Murdered mum only dated accused killer for weeks

Ju “Kelly” Zhang had been eager to end her relationship with the man accused of her murder — and they had only been dating for weeks before her death.

Murdered mum Ju “Kelly” Zhang had been dating her boyfriend only weeks before he allegedly killed her.

The Herald Sun can reveal Joon Seong Tan, 35, allegedly took the young mum’s life barely a month after they began a romantic relationship.

Sources said their relationship was troubled from the start and that Ms Zhang was eager to end it.

“They had a complicated ­relationship,” the source said.

As the search for the 33-year-old mother’s body stretches into its fourth week, police hope she will be found in their initial search zones.

In the past fortnight, the missing persons squad search, rescue squad and dog squad have conducted bushland searchers at Darebin Creek in West Heidelberg and Sparkes Reserve and Napier Wallace Reserve in Alphington.

Ju ‘Kelly’ Zhang.

Joon Seong Tan. Picture: Josie Hayden

Although less than 15km from the CBD, these areas have expanses of dense bush and challenging terrain as well as light-industrial zones.

Detectives are keen to hear from anyone who noticed ­irregular activity in these zones around the time Ms Zhang disappeared.

Witnesses who might have seen Mr Tan’s black 2008 Mazda CX9 station wagon, registration WKE 850, or Ms Zhang’s white Toyota LandCruiser driving through the Epping and Doncaster areas between 4pm on February 1 and 8am on February 2 are also urged to come forward.

Mr Tan has spent more than a fortnight in custody charged with Ms Zhang’s murder. Before his arrest, he twice tried to evade police, including a bungled attempt to flee the state from Melbourne Airport.

He told police Ms Zhang vanished after leaving her Winchester Avenue, Epping, home for a walk about 5.30pm on February 1.

Mr Tan’s story was considered highly unlikely from the outset, especially the suggestion Ms Zhang took off from her home shoeless in pink pyjamas without her eight-year-old son. Ms Zhang’s immediate family are based in China and are due to fly to Melbourne next month.

Detectives are sifting through thousands of hours of CCTV footage to unearth new clues in the case. The 16-hour window in which Mr Tan and Ms Zhang’s cars were both ­active remains a crucial aspect of the investigation.

Anyone with information should contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or visit the website and make a report at ­crimestoppersvic.com.au.

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