Robert Xie found guilty of murdering five members of Lin family
ROBERT Xie has been found guilty of murdering five members of Lin family in a crime that shocked Australia.
ROBERT Xie has been found guilty of murdering five members of his wife’s family who were bludgeoned to death in their beds in 2009.
The jury in the Lin family murder trial returned the guilty verdict after earlier saying their could not reach a unanimous verdict after eight days of deliberation.
Justice Elizabeth Fullerton asked the jury to return to the jury room on Thursday to keep on considering a verdict.
Justice Fullerton told jurors they must consider the opinions of their peers during deliberations, but reminded them they must reach a verdict that satisfies their genuine beliefs.
As the majority verdict was handed down, Xie told the court he did not murder the Lin family.
“I am innocent,” he told the jury as he left the court.
His wife Kathy began to cry.
Xie, 52, was accused of murdering his brother-in-law, Epping newsagent Norman “Min” Lin, and four others in Sydney’s northwest in 2009.
Mr Lin, 45, his wife Lily Lin Yunli, 43, her sister Irene Yin Yunbin, 39, and the Lins’ young sons, Henry, 12, and Terry, 9, were bludgeoned to death in the early hours of July 18 that year.
The bodies of the five victims were found in the North Epping home Norman and Lily Lin shared with their young sons.
The long-running fourth trial, in which Xie pleaded not guilty, opened in late June last year in the NSW Supreme Court.
During the trial, Crown Prosecutor Tanya Smith told the jury residue found in Xie’s garage and referred to as “Stain 91” stain was a mixture of blood from at least four of the victims.
Evidence was given during the trial that the five members of the Lin family were asleep in their beds on a winter’s night when the electricity was cut to the two-storey house.
The Crown alleged that it was Xie, armed with a hammer-like object and a rope, who murdered the victims sometime between 2am and 5.30am.
The Crown claimed Xie was motivated to kill his brother-in-law and his family out of jealousy and because he was infuriated with his perceived “subordinate status” within the family.
Bloodied footprints found in the upstairs bedrooms of the Lin family home were found to be consistent with ASICS sport shoes — a brand of shoe allegedly worn by Mr Xie, Ms Smith said during the trial.
But Xie’s defence barrister, Robert Webb, claimed that bloodied shoe prints found at the Lin family’s North Epping home may have belonged to three brands, other than ASICS.
Mr Webb also argued that Xie regularly attended dinners at the Lin family home and was not motivated by jealousy.
The Crown also alleges there was a sexual motive, regarding a person who for legal reasons cannot be identified.
“The defence case is that the sexual misconduct alleged didn’t happen,” Mr Webb said during the trial.
Three previous trials have ended without a verdict for different reasons.
TIMELINE
July 18, 2009: The bodies of Epping newsagents Norman and Lily Lin, her sister Irene Yunbin and the Lins sons Henry, 12 and Terry, 9, are found bludgeoned to death in North Epping.
May 5, 2011: Police arrest Robert Xie and charge him with five counts of murder.
May 8, 2014: The first trial begins.
June 10, 2014: Trial #1 aborted due to the discovery of new evidence that according to Justice Peter Johnson could have a “significant” impact.
August 4, 2014: Second trial begins in the NSW Supreme Court.
September 23, 2014: Second trial aborted when Justice Johnson becomes too unwell to continue.
February 5, 2015: Third trial begins with six months allocation.
December 11, 2015: The jury is dismissed when it cannot agree on a verdict and a fourth trial is ordered.
June 19, 2016: Fourth trial opens before Justice Elizabeth Fullerton.