HONOLULU — A 25-year-old former Hawai‘i man has been charged with first-degree murder in last weekend’s grisly killing of his girlfriend, Zoey He, also 25, who was visiting him in Seattle from Honolulu.
According to charging documents, Andy Chu “horrifically murdered the victim” and admitted “he had a memory of choking her, twisting her neck, and holding her down under the water in a bathtub.”
The King County Medical Examiner’s Office said He died Aug. 9 of combined mechanisms of asphyxia, and ruled the death a homicide.
She died just a few days before her 26th birthday, Aug. 13.
Chu, originally from Shanghai, is being held in the King County Correctional Facility in lieu of $5 million bail on charges of murder and third-degree assault in an unrelated case that occurred shortly after the killing.
The charging documents justified the $5 million bail amount, saying Chu poses a flight risk, given the seriousness of the charges, and that he has connections out of state and outside the country. Chu or his family own the townhome where the alleged murder occurred and another Seattle property Chu was working on as a future rental.
Both Chu and He attended McKinley High School, according to a classmate and their social media profiles.
According to her LinkedIn page, He began working at Marriott International in Honolulu in December 2022 and was most recently working as a human resources generalist.
She obtained a bachelor’s degree in travel industry management in 2020 from the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa and an associate’s degree in business from Kapiolani Community College.
Chu was arrested Sunday morning after he allegedly assaulted a nurse at a hospital, where his friends had taken him because he was exhibiting psychotic behavior. He admitted to taking the illegal street drug “molly,” known as MDMA and ecstasy, and smoking cannabis, which is legal in Washington state.
He is scheduled to be arraigned Aug. 28.
No previous cases on Chu have gone through the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, and he has no criminal convictions in Hawai‘i courts.
According to charging documents detailing the case, Chu allegedly told authorities that he placed a white ball in He’s mouth to “fix her jaw.” The autopsy showed He had blunt force trauma to her face, head, neck, chest, arms and legs, and a heavy, smooth, white quartzlike ball was lodged in her throat, according to the court documents.
He’s body was found Aug. 10 in a bathtub filled with water in Chu’s townhouse in the Olympic Hills neighborhood in Seattle’s Lake City district.
The Seattle Fire Department was called to Unit D at 3117 NE 133rd St. because water was running out of the unit and the resident was not responding.
Firefighters found a woman lying on the floor of the third-floor bathroom, with a possible laceration to the neck, which had an ice pack on it.
The first-floor bathroom sink was running full blast.
Neighbors said Chu did not respond.
One neighbor checked video footage on his Ring Camera and found that Chu arrived home with a woman Aug. 9 at about 4:45 p.m., carrying groceries. Video footage shows Chu leaving alone at 8:06 a.m. Aug. 10.
A police officer said the home was flooded and that items were strewn and knocked over on the floor.
The patrol officer said the deceased woman was nude except for a pair of red boxer underwear. A small block was found behind her neck, supporting it.
She had possible dried blood on her arms, shoulders and chest, and a granular substance covering those body parts, according to documents.
The officer noted that the bathtub was full of water, and there was no shower head on the pipe.
A detective noted the victim was covered with a bright purple granular substance similar to coffee grounds, matching the contents of a package of acai powder.
The detective found drug paraphernalia, including a water “bong” pipe and a butane torch.
At about 4:22 a.m. Sunday, a nurse at University of Washington Medical Center Northwest reported she had been assaulted by a patient, who groped her breasts and tried to pull her head down by hooking the back of her neck.
Once hospital staff identified the suspect as Chu, officers realized he was the person wanted in the homicide investigation.
After his release from the hospital, police transported him to the Seattle Police Department, where he was interviewed by detectives.
Detectives reported that Chu said he was in a crisis condition, which he said caused him to leave his condo.
Detectives said Chu was unsure whether what he was recalling at the time was reality.
He reportedly told authorities that his girlfriend had just arrived from Hawai‘i and that they had been dating since January. He allegedly said he thought he broke her neck and that he remembered her bleeding from her nose, which he wiped.
Detectives said Chu told them he remembered taking her out of the tub, trying to revive her with acai powder, putting a ball in her mouth and doing CPR.
Detectives also said Chu was unclear about why he assaulted his girlfriend, but said she was “being weird” and attacking him, but would not describe it in detail and denied they were arguing.
Chu allegedly said he took two “molly” pills, but normally only takes one, and smoked cannabis.
The charging document references the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration website, saying MDMA “acts as both a stimulant and a hallucinogen, producing an energizing effect, distortions in time and perception, and enhanced enjoyment of tactile experiences.”
Chu had bruises and abrasions on his knees, legs, arms, elbows and hands, especially the “punch” knuckles, according to reports.
An acquaintance of Chu’s told a detective that Chu had gone to another friend’s home and was in some sort of crisis and needed to go to the hospital.
