Joyce Chiang (; December 7, 1970 – ) was an American attorney with the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service who disappeared on January 9, 1999, in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, and was later found dead. The story of her disappearance and the discovery of her remains in the

Potomac River The Potomac River () is in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and flows from the Potomac Highlands in West Virginia to Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography D ...

, which drew only local news coverage at the time, was rediscovered and received some national attention in the wake of the similar disappearance of

Chandra Levy Chandra Ann Levy (April 14, 1977 – May 1, 2001) was an American intern at the Federal Bureau of Prisons in Washington, D.C., who disappeared in May 2001. She was presumed murdered after her skeletal remains were found in Rock Creek Park ...

in May 2001. Police initially promoted the idea that she had committed

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

, but a decade later said she had been the victim of a robbery-related

homicide Homicide is an act in which a person causes the death of another person. A homicide requires only a Volition (psychology), volitional act, or an omission, that causes the death of another, and thus a homicide may result from Accident, accidenta ...

. They identified two suspects but no one was charged with the crime. Chiang was the sister of future

California State Treasurer The state treasurer of California is a constitutional officer in the executive branch of the Government of California, government of the U.S. state of California. 34 individuals have held the office of state treasurer since statehood. The incumb ...

John Chiang.

Life

Joyce Chiang was one of four children and the only daughter of

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

ese immigrants raised in Chicago and in Southern California. Her three brothers are John Chiang, who became Controller of the State of California in 2007 and Treasurer of California in 2015; Robert Chiang; and Roger Chiang, who is currently the Executive In Charge at the television show ''

America's Most Wanted ''America's Most Wanted'' (often abbreviated as ''AMW'') is an American television program whose first run was produced by 20th Television, and second run is under the Fox Entertainment#Fox Alternative Entertainment, Fox Alternative Entertain ...

'', and in 1999, lived with Joyce and was working for the

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It administers federal housing and urban development laws. It is headed by the secretary of housing and ur ...

. Chiang attended

Smith College Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts, United States. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smit ...

, where she was student government president in 1992. She graduated from the evening division of

Georgetown University Law School Georgetown University Law Center is the law school of Georgetown University, a private research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It was established in 1870 and is the largest law school in the United States by enrollment, with over ...

in 1995, while working for Congressman

Howard Berman Howard Lawrence Berman (born April 15, 1941) is an American attorney and retired politician who served as a United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative from California from 1983 to 2013. A member of the Democratic Party (United St ...

as an immigration advisor. After earning her law degree, she worked in the General Counsel's office of the

Immigration and Naturalization Service The United States Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) was a United States federal government agency under the United States Department of Labor from 1933 to 1940 and under the United States Department of Justice from 1940 to 2003. Refe ...

Disappearance and death

On January 9, 1999, the day of Chiang's disappearance, she had met with several friends for a movie and dinner, and one of those friends offered her a ride home. Chiang asked her friend to make one quick stop at the

Starbucks Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational List of coffeehouse chains, chain of coffeehouses and Starbucks Reserve, roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It was founded in 1971 by Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegl, and Gor ...

at the intersection of

Connecticut Avenue Connecticut Avenue is a major thoroughfare in the Northwest quadrant of Washington, D.C., and suburban Montgomery County, Maryland. It is one of the diagonal avenues radiating from the White House, and the segment south of Florida Avenue wa ...

NW and R Street NW. Chiang told her friend that she would walk the four blocks home from the coffee shop, but she never made it to her apartment. Her brother Roger was her roommate and reported her missing. Because Chiang was a federal employee, the FBI took the lead in investigating the case. A couple walking through

Anacostia Park Anacostia Park is operated by the United States National Park Service. It is one of Washington, D.C.'s largest and most important recreation areas, with over 1200 acres (4.9 km2) at multiple sites. Included in Anacostia Park are Kenilwort ...

the next day found Chiang's billfold and turned it in to park police, who filed it in the park's lost and found. Four days later, the couple recognized Chiang's photo in media coverage and alerted the FBI, who arranged a search of the park and discovered her apartment keys, video and grocery cards, and gloves. The jacket in which Chiang was last seen was also found, torn down the back. During the three-month span in which she was missing, a candlelight vigil was held every Saturday night in Dupont Circle. Her brother Roger was instrumental in several televised and print appeals for more information on her case and disappearance. Three months after the disappearance and away, a canoeist on the

found a badly decomposed body later identified through

DNA analysis Genetic testing, also known as DNA testing, is used to identify changes in DNA sequence or chromosome structure. Genetic testing can also include measuring the results of genetic changes, such as RNA analysis as an output of gene expression, or ...

as Chiang's. The cause of death could not be determined, and for more than 12 years it was considered a

cold case ''Cold Case'' is an American police procedural crime drama television series. It ran on CBS from September 28, 2003, to May 2, 2010. The series revolved around a fictionalized Philadelphia Police Department division that specializes in invest ...

Speculated connection with Chandra Levy disappearance and promotion of suicide theory

In addition to the Congressional intern connection, Chiang had lived only four blocks away from where

would later take up residency, in

Dupont Circle Dupont Circle is a historic roundabout park and Neighborhoods in Washington, D.C., neighborhood of Washington, D.C., located in Northwest (Washington, D.C.), Northwest D.C. The Dupont Circle neighborhood is bounded approximately by 16th St ...

. Both were young, brunette women of petite stature. The Starbucks where Chiang was last seen was later frequented by Levy. These similarities have led to various theories that both women were killed by the same person, although the Congressman-in-sex-scandal aspect of Levy's case, coupled with the long time that passed before her body was found, led to more media interest. In 2001, at the height of the media frenzy surrounding the disappearance of Chandra Levy, police attempted to discourage a serial killer theory by stating that Chiang had committed

. Chiang's family turned to the media to dispel that notion.

Later developments in 2011

In January 2011, WTTG-Fox 5 reported that the police had solved Chiang's murder, identifying two suspects who had attempted to rob her on the night she disappeared. In May 2011, D.C. police held a press conference in which they said that Chiang had not committed suicide, but was instead the victim of a

, and said the case was now considered closed. They said that one suspect was in prison in Maryland for a different offense, and another suspect was living in Guyana, which has no

extradition treaty In an extradition, one jurisdiction delivers a person accused or convicted of committing a crime in another jurisdiction, into the custody of the other's law enforcement. It is a cooperative law enforcement procedure between the two jurisdic ...

with the U.S. According to WTTG-Fox 5, an unnamed "source familiar with the case has identified the men as Steve Allen and Neil Joaquin, two men who worked as a team abducting people off the street with the intention of robbing them." Partly based on similarities to another attack committed by the two men after Chiang's disappearance, police hypothesized that the men drove Chiang to the

Anacostia River The Anacostia River is a river in the Mid-Atlantic states, Mid Atlantic region of the United States. It flows from Prince George's County, Maryland, Prince George's County in Maryland into Washington, D.C., where it joins with the Washington Ch ...

(which eventually leads to the Potomac). On the day of the press conference, the crime-fighting television show host John Walsh stated that the men either threw Chiang into the river, or Chiang attempted to escape but slipped on the icy river bank and

drown Drowning is a type of suffocation induced by the submersion of the mouth and nose in a liquid. Submersion injury refers to both drowning and near-miss incidents. Most instances of fatal drowning occur alone or in situations where others presen ...

ed. The police did not confirm or deny Walsh's theories, nor were any charges filed. Chiang's family expressed thanks for reopening the consideration of the cold case and for giving the family closure by announcing the new conclusion.

Remembrances

The Joyce Chiang Memorial Scholarship was established with the help of her family, to support one student each year with an internship at the Asian American Justice Center (AAJC) in Washington, D.C. The Joyce Chiang Memorial Award was established at

Georgetown University Law Center Georgetown University Law Center is the Law school in the United States, law school of Georgetown University, a Private university, private research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It was established in 1870 and is the largest law ...

by her friends and colleagues. It supports "an evening student with a demonstrable commitment to public service."

References

External links

Joe Harten, Georgetown Joins the Search For Missing Law School Alum, The Hoya, January 26, 1999

Congressional Record, Farewell to Joyce Chiang, April 13, 1999

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chiang, Joyce 1990s missing person cases 1999 deaths 1999 murders in the United States January 1999 crimes in the United States American people of Taiwanese descent Female murder victims Georgetown University Law Center alumni Lawyers from Chicago Missing person cases in Washington, D.C. People from Dupont Circle People murdered in Washington, D.C. Smith College alumni University of Chicago Laboratory Schools alumni Unsolved murders in the United States American lawyers of Chinese descent Women in Washington, D.C. 1999 in Washington, D.C.