The body of professional poker player Susie 'Q' Zhao has been found charred in a Michigan park

susie zhao
Professional poker player Susie Zhao appearing on YouTube's live poker channel "Live At The Bike" in 2017.

Live At The Bike/YouTube

  • Professional poker player Susie Zhao, who played under the moniker of "Susie Q," has been found dead in a park in Michigan, according to multiple reports.

  • The 33-year-old's badly-charred body was identified via a distinctive tattoo and fingerprints, according to the Casino.org news site.

  • Police are treating her death as a homicide, the outlet added. The force also told a press conference this week it has not ruled out a connection to her career as a motive.

  • A poker database shows Zhao won at least $224,000 during her high-stakes gambling career. Friends told the police press conference that "everybody loved her."

  • Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

The charred body of professional poker player Susie Zhao, known as "Susie Q," has been found in a Michigan park, according to the Casino.org news site.

The body was found "badly burned" in Pontiac Lake Recreation Area, a park in White Lake Township, Oakland County, on July 13, The Detroit News reported police as saying.

White Lake Township Police later identified the body as Zhao's by her fingerprints and a tattoo, Casino.org reported.

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Police are currently treating Zhao's death as a homicide. Her high-stakes gambling career is a possible motive, Detective Chris Hild of White Lake Township Police told a press conference this week.

"You have to determine whether or not this is a coverup, or this may be some sort of retaliatory incident because of her profession," Hild said.

The FBI has also joined the investigation into her death, according to local news channel WXYZ-TV Detroit.

White Lake Township Police did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.

site of susie q zhao body found
The car parking layby where Suzie "Q" Zhao's body was found in a park near White Lake Township, Oakland County, Michigan, as seen in a local TV news report.

WDIV/YouTube

The 33-year-old was last seen by her mother at 5:30 p.m. on July 12, and her body found the next day, local news channel KBTX reported.

According to Casino.org, Zhao had moved to Waterford Township, her hometown, on June 9 after living in Los Angeles for ten years.

She had returned home to "confront challenges in her personal life," Casino.org reported, citing her friends.

As "Susie Q," Zhao had won $224,671 in her professional gambling career, according to poker database The Hendon Mob.

Her largest ever single win recorded on the database was at No Limit Hold'em in the 43rd World Series of Poker in Las Vegas in July 2012, where she netted $73,805.

"Everybody loved her," friend Michelle Lagrou said at the police press conference. "Nobody ever remembers her fighting with anybody ever, no conflict, no drama."

Another friend, Meredith Rogowski, told the conference she "was a free spirit in the truest sense."

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