The death of Sen. Mitch McConnell’s billionaire sister-in-law is being investigated as a crime weeks after her body was pulled from her submerged car in Texas.
Angela Chao, 50, was found dead in her sinking vehicle in a pond on a ranch in Johnson City, near Austin, on Feb. 11.
“Although the preliminary investigation indicated this was an unfortunate accident, the Sheriff’s Office is still investigating this accident as a criminal matter until they have sufficient evidence to rule out criminal activity,” the Blanco County Sheriff’s Office wrote in a Thursday letter to state Attorney General Ken Paxton, according to CNBC.
“This incident was not a typical accident,” the agency added.
First responders spent more than an hour trying to get Chao, CEO of bulk dry shipping giant Foremost Group, out of her vehicle, according to the Austin American-Statesman.
Rescuers stood on top of her car while they tried to break in, the outlet said.
“The deputies were in the water standing on what they believed was the vehicle, trying to gain access to the possible victim inside the vehicle,” fire Lt. Royce Penshorn in the report.
A two-man rescue crew eventually pulled Chao from the car around 12:56 a.m., and EMS responders attempted to resuscitate her for 43 minutes to no avail.
The ranch where Chao died is owned by a corporation connected to her husband, Jim Breyer.
Chao’s sister Elaine Chao is married to McConnell and served as Secretary of Labor under President George W. Bush and Secretary of Transportation in President Donald Trump’s administration.
Angela Chao was the chief of a New York-based dry bulk shipping giant Foremost Group, which her parents started.
“Losing her at such a young age is something we never even imagined, and our entire family is devastated with grief,” her father, Dr. James SC Chao said following her death, according to Marine Link.
The elder Chao said his daughter had a “fierce intellectual curiosity that endeared her to everyone and helped her excel at everything she did.”
Chao graduated from Harvard University summa cum laude and went on to obtain her MBA at Harvard Business School.
She joined the family business in 1996.
She’s also served on the board of MoMA, the Metropolitan Opera and Harvard Business School, among others.
