Mother's Plan Goes Up In Smoke

"QUINCY, MA — The mother of an 8-year-old Quincy boy has been charged with first-degree murder after firefighters found the boy unresponsive in their apartment while a hibachi grill burned nearby.

"Li Rong Zhang, 39, was arraigned Friday in her room at a Boston area hospital, Police Chief Paul Keenan and Norfolk County District Attorney Michael Morrissey said at a press conference at the Quincy police station. Zhang was hospitalized after firefighters found her and her son, Brandon Yang, unconscious in their 19 Yardam Lane apartment in the Germantown section of the city.

"They said firefighters had to force their way with a crowbar into the bedroom, where the boy and his mother were. A bureau was blocking the door.

"Police said there was a wok or hibachi grill in the center of the room. The grill was lit but nothing was cooking on it. Yang was found on a bed and Zhang was on the floor.

"The boy was pronounced dead at Quincy Medical Center on Thursday afternoon.

"Keenan said investigators believe the mother may have been attempting a murder-suicide.

"Yang’s 16-year-old brother first alerted authorities after coming home to find his mother and brother unconscious."

Source: PatriotLedger.com...