Police: homicide victim ‘likely’ knew her killer

A Palo Alto woman whose body was found in her home on July 7 was identified Tuesday as Jenny Shi, 65. Police said in a press release that it’s likely that she knew the person who killed her.

The Santa Clara County Medical Examiner-Coroner confirmed that Shi, who owned several acupuncture clinics including one in Mountain View, died after suffering multiple stab wounds.

Shi’s body was found in her home in the 300 block of Creekside Drive on July 7 at about 7:42 p.m., after a family member went to the Greenmeadow neighborhood home to locate her, according to Palo Alto police.

Palo Alto police had immediately suspected that her death was a “likely homicide,” suspicions that were confirmed by a July 11 autopsy by the county coroner.

Police said Tuesday that while they don’t have any “significant leads,” they are exploring the relationships that Shi had with various associates related to her real estate holdings and other business endeavors.

Shi was co-president of the Keiretsu Forum Bureau chapter in Beijing and Shanghai, an international organization with roots in the Bay Area that facilitates investor-business connections and has 46 chapters worldwide. She traveled frequently to and from the Bay Area and China, said Judith Iglehart, the organization’s international chapter president.

“It’s hard for me to believe that this has happened. She was an esteemed colleague and she was an accomplished businesswoman. I knew her family; I know her brother and she has a daughter,” Iglehart said. “She ran a string of acupuncture clinics. Also, since 2005 she has been working with the Forum to help early-stage startups. She had a wide range of business contacts across the world.”

While living in China, Shi graduated from the Beijing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and owned seven acupuncture clinics in the San Francisco Bay Area, including N CaliforniaHealth & Acupuncture on Castro Street in Mountain View, and was an angel investor. She has family in Beijing where her brother, James Shi, owns and operates a hospital, according to her Keiretsu Forum profile.

Iglehart said she has known Shi for 12 years, after Shi joined the Keiretsu Forum with a partner. She had approached the organization and said she wanted to work in Beijing to help emerging businesses.

“Jenny was our first off-shore chapter president. She led the way for us to move around the world,” Iglehart recalled.

Shi had recently purchased a building as an accelerator to bridge business developments between Silicon Valley and China, Iglehart added.

Carla Selby, director of membership and finance for Keiretsu Forum Northern California Region, expressed shock upon learning of Shi’s death.

“It’s very shocking. We called a meeting yesterday, and she never showed up,” Selby said, adding that because Shi traveled back and forth to Beijing she assumed that Shi was there on a business trip.

County property records indicate that Shi has owned the Creekside Drive home since 1995. Neighbors said they believed she was renting out rooms in the home.

Police have previously indicated there is no threat to the community and any perpetrator likely is no longer to be found nearby.