendly, said police Sgt. Brian Miller. They have one son who lives out of state.
According to her business website, Chen was originally from China and was teaching Chinese in Austin, penning a series of instructional textbooks for her school.
 

Business Website: http://gracechineseaustin.com/about-us/staff-and-faculty/

[MuffyBee]

http://www.kvue.com/news/local/Police-investigate-suspicious-death-246256711.html
Police: Shopping center death was homicide
Posted on February 20, 2014 at 3:49 PM
Updated today at 5:15 PM

AUSTIN -- Police have ruled the suspicious death of a woman found in a shopping center Wednesday a homicide.
Xiaojia "Grace" Chen, 47, was found dead at the Galleria Oaks shopping center on North U.S. Highway 183 near Anderson Mill in Northwest Austin.
APD says Chen had trauma on her body, and she was pronounced dead around 3:45 p.m.
Police have learned that Chen and her husband own the Grace Language and Cultural Institute in the shopping center.
Homicide detectives are now investigating. If you have any information on this case you are asked to call police at (512) 477-3588
 

Video at link.

[MuffyBee]

http://www.myfoxaustin.com/story/24780111/apd-shopping-center-death-ruled-homicide
APD: Shopping center death ruled homicide
February 20, 2014



Austin police have ruled a woman's death as a homicide. She was found in Northwest Austin Wednesday afternoon. Officers say it could be random.

Officers say the victim is Grace Chen. She and her husband own Grace Language and Culture.

Officers say she was found dead with trauma to her body outside of her business at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday afternoon. Her business is located on the second floor of the Galleria Oaks Shopping Center at Anderson Mill and 183.

 

This is what they know of the couple:

"Usually very friendly from what I understand. The business was kind of a dual language slash art program. The husband kind of focused on art she kind of focused on language. From what I've gathered they were well like and had a wide client base," said APD Sgt. Brian Miller.

Officers urge anyone who was in the area of the Galleria Oaks Shopping Center at 3:30 p.m. to call in tips. Whatever you saw could help solve this case. Officers are currently looking for surveillance video.

[MuffyBee]

http://www.keyetv.com/news/features/top-stories/stories/nw-austin-murder-victim-identified-16260.shtml
NW Austin Murder Victim Identified
February 20, 2014

Updated: Thursday, February 20 2014, 05:26 PM CST The woman found dead in the second floor of a Northwest Austin shopping center Wednesday afternoon has been identified. Investigators say at around 3:35 p.m. officers were dispatched to the Gallery Oaks Shopping Center along Hwy 183 just south of Anderson Mill Road for a check welfare call. They found 47-year-old Xiaojia "Grace" Chen already dead when they arrived. Investigators say Chen had sustained trauma but would not be more specific. But her death has been ruled a homicide by the Travis County Medical Examiner's Office.
 

[Green Eyes]

How sad Another life lost for what?  If this had happened in Southern California my first thought would be gang related. As in They wouldn't pay the group a protection fee or something along those lines. I don't know much about the Austin area so can't say. This cr*p needs to stop.

[MuffyBee]

How sad Another life lost for what?  If this had happened in Southern California my first thought would be gang related. As in They wouldn't pay the group a protection fee or something along those lines. I don't know much about the Austin area so can't say. This cr*p needs to stop.

My first thought was possibly a homeless person.  I guess we'll have to wait and see.  The next article I'm posting says the area Grace Chen was found in wasn't accessible to the public, though.  So, maybe a homeless person wasn't responsible. 

[MuffyBee]

http://www.keyetv.com/news/features/top-stories/stories/nw-austin-business-owners-concerned-after-homicide-16290.shtml
NW Austin Business Owners Concerned After Homicide
February 21, 2014

Two days after 47-year-old Grace Chen was found dead at the Galleria Oaks Shopping Center in Northwest Austin it appears things are pretty much back to normal. But business owners in the area say they are still very much thinking about what happened. "I thought they were both very nice people," said EmbroidMe owner Michael Tipton. For the last year, Tipton has worked just a short ways away from the business Chen owned with her husband. While Tipton didn't know the couple well, her death is making him think twice. "I come in at two or three o'clock in the morning sometimes just to get things done. I always park right in front, I always look around because we do have homeless people that wander around, but you know, probably won't be doing that as much," said Tipton. Business owners tell us Chen's body was found in an area of the shopping center that's not accessible to the general public. We asked police, but they can't comment. All they will say is Chen was found on the second floor, not far from the Grace Language and Cultural Center she owned, with apparent trauma. As of Friday afternoon, Chen's business was still closed. The lack of an arrest is worrisome to Tipton, who wonders who could have murdered someone in broad daylight so close to so many people.
 

Video at Link

[MuffyBee]

http://www.keyetv.com/news/features/top-stories/stories/police-rule-nw-austin-shopping-center-death-homicide-16273.shtml
Police Rule NW Shopping Center Death Homicide
February 21, 2014

 
The Austin Police Department said Chen's body was found on the second floor with apparent trauma. Police could not give us specifics on the exact location, but customers KEYE TV spoke with said her body was found in a very public place. Sergeant Brian Miller is with the APD Homicide Unit said it has been an extensive crime scene, and investigators were combing the area for more than 13 hours. "It was someone who worked on the floor that actually found her," Miller said. Police said Chen was pronounced dead at 3:45 p.m. but believe Chen's body had been there for two hours. "Robbery defiantly doesn't look to be the motive," Miller said. Chen and her husband own the Grace Language and Cultural Center that sits on the corner of the second floor at the shopping center. Other business owners said Chen was always friendly and well-liked. For now, the lights to her business are off and a closed sign hangs on the door as police try to close the case and catch the killer. At this time, police said there are no suspects, and the homicide could be random.
 

[MuffyBee]

http://www.kvue.com/news/Police-investigate-suspicious-death-246256711.html
Friends, family hold vigil for Grace Chen
February 23, 2014, Updated February 24, 2014


AUSTIN -- Family and friends gathered over the weekend to say goodbye to a homicide victim.
Xiaojia "Grace" Chen, 47, was found dead at the Galleria Oaks shopping center on North U.S. Highway 183 near Anderson Mill in Northwest Austin last week. Police have ruled her death a homicide.
Austin's Chinese community held a candlelight vigil Sunday at the Galleria Oaks shopping center. A friend says Grace was a mother to a college student. Friends are collecting donations to help the family.
 

[MuffyBee]

http://www.statesman.com/news/news/crime-law/memorial-fund-created-for-slain-chinese-teacher/ndbCs/
Memorial fund created for slain Chinese teacher
February 24, 2014

Friends and family have created a memorial fund for a Chinese teacher killed in Northwest Austin last week.
Photos of checks can be texted to the Grace Chen Memorial Committee at 512-785-3841. Donations can also be made through Paypal by entering the email GraceInOurHeart@gmail.com.
Any questions about donations can be made to Jill Liu at 737-932-2280. The money will help pay for funeral services, friends say.
 
Officials have ruled her death a homicide and are still looking for a suspect in her death.

[MuffyBee]

This is the first time I've seen the information that Grace Chen was found "inside a bathroom".

http://kxan.com/2014/02/26/chief-to-answer-questions-about-fears-after-recent-homicide-in-northwest-austin/
APD Chief addresses ‘fears’ after Galleria Oaks homicide
February 26, 2014

After Xiaojia ‘Grace’ Chen was found dead last Wednesday inside a bathroom in a second-floor building at the Galleria Oaks shopping center, neighbors and friends grew uneasy.

According to police reports, Chen’s body had been in the room for about two hours before a worker at the complex found her.  She and her husband own Grace Language and Cultural Institute located in the shopping center.

“There’s a lot of collective fear, a lot of collective trauma because if it could happen to her it could happen to us,” said Amy Won Mok, CEO and President of the Asian American Cultural Center.

The center is a Chinese School as well and is less than five miles from where Chen’s school was.

Wednesday night Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo will answer questions about safety and other concerns.

“We have some questions about the security of the strip mall and it’s just down the street from us and we have concerns because we identify with the victim, she looks like us,” said Mok.

She said people in the Asian community are concerned the violent crime was a targeted attack.  The fear stems  from the recent homicide investigation out of Houston.

A Chinese family of four was found dead inside their Cypress home earlier this month.   Police have not indicated if the crimes are related but Mok said  she and others want a chance to ask.
 

[MuffyBee]

http://kxan.com/2014/02/26/asian-community-packs-center-to-address-fears-after-homicide/
Asian community packs center to address fears after homicide
Published February 26, 2014, Updated February 27, 2014

AUSTIN (KXAN) — A week after 47-year-old Grace Chen was found dead near her North Austin Language Institute, the Asian community had questions and wanted answers from Austin’s police chief.

Concerned neighbors packed into the Asian-American Cultural Center on Wednesday as Chief Art Acevedo and his command staff arrived to answer those questions.

“There’s a lot of collective fear, a lot of collective trauma, because if it could happen to her it could happen to us,” said Amy Won Mok, CEO and president of the Asian American Cultural Center.

Acevedo assured everyone Chen’s death was an isolated incident and that the Asian community was not a target.

“You can see this is a community that stands with the police,” he said. “So a word to the wise, don’t come to Austin to commit murder, because we’re not giving up.”

Acevedo said APD will keep details of the case to themselves so the culprit doesn’t know what they have. Police have previously only said Chen died from trauma to the body
 
Despite what the chief stated, Mok said some people in the Asian community were concerned the violent crime was a targeted attack.  The fear stems  from a recent homicide investigation out of Houston where a Chinese family of four was found dead inside their Cypress home earlier this month.   Police have not said if the crimes are related.

“I trust the police, and I thank them and the community for all they’ve done for my mom and our family,” said Jackie Chen, son of the victim.
 
Acevedo says forensics will take a few more weeks to process from the crime scene, but that he predicts they will bear fruit that leads to an arrest.

[MuffyBee]

http://kxan.com/2014/04/07/grace-chen-murder-remains-unsolved-police-still-chasing-down-leads/
Grace Chen murder remains unsolved, police still chasing down leads
April 7, 2014

AUSTIN (KXAN) — A popular teacher killed earlier this year has many people who live in Northwest Austin still asking questions about what happened.

Grace Chen, 47, a Chinese language teacher the Asian American Culture Center, was found dead in the Galleria Oaks Shopping Center back in February.

Police still have not made any arrests.

“We were all very curious to know how it happened and what the police knew about it,” said Terry Carlman, who lives in the neighborhood behind the Galleria Oaks Shopping Center. “We haven’t heard anything really…it’s just right up there a few blocks.”
 
“It would be nice to know if this was random or if they think it wasn’t random,” said Erin Oliver. “If they had a suspect it would be nice to know.”

An Austin Police Department spokesperson said detectives are still actively searching for Chen’s killer, but they have no new information to release. Investigators said they continue to follow up on every lead that comes in.
 
On Monday, the doors to the Asian institute were locked and there was nothing but empty space inside.

Police still will not say how Chen was killed, only that she died of trauma to the body.

Police area working five unsolved cases in Austin that occurred between 2012-2014.

Austin has a Homicide Cold Case unit that looks into cases dating back decades, but it isn’t time or a lack of leads to a case being considered “cold.” Instead, Austin police say cold cases only occur when the detective assigned to the case leaves the homicide unit through a promotion, transfer, or retirement.

[MuffyBee]

http://kxan.com/investigative-story/kxan-unsolved-inside-the-grace-chen-murder-case/
KXAN unsolved: Inside the Grace Chen murder case
Published February 19, 2015, Updated February 20, 2015



 

Thursday marked one year since the death of a well-loved teacher named Grace Chen. The motive and her killer are still a mystery.

“Grace was definitely somebody who exemplified who we all want to be in a human being,” said Austin Police homicide Sergeant Brian Miller. He opened the Grace Chen file for KXAN; it contains hours of interviews, a timeline of the case and photos of the crime scene.

“It was a violent death,” he said.

Grace Chen came to the U.S. from China for a better life. She treated her students at the Grace Language and Cultural Institute in North Austin like family. But where there once was learning, now an empty room sits for lease because just around the corner someone killed the teacher loved by so many.

“We haven’t found anybody that ever had anything bad to say about her,” Sgt. Miller explained.

Why, then, would somebody want to kill her?
 
Detectives say they did find DNA at the scene.

“There is evidence available, but it hasn't been matched up to anybody, so that's kind of what we're working on right now,” Miller says.

But there are precious few other clues. Investigators know Grace left home the morning of February 19, 2014 around 9:30. She opened the school in the office space she leased on the second floor of the Galleria Oaks Shopping Center. And then, at 3:30 in the afternoon, a call to 911 reporting a woman's body in the second floor restroom.

They think someone killed Grace two hours earlier. But they still won't say how.

“We will get a suspect in the future and we need to have that information available to us so we can know if that person actually has details of the crime,” Sgt. Miller explained.

“Any idea at all what a motive would be?” KXAN Investigator Shannon Wolfson asked.

“We don't have one at this point, that's really why we're asking for the public's assistance,” Sgt. Miller says.

One detail making this case so complicated for investigators is that Grace's body was found in a bathroom behind a locked door-- only accessible to people who work in this complex and have a key.
 
Anyone with information about Grace Chen's murder should call the APD homicide tipline at 512-477-3588 or Crime stoppers at 512-472-8477.