Details Emerge in Abduction, Slaying of Deliveryman

There is no apparent connection between Zhang and his assailants, police said, and the motive remains unclear.

"It appears they devised this plan: 'We need a car, so let's call a delivery guy. He's going to have a car,' " Bledsoe said. "But again, we don't know why they took him. There's a lot of questions that are up in the air right now."

Since taking over the China Express Restaurant on Jefferson Davis Highway, the Zhangs, known throughout the 11-square-mile city for their good food and friendly service, had closed the seven-day-a-week business just once before, police said -- for Yong Hui's sister's wedding.

But Wednesday, the lights inside the red-roofed restaurant were dark, and the doors were locked. Outside, dozens of bouquets of flowers were at the entrance, one with Chinese writing on it.

Nancy Kingcaid, 37, of Fredericksburg said she lived below the Zhangs in a rented house until the family moved about two years ago. She recalled Yong Hui Zhang as a good-hearted person who once helped jump-start her car.

"I didn't even have to ask," Kingcaid said. "I was outside cranking with the hood open, and he just came right out."

Attorneys for Montgomery and White did not return phone calls.

William L. Sebrell of Courtland said that Montgomery is related to his wife and that they raised him since he was 2 years old, although they did not legally adopt him. He said Montgomery is an Army veteran, was working as a welder in Suffolk and had been in jail. But Sebrell said he did not believe that Montgomery was capable of abducting and killing anyone.

"No! Ain't no way that he could have," Sebrell said. "He was brought up in church. He's an intelligent young man. He just got with the wrong people."

Since the slaying, the Zhang family has declined all media requests for comment, police said, and they were arranging their son's funeral last week in Maryland, where they have relatives.

"This has absolutely ruined this family," said a police official who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the case. "It has absolutely torn them apart."

Staff researcher Meg Smith and staff writer Tom Jackman contributed to this report.