Family members of Mahalia Xiong believe someone slipped a date-rape drug into her drink before her car plummeted into the Fox River in Green Bay. But they have no idea who could have done it and know it may be too late to find traces of the drug in her body. Police recovered Xiong’s body in her rental vehicle on July 26 from the west bank of the Fox River, just north of the Don A. Tilleman Bridge, 13 days after she disappeared after a night out with friends.
The family held a Thursday evening news conference at the site where her body was recovered to continue to keep Xiong’s name in the media and discuss the possibility of exhuming her body to conduct another autopsy.
“I do not believe it was an intentional homicide, but we believe she was a victim,” said Ah Moua, family spokeswoman and Xiong’s sister-in-law.
Green Bay Police said on July 13 that the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay student left Ashwaubenon Bowling Alley and instead of taking the highway home, took Oneida Street to return to her east-side Green Bay home. Xiong called her boyfriend after leaving the bowling alley but did not leave a message.Moua said other unanswered questions are troubling, such as why the window was down when her air conditioner was on, why Xiong, who was an excellent swimmer, didn’t exit her rental car and how she received a bruise on the side of her body.
Family members said they understand the investigation process and are not out to criticize police or Brown County Medical Examiner Al Klimek, who earlier ruled out foul play in Xiong’s death and later said his ruling on her cause and manner of death is pending.
Late last month, Green Bay police Cmdr. Tom Molitor said the investigation into Xiong’s death was ongoing and would continue.
The family wants to exhume Xiong’s body to ensure nothing was missed during the initial autopsy and to have a diatom test conducted to determine if Xiong was alive when the car entered the water. Klimek did not perform that test initially.
Klimek said the test normally determines what bodies of water a person has drowned in. The diatoms are usually found on fresh tissue, but Xiong’s body was in the river for two weeks. However, if a person is alive when entering the water, the diatoms could circulate in the blood, reaching major organs. The family believes it could determine if Xiong was dead before entering the water.
Klimek said Xiong’s blood alcohol level was 0.12 percent, although research has pointed him to a phenomenon called “redistribution,” which would equalize alcohol in the body tissue and potentially drive down the readings after 13 days in the water.
But the family said that according to their research, the blood-alcohol content rises when a body has been in the water for a time. The family has consulted with another county’s medical examiner.
Meanwhile, the family plans to get a copy of the autopsy results, prepare for a memorial at the UWGB campus on Sept. 11 and raise about $10,000 to perform a diatom test on Xiong’s body. Klimek would need to approve the exhumation.
“Seems as though, we can never stop crying? We close our eyes and everyone’s here, your mom, my dad, Su Tcheng, Marko and Crystal, but when we open our eyes the emptiness and loneliness is right there waiting for us. It hurts when we swallow and it hurts when we breathe. It’s like we have to learn how to walk all over again? I don’t know how we do it? Or where we find the strength? But we keep on believing, because we know one day we will be there with all of them soon. So we go on living this life not only for us, but for them also.”Â
Quoted by Anthony S - Â RIP
Posted on August 8th, 2007 in Mahalia by Xiong Family
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The family would like to thank all the people for their kind words and generosity. We would like to say Mahalia did not commit suicide nor would she just drive into the Fox River unless she was in danger or there was a car malfunction of some sort. There are still many unanswered questions and I hope the Green Bay police, media and public can help us solve them.
#1).One of our concerns is her cell phone signal at 2:32am near the area of Ashland
Ave & Lombardi Ave, according to the Green Bay police. She was driving her normal route home and should’ve been near that area 15-17 minutes earlier after leaving parking lot of the bowling alley at a little after 2:00am.What caused Mahalia to stop and where was she when she stopped for 15-17 minutes? Also Mahalia’s 11 year old rental car thus went into Fox River AFTER 2:32am but we don’t know how much after. We also have been told that her cell phone can’t generate a signal underwater.
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#2) We don’t know if she was in danger from someone else driving a car chasing her or if someone was in her car. We don’t know if there were separate tire marks in the area because we don’t know what day AFTER the GB police determined the ‘tire marks" were similar to her rental car they MARKED OFF the area as a potential crime scene or accident.
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#3) We won’t know if she was a victim of a ‘date rape" drug dropped in her glass before she left Time Out because the reports we received have indicated those type drugs leave the body in approx. 12-72 hours.
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#4) We WON’T get an accurate toxicology report (very important to get this out) on her blood alcohol or urine alcohol level because she was underwater since her disappearance evidently…..the medical examiner said she most likely had been in the water since her disappearance. We say that based on our own findings involving underwater case studies.
There is one case we can specifically mention….Washington Court Of
Appeals in 2003….Golden Alaska Seafood vs Lori L.Zilko. (The media will research that specific case and will report what I already gave you.)
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#5) The family hopes and prays the GB police will continue to investigate and the media and public will not jump to conclusions until we have more definitive answers. Mahalia was driving her normal route home….we can’t account why she made a cell phone call near Ashland Ave. & Lombardi Ave. at 2:32am instead of earlier and why she didn’t or couldn’t leave a message…obviously she was in danger by the mere fact of making that call at that hour and location …she was only 15 minutes from her sisters house.
These are only some of the many unanswered questions we are concerned about. Please remember Mahalia Xiong was a daughter, sister, beloved friend to many, and a great leader in the community. Those of us that have had the opportunity to meet her know she wouldn’t just drive into the Fox River. We must, as a community, investigate this into further detail to find out the truth of what really happened to Mahalia Xiong. We may have closure but we do not have answers.
Posted on July 18th, 2007 in Mahalia by Xiong Family
Hello Everyone,
Thank you so much for all your help. So far we haven’t found or heard anything, so please please continue to keep your hopes and prayers for Mahalia’s safe return home and for her family to have strength, faith, hope, and courage.Â
This Friday, July 20th, we will host a candlelight vigil and moment of silence for Mahalia Xiong. This will mark one week since she’s been missing. We are planning to wear Light Blue and/or White to Vigil tonight since they were Mahalia’s favorite colors, so if you if you want to join in please do.
Date: Friday, July 20th 2007 Time: 9:00 PM Where: Lambeau Field -Oneida Street Parking Lot across from Resch Center. *Speaker #1: Village of Ashwaubenon Interim President Jerry Menne *Speaker #2: Sue L. Keihn- Associate Provost for Student Affairs and Dean of Students for the University of Wisconsin *Speaker #3: Mayor Jim Schmitt *Speaker #4: Pastor Kue Ly of the Hmong Lutheran Pilgrim Church *Speaker #5: Mr. Dick Campbell advisor to Hmong Center and Lao Human Rights Council
Once again, please send this information to as many people as you know, each and every single person’s support and help is truly and deeply appreciated by the Mahalia Xiong Family.
Posted on July 17th, 2007 in Mahalia by Xiong Family
University of Wisconsin-Green Bay student Mahalia Xiong was reported missing after she didn’t return from a night of bowling with friends, said her brother, Tou Lee, on Sunday.
From what family members have pieced together, Xiong and her friends left Ashwaubenon Bowling Alley, 2929 Allied St., sometime after 2 a.m. Friday, Lee said.
Mahalia is described as a 5-foot tall, 105-pound Asian with a medium build. She has black hair and brown eyes and was last seen wearing a white, long-sleeved shirt, blue jeans and black high-heeled shoes.
She was last seen driving a four-door, 1996 Mercury Sable with a Wisconsin license plate of TFD-715.
Anyone with information about Mahalia Xiong is asked to call Green Bay police at (920) 448-3208.
