Zetland murder: Zixi Wang stabbed lover 40 times after balcony fall
Shuyu Zhou fell five storeys from a Zetland unit before Zixi Wang set upon her and stabbed her 40 times as she lay defenceless on the ground, a Sydney court has heard.
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Gruesome CCTV footage of a young woman falling five stories from a Sydney balcony before being stabbed 40 times by her former lover as she lay helpless on the ground has been played before a court.
Zixi “Jessie” Wang, 30, appeared in the NSW Supreme Court on Monday after pleading guilty to murdering her ex-girlfriend Shuyu Zhou, 23, outside her Zetland apartment building before she adjusted her hair in a mirror and fled the scene in June 2019.
Ms Zhou had climbed over the balcony’s railing to escape Wang’s fifth-storey unit after being assaulted in a heated argument when she fell and suffered critical injuries, the court heard.
Security camera footage was played to the court and showed Ms Zhou crashing to the ground before she moves her arms and legs around in intense pain after suffering a fractured spine.
The video shows Wang entering a lift and inspecting Ms Zhou on the ground before returning with a knife and stabbing her 40 times in the neck and torso.
A shocked witness arrived and dialled triple-0 after seeing Wang set upon her former lover.
“She’s being attacked – I’m going upstairs, I’m a bit worried about myself,” he said in audio played to the court.
“There’s someone attacking her now, I believe the attacker is a resident of the building.”
Crown prosecutor Christopher Taylor told the court Wang only ended the attack after she saw a significant amount of blood gush from Ms Zhou’s neck before throwing the knife into a bush and leaving the scene.
“The offender looks in the mirror and attends to her hair,” Mr Taylor said.
“A small fact of the circumstances, but indicative of (the fact) she was in control of the circumstances.”
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Justice Robert Beech-Jones had warned people to leave the courtroom before the footage was played because it was so graphic.
“I have seen similar material in other cases, please rest assured that it is often not the same as watching some graphic movie,” the judge said.
“These images can stay with a person for a very long time and can become intrusive.”
Ms Zhou’s heartbroken mother Li Zhou read out a victim impact statement to the court and said she was broken.
“I just want to ask the murderer – how could you be so merciless? What on earth are you – a human being or a devil?“ Ms Zhou said.
“The pain is so severe it makes me feel so unbearable I can no longer live.
“I’ve already told my nine-year-old son if one day you find that your mother will longer wake up to please not panic.
“I‘m living my life as good as dead but I still have to live on. I’m hoping to see the day when the murderer gets the justice she deserves.“
Wang was arrested the following afternoon near Wollongong after a member of the public called radio station 2GB to say he had seen her looking distressed at Sea Cliff Bridge.
The court was told Ms Zhou had only recently moved out of her parents home and was studying philosophy at Macquarie University before her death.