Lin family murder trial over as defence chose not to present a case

THE trial of Robert Xie, accused of murdering the Lin family, has finished after his defence chose not to present a case.

Robert Xie pictured leaving the Supreme Court in Sydney. Picture: Richard Dobson

THE trial of Robert Xie, accused of murdering the Lin family, has finished after his defence chose not to present a case.

The prosecutor Mark Tedeschi, QC, closed the Crown case on Friday. Mr Xie’s barrister, Robert Turnbull, SC, chose not to put forward a defence case, Fairfax has reported.

“We rely upon the evidence in the Crown case,” Mr Turnbull told the jury.

The will now have a week’s leave before returning to the court to hear closing addresses from both the Crown and the defence. Justice Elizabeth Fullerton will then sum up the case, which is expected to take about a week.

The jurors will then retire to the jury room to deliberate.

Xie, 51, has pleaded not guilty to murdering the five family members — newsagent Min Lin, his wife Lily, their two sons Henry and Terry and Lily’s sister Irene — in the bedrooms of their North Epping home on July 18, 2009.