Tragedy struck the Santa Clarita community as 23-year-old college student Menghan Zhuang, better known as Emily King, was found deceased in her Newhall apartment last Tuesday. The KTLA report indicated that the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department deemed the death a homicide following an initial welfare check at The Vistas condominium on Nandina Lane. Zhuang was a student at the nearby California Institute of the Arts, commonly known as CalArts, in Valencia, with the institution situated about 5 miles from the scene of the crime.

Authorities have since released an image of a suspect and are urging the public to assist in the investigation. The individual, a male of Asian descent, was seen entering Zhuang's apartment the night prior and exiting through a second-story bedroom window the day she was discovered, per information shared by CBS News Los Angeles. He has not been confirmed as a CalArts student but was believed to be known to Zhuang. The roommate has been ruled out as a person of interest, showing full cooperation with detectives.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department has confirmed this to be "not a random act of violence" and believes the assault was isolated, as stated by FOX LA.