Today is Thursday, September 17th, 2020.

On this day in 2014, Iowa State University student, Schotong, was reported missing.

She was found nine days later, but by then she was dead, and her killer had taken a one-way flight to China.

Welcome to today in True Crime, a parcast original. Due to the graphic nature of today's

crimes, listener discretion is advised. Extreme caution is advised for listeners under

13. Today we're covering the murder of

Iowa State University student Shotong. Let's go back to September 17th, 2014 to the Ames Police Headquarters a few blocks from the University. The department was in an uncharacteristic flurry. They just filed an alarming report. A 20-year-old Iowa State International student,

Shoe Tong was missing. Tensions would have been higher if they'd known what was inside

Tong's 1997 Beige Toyota Camry on the other side of the state in Iowa City.

On the outskirts of town, in a nondescript apartment complex, the Camry was sitting in a parking lot.

At first, residents of the complex didn't give it a second glance, just another old car. Then the Camry started to stink. Iowa City Police got a warrant to search the vehicle and on September 26th, they opened the trunk.

Inside, bloated and decomposing was Schotong.

Now, invested in the Now investigators really reared into action and slowly they piece together an

alarming story about Shotong's final days, around three weeks earlier.

On September 3rd, she was sitting chatting with a friend,

complaining about her boyfriend, Shong Nan Lee. Her friends thought friend,

Shong Nong Lee.

Her friends thought he was an inconsiderate jerk,

and she had her own gripes with him.

None of these complaints were that big a deal for Tong.

When Lee asked her to go stay at a hotel for the weekend,

she agreed and packed up her bags

...