‘Jilted’ boyfriend of slain mum Ju Kelly Zhang ‘infatuated’ with her and pleads not guilty to her murder
The ‘jilted’ boyfriend of slain mum Kelly Zhang was allegedly infatuated with her, it has emerged, along with new details about what happened to the Melbourne woman.
The allegedly jilted boyfriend of Melbourne mum Ju ‘Kelly’ Zhang was “infatuated” with her and killed her after an argument over her seeing another man before dumping her body in a bin, according to police.
Joon Seong Tan, from Doncaster in Melbourne’s northeast, is charged with one count of murder in connection to the disappearance and death of the 33-year-old Epping mum.
Mr Tan, 36, appeared for a brief hearing in Melbourne Magistrates Court on Wednesday and pleaded not guilty through a Mandarin interpreter.
Ms Zhang was last seen outside her Epping home dressed in pyjamas and a dressing gown on February 1.
In a summary, police allege the couple – who had only been dating for a month – argued between 5.50pm and 6pm on the day she disappeared about her starting a relationship with another man.
“This argument became physical and the accused physically assaulted the deceased, causing her death and placed her body in the laundry cupboard,” the summary reads.
It’s alleged Mr Tan became “infatuated” with the passionate dance teacher early in their relationship and started referring to her as his “wife”.
Ms Zhang didn’t feel the same way, started a relationship with the other man on January 30 and Mr Tan found out the day after, according to the summary.
The plasterer, who is married, allegedly tried to get a housemate to help him dispose of the body but the other man left the Epping house and ignored Mr Tan’s “excessive” calls.
Mr Tan is also accused of tampering with CCTV footage from the scene, with hours missing on the day of the alleged murder, according to police.
“Police believe the accused placed the deceased in a garbage bin from the home address and at 2am on February 2, the accused travelled from Epping to Heidelberg West where it is alleged he placed the garbage bin out for collection,” the summary reads.
He allegedly returned to the location and watched as the bin was collected by a rubbish truck.
Mr Tan was charged with Ms Zhang’s murder on February 11 but the woman’s remains were not found until a four-day search of landfill at Wollert, 25km north of the CBD, on June 18.
They were formally identified days after the grim discovery.
Mr Tan also briefly asked if he would “have a chance of bail” but was told his lawyer would discuss it with him at a later date.
DNA results were expected to be finalised next week, but fingerprint and chemical analysis was still pending, prosecutor Jessica van Dyk told the court.
Mr Tan will return to court at a later date.
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