Victim’s girlfriend arrested in 1995 stabbing

Keith Paul

Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2000 | 11:11 a.m.

A Las Vegas woman wanted for questioning in connection with her boyfriend's death was arrested in 1995 for stabbing a former husband with a letter opener.

Metro Police officers found Patrick T. Sheen shot to death in his house on Royal Wood Court in the Rhodes Ranch subdivision on Thursday. Zhen Yu Liang, 38, had been living with Sheen for about nine months. Police have been unable to locate her since Sheen's body was found.

Liang was arrested July 3, 1995, and booked into the Clark County jail on battery and domestic violence charges, according to an arrest report.

Liang was accused in that incident of stabbing Wilson Trau, her husband of a couple months, several times with a letter opener, the report said.

An officer noted in his report, "She had blood on her hands and on the left sleeve of her blouse. She told me that she cut Trau with the letter opener because he wanted a divorce, and the Chinese are not allowed to get divorced."

Detectives want to find and interview Liang, who goes by the first name of Jenny, about Sheen's death, said Lt. Wayne Petersen of Metro's homicide unit.

"We believe she may have some pertinent information about (Sheen's) homicide," Petersen said.

About a week before Sheen's body was found, Liang quit her job as a Mirage dealer. She also called Sheen's office, where he worked as an insurance agent, and said he was going out of town for about a week, Petersen said.

Liang also took her 1999 four-door Mercedes to another ex-husband's house and gave it to him. The man, who was not the husband she was accused of stabbing, has custody of her 14-year-old son from a previous relationship, police said.

Petersen wouldn't call Liang a suspect in the case. It's Metro policy not to name suspects until there is an arrest warrant on file or enough probable cause for an arrest.

Detectives are not sure if Liang is still in Nevada or even this country. Liang apparently was born in China, and her mother still lives there, Petersen said.

Police were sent to check on Sheen after his family called saying he hadn't been heard from in more than a week.

Anyone with information in this case is asked to call Metro's homicide unit at 229-3521 or Secret Witness at 385-5555.