Inside finals moments of Liqun Pan before her murder
The last messages a teenager wrote before being brutally murdered by her controlling partner have been revealed.
A young woman frightened of her partner texted a friend to ask whether they could book her a ticket back to China in one of the last messages she ever sent.
Liqun Pan – known as Panpan to those close to her – was in the apartment she shared with boyfriend Weijie “Jack” He, who she had not seen or heard from since the night before.
“He’s been like a different person since he got back,” she wrote.
Police estimate that just a few minutes later He attacked the 19-year-old Sydney student, killing her in horrific circumstances.
The last act recorded on Ms Pan’s phone was a Google search for “people are brainwashed”, according to court documents.
Ms Pan was found dead a day later in the bloodstained Wolli Creek unit, after being attacked with two knives and a hammer.
Her terrifying final moments have been revealed in agreed facts tendered to the NSW Supreme Court as He faces sentence for the June 2020 murder.
They also detail the erratic behaviour of a controlling boyfriend who, his lawyers claim, spiralled out of control due to rampant abuse of nitrous oxide.
Friends of He told police that the night before the murder, the would-be killer rambled about the “stress” he was feeling and said “when I destroy everything I will be reborn”.
“Someone deserves to die,” he said.
A few days earlier, He had confessed to struggling with his relationship: “I invited her from China to Australia but now I can’t get rid of her”.
He also told his mother about beating Ms Pan, and the court heard of a contract he made his girlfriend sign which restricted her activities while on a four-week holiday in her homeland.
It included conditions not to change her phone background from a picture of the couple, not to drink or do anything with men “especially in their cars”.
The contract also stipulated Ms Pan should book driving tests and get rid of her acne, although that condition had a caveat: “doesn’t matter much”.
Long road to justice
After killing Ms Pan, He hurled himself off the fourth floor of the Brodie Spark Dr apartment block but survived the fall.
Police only found his girlfriend’s body the day after he was rushed to St George Hospital for treatment.
He spent some time in a coma before remaining hospitalised while recovering from serious injuries, and had to learn how to speak again. He is still bound to a wheelchair.
The 24-year-old initially claimed the couple were attacked by unknown men in the apartment, but was charged with murder in January 2021 and later pleaded guilty.
A judge was this month asked to evaluate He’s level of culpability over the murder and whether he was impaired by his addiction to nitrous oxide – better known as “laughing gas” or “nangs”.
The court heard the killer inhaled hundreds of canisters of nitrous oxide – better known as “laughing gas” or “nangs” – in the days before he ended Ms Pan’s life.
An expert witness told the court that represented a “heroic” amount of the substance and said He would have been affected in some way.
“Obedient and pretty”
While recovering in hospital, He spoke with his mother about the girlfriend he had killed.
His mother told him he was “stupid” to date Ms Pan, in a conversation lawfully recorded by police.
“Why did you date a girl like Panpan? Not wifey material,” his mum asked.
“She was very obedient and she was pretty,” He said. “ … she always followed my instructions, she dared not oppose me.”
Court documents state He’s mother, who wasn’t charged with any wrongdoing, gently coached him not to tell police that he beat his girlfriend when she didn’t do her “share” of chores, as he had just divulged to her.
“Panpan was badly attacked before she died. If you say that, police will suspect you even more.”
He replied: “I loved her so much that I wouldn’t touch her.”
“That’s right. Say that,” his mother said, who warned any detectives who came to interview him would not be wearing uniforms, according to the court documents.
“Remember anyone who’s not in hospital uniform is police. Don’t talk nonsense, that’s not in your favour.”
Final moments
He stayed at some friends’ home the night before the murder after going for dinner.
During the event He told the friends about being “too good” for Ms Pan and spoke about his anger at her past relationship with an older man.
At one point, court documents state He began beating his chest while saying “a person’s mind is a powerful thing”.
The friends later tried to block their bedroom door as they feared He might come into her room due to his agitated behaviour.
When leaving the next day, He asked one of them to help put his shoes on when leaving.
In Chinese culture, that is seen as a sign of disrespect.
Texts recovered from Ms Pan’s phone revealed He came home just before 2pm on June 27, 2022.
“He’s home,” she wrote. “He’s been like another person since he got back … he wants to be left alone.”
Ms Pan asked another friend if they knew anyone who could buy her a “flight ticket back home” at 2.01pm.
Police say that between 2.04pm, when Ms Pan last used her phone, and 3.23pm He attacked Ms Pan by stabbing her 39 times.
Court documents state the dishevelled furniture found in the room indicated a “ferocious chase and prolonged struggle” had taken place.
Months later, in August 2020, He was unable to speak after undergoing brain surgeries when visited by a mental health worker.
When asked of his memories of how he came to be in hospital, He wrote: “kill girl”.
Justice Julia Lonergan will hand down her judgment on Friday.
heath.parkes-hupton@news.com.au
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