Supreme Court of NSW
Shocking police photos have been released of one of New South Wales most grisly murder scenes.
The evidence, showing blood-spattered walls and smeared door handles, helped convict killer Robert Xie, who bludgeoned to death five of his wife’s relatives.
Xie, 53, was found guilty last week of murdering local newsagent Norman ‘Min’ Lin, 45, Lin’s wife Lily, 43, her sister, Irene, 39, and the Lins’ two young sons, Henry, 12, and Terry, nine.
After being welcomed into their home many times before, he cruelly took their lives as they lay sleeping in the early hours of the morning on July 18, 2009.
His wife has continued to stand by him throughout his arrest in May 2011, two aborted trials and a third lasting nine months, which resulted in a hung jury.
The Crown said Xie’s motive for murder was that he was furious by what he perceived to be his lowly status within the family.
Evidence during the trial at NSW Supreme Court revealed that the power had been cut to their Epping home, and the family was brutally slayed with a hammer-like object.
Bloodied footprints that match the tread of a pair of Xie’s shoes were found in Lin’s home. And, crucially, there was no forced entry.
Xie maintains his innocence, despite the damning evidence.
In one image, blood is visible on the doorframe of Min and Lily’s room. In another, a Samsung mobile phone charger is surrounded by blood splatters.
The door handle to Irene’s room is smeared with blood where a bloodied hand has gripped it.
Other brutal images show splashes of blood on light switches, the stairwell railing, doorframes and a mobile phone.
Xie faces life behind bars at his sentencing.
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