By Riley Walter
By the time police learned Jai-Bao “Rex” Chen’s mobile phone had been used in Queensland, his body, along with that of his wife, Zhuojun “Sally” Li, was already decomposing in dense bushland near Sydney Airport.
On Tuesday afternoon, police discovered what is believed to be Chen’s body, submerged in a Botany creek and concealed with reeds and other foliage, less than 10 metres from where Li’s body was found wrapped in plastic by a passerby on December 9.
Police are treating the deaths of Zhuojun “Sally” Li (left) and her husband, Jai-Bao “Rex” Chen (right) as a targeted double murder.Credit: NSW Police
The discovery of Li’s body at Sir Joseph Banks Park sparked grave concerns for Chen, who was declared missing after investigators could not locate him.
When detectives tracked Chen’s mobile phone to Queensland and identified two persons of interest who had fled the country, their investigation quickly turned to that of a “targeted double murder”.
“We’re looking at the possibility that both, at least two people involved are offshore,” NSW Police homicide squad commander Detective Superintendent Danny Doherty said.
“We thought previously there was a third party involved ... that has now been confirmed, that more than one person had targeted Sally and, more likely, Rex, and murdered them and dumped their bodies.”
Quickly, police established Chen and Li’s financial debts as a motive for the killing of the 33-year-olds.
“One of our strong lines of inquiry, in relation to when we found Sally’s body, would be that there were some monies owed, some financial debts owed,” Doherty said.
“There was no other criminality that we’re aware of, and certainly Sally has unfortunately become a victim because of that.”
Police discovered what is believed to be Jai-Bao “Rex” Chen’s body while searching an area near Sir Joseph Banks Park in Botany.Credit: Nine News
Detectives are working with Taiwanese and Chinese authorities to track down two persons of interest suspected of killing the couple in their Greenacre home in late November.
Chen is originally from Taiwan, while Li moved to Australia from China as a child 20 years ago.
“We’re looking at now, not only making those inquiries in Queensland, but we now have made a number of liaisons with Taiwan authorities and Chinese authorities,” Doherty said.
Those two people, Doherty said, were also suspected of driving the couple’s bodies from their south-west Sydney home and dumping them in the bushland.
On Saturday, police released CCTV showing the vehicle suspected of being used to transport the bodies, a silver Toyota Avensis, stopping on the northern side of Foreshore Road in the early hours of November 30. The car was seized and taken for forensic examination, as was Chen’s phone.
On Tuesday, Doherty again appealed for anyone with dashcam footage of the area to contact police.
Li and Chen’s bodies are believed to have been dumped at the same time, around the end of November, Doherty said.
Neither of their official causes of death have been established because of the severe state of decomposition. Chen’s body remained in the Botany creek as late as 5pm on Tuesday, with investigators expected to analyse the crime scene throughout Tuesday night.
The couple was last seen together in late November.
Li’s family were informed of her death and Chen’s disappearance on Friday. Chen’s family were on Tuesday informed of the discovery of the second body.
“They’re obviously devastated,” Doherty said of Li’s family on Saturday.
“This is a very sad, tragic death, where someone’s lost their life in not only an unusual way, but a suspicious and brutal one.”
Investigations under Strike Force Zygon, established after Li’s body was discovered, are ongoing.
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