Family of woman murdered calls for 'Justice for Zoey'

Family of woman murdered in Seattle townhome calls for justice

The brother of the young woman found murdered in a flooded Lake City townhouse is speaking out about her life in Hawaii, and a fundraiser to help get justice for Zoey He.

SEATTLE - The brother of the young woman found murdered in a flooded Lake City townhouse is speaking out about her life in Hawaii, and a fundraiser to help get justice for Zoey He.

Zoey He's boyfriend, Andy Chu, was arrested in early August after her body was found in his home in the Olympic Hills neighborhood. He faces a first-degree murder charge after he admitted to police he had a "memory" of killing her.

He's also charged with assaulting an ER nurse after a friend dropped him off at the hospital for "psychotic behavior" before his arrest.

Tom He said his sister Zoey had flown to Seattle from Hawaii to celebrate her upcoming 26th birthday with Chu, and she seemed happy before heading to the airport. He said there was no indication she'd become a victim of murder less than 24 hours after getting off the plane.

"Me and my parents, we are the same sad, crying mostly, every day," said Tongtong "Tom" He, Zoey's brother.

Tom says the family is heartbroken over losing her. She was a rising start in the human resources department at a hotel in Waikiki, where she worked. She was also well-loved in the community.

"My sister is really nice to everyone," said Tom.

He said she'd just returned from a vacation in China and was at home in Hawaii for a short time before flying out to spend a long weekend with Chu for her birthday.

"Thursday night she rushed after work, coming back home, and was telling my mom, ‘Oh, I got to fly to Seattle. I got to fly to Seattle’. She was telling us he had booked the ticket for her," said Tom.

The family says Andy Chu is pictured below with Zoey during an outing in Hawaii:

On Friday, August 9, security video showed Zoey walking into the townhome with Chu. The next morning, he was seen leaving alone, pulling something from under his shirt.

Her body was found on the 10th after neighbors alerted the landlord, as water was coming from the townhome.

"It’s a set-up to tell my sister to go over there and kill her that night," said Tom.

Although Zoey went to the same high school as Chu in Hawaii when they were young, friends said they first heard she was dating him in March and saw no signs of trouble between the two.

Tom says when the family viewed her body, she was bruised head to toe and her face was swollen. He said her injuries were shocking.

"I was like, ‘No, that’s not my Zoey.' I totally could not recognize her. Even my mom was like ‘No, that’s not my Zoey at all’," Tom said. "You know how come I know that’s my sister? She got her tattoo. That’s the only way I can recognize her."

Court documents show that Chu told detectives that, "He thought he may have killed her….and ‘has a memory of choking her, twisting her neck, holding her down underwater in the tub.’"

Tom calls that statement chilling because Zoey had a life-long fear of water.

"Nobody can accept it," Tom said. "She’s really afraid of water."

Zoey's body also had chemical burns, causing Tom to doubt Chu's statement to police that, "He then tried a number of things to revive her, including sprinkling the Acai powder all over her."

"No. That’s not Acai powder. It is something like an Oxy powder, a deep cleaner powder," said Tom. "On my sister’s body, it had chemical burns. So, that’s the one."

Chu also told police he placed, "a ball similar to a golf ball in her mouth to fix her jaw."

Tom says the medical examiner told the family the ball was much larger than a golf ball, and it was forced far down into her throat.

"The medical examiner was telling me that that object was all the way down through her throat, at the deepest. It’s like all the way down here," said Tom, pointing to the base of his neck. "The method that he killed my sister is crazy, and it’s cruel."

Friends have created an online fundraiser to help Tom and his family pay for Zoey's dog Miki and for the funeral and other unexpected expenses.

"From the time she left Hawaii she was like smiling, going to the airport. She does not deserve this," said Tom. "We are waiting for justice for Zoey."

Tom says that the family doesn't have any friends in Seattle, so traveling to attend court dates has been difficult. He hopes to build a support system in the city to help the family during this difficult time.

Zoey will be laid to rest in her hometown of Honolulu, Hawaii in early September, surrounded by friends and family.