Blood-splattered walls, family photos and the tiny stain that blew the case wide open: Graphic photos from inside the Lin family home - after Robert Xie was found guilty of five murders
- Robert Xie has been found guilty of murdering five of his wife's relatives
- His wife, Kathy Lin, has stood by him and proclaimed his innocence
- But she sobbed as a NSW Supreme Court jury handed down its verdict
- Xie cut electricity to the Epping home and systematically killed the five
- Grisly crime scene photos have emerged from the Lin family home
Grisly crime scene photos have emerged from the Lin family home where Robert Xie murdered five of his wife's relatives.
Fuelled by resentment and humiliation at his 'inferior' status in the Lin family, Robert Xie crept into a Sydney house and bludgeoned five of his wife's relatives to death.
In horrific detail, a court heard how Xie systematically went about murdering his brother-in-law and wife, their two children and her sister under the cover of night.
The first police images from the Lin home in Epping have emerged with walls and door handles splattered with blood, footprints in the carpet and drops of blood throughout the house.
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A mobile phone charger splattered in blood at the Lin family home
There was blood on the bedroom door handles and the smeared up the door
The crucial blood stain 91: This blood stain was found in Xie's garage ten months after the murders. It contained four of the five victim's DNA
The carpet from the main bedroom was treated with chemicals, revealing a clear sneaker footprint which prosecutors claimed were consistent with the shoes Xie wore
Horrific splatters of blood on the wall in the children's bedroom. Investigators believe the two children were awake and moving when they were beaten to death
Pictured is a small bed shaped as a racing car in Min and Lily's room. Their son Terry, 9, would sleep there when he had trouble in his own room
This silver coloured Bird brand mobile phone was covered in blood and found under the racing car bed
Photos have emerged from the grisly crime scene at the Lin family home in Epping
The graphic images show the violent murders that took place within the bedrooms as the family were bludgeoned to death.
Images show the dark chemicals used to bring out the footprints of sneakers that were consistent with the shoes Xie wore, according to prosecutors.
One blood stain, labelled 'Stain 91', became an integral part of the Crown's case. It contained four of the five victim's DNA and was found in Xie's garage ten months later.
Xie had a perverted sexual fascination with a teenager connected to the family, and would rub himself against her while erect, the murder trial also heard, reported the Daily Telegraph.
Pictured is a blood-stained doorknob at the entrance to Irene Lin's room
The Lin family's sandals were scattered at the base of a staircase leading to the second floor
Like every other house: A view inside the living room and study of the Lin family home on the day of the murders
A photo showing the doorway into bedroom one with an arrow pointing two the light switch
A look inside Robert Xie's garage: The photos were taken during a police search
More than seven years and four trials later, the 53-year-old is facing life behind bars after a NSW Supreme Court jury on Thursday found him guilty of the five murders.
It took the jury eight days of deliberations after a six month trial, marking Xie one of Australia's worst mass murders in living history.
Just days after the gruesome murders in 2009, Xie and his wife, Kathy Lin, made an emotional public plea for information to help solve the terrible crimes.
They asked that media not show their faces because of concerns for their own safety.
Robert Xie has been found guilty of brutally murdering five of his wife's relatives in 2009. The court heard he harboured a deep hatred over his 'inferior' status in the extended family
VICTIMS: Min Lin, 45, and Lily Lin, 43 were killed after being bludgeoned with a 'hammer-like object' by Robert Xie
A furious struggle took place in the bedroom of his young nephews Terry (left) and Henry (right) - but both were killed by their sinister uncle
Irene was the fifth member of the family to suffer a horrendous fate at Xie's hands, the jury found
Xie said he couldn't imagine any reason why anyone would want to harm the family, describing his dead brother-in-law as a 'very nice, hard-working, friendly person'.
Xie had pleaded not guilty to murdering the five in their North Epping home.
The former ear, nose and throat specialist, who was arrested in May 2011, faced two aborted trials and a third lasting nine months which resulted in a hung jury.
As the majority verdict was handed down, Xie told the court he did not murder the Lin family.
'I am innocent,' he told the jury as he left the court.
His wife Kathy began to cry.
Outside of court, Min Lin's parents wept in relief after the guilty verdict. 'We are happy,' they said to reporters, while holding framed photos of their lost loved ones.
LIN FAMILY HOME: This is the home where Robert Xie killed five members of his wife's family
LOCKED AWAY: The latest trial of Lian Bin 'Robert' Xie lasted some six months - the verdict finally coming some seven years after the deaths shocked Australia
Outside of court, Min Lin's parents wept in relief after the guilty verdict
'We're very happy': The pair managed to stutter amidst heavy sobbing as reporters surrounded them outside of NSW Supreme Court
Xie was found to have left their bed in the early hours of July 18, 2009, hours after attending a 'normal' Friday night dinner with his extended family.
His wife confirmed his alibi, that he didn't leave their bed that night, but the Crown suggested Xie sedated her before creeping into the Lin residence around the corner.
TIMELINE OF MURDERS
July 18, 2009: Five members of the Lin family are found dead in their North Epping home
May 5, 2011: Robert Xie is arrested and charged with five counts of murder
December 19, 2012: Xie is committed to stand trial
July 22, 2013: Trial delayed to March
August, 2014: Second trial begins, but is aborted due to judge's health issues
February, 2015: Third trial begins, but jury is unable to reach a verdict after ten months
December 8, 2015: Xie is granted bail
June, 2016: Retrial is commenced in Sydney
January 12, 2017: Xie is found guilty of five murders
Ms Lin lied at times to 'assist' her husband, not because she knew he was guilty but because she was convinced he was framed by police, prosecutor Tanya Smith said.
At the Lin house, Xie disconnected the electricity before making his way upstairs in the dark.
He then used a hammer-like object to inflict horrific head injuries on his newsagent brother-in-law, Min Lin, 45, and his wife, Lily, 43, as they lay in their bed.
He did the same to Lily's sister, Irene, 39, in the next room.
Blood splatters revealed a furious struggle took place in the third bedroom occupied by Xie's nephews.
But Henry, 12, and Terry, 9, still suffered the same shocking fate in the North Epping home.
'This was a well-planned crime of a personal nature, by a single person who has carefully improvised a murder weapon,' Ms Smith said.
Kathy Lin, the wife of Robert, has supported her husband for years and proclaimed his innocence. On Thursday, he was found guilty of killing her family
Forensic specialists are pictured at the North Epping home where all five of the bodies were found in 2009. The court heard that Xie cut the electricity before entering the house
Xie believed he was entitled to respect and admiration within the extended family, but felt he was denied this because of the uncritical and misplaced high regard given to Min Lin.
'The Crown case is that this perception evoked intense emotions on his part, including anger and resentment.'
The Crown also contended that Xie had a sexual motive, details of which cannot be published for legal reasons.
Four of the victims died from the combined effects of blunt force trauma and asphyxia, involving injuries indicative of neck compression.
The Crown cited Xie's medical skills, while Witness A, who was in jail with Xie, said Xie showed him a particular location on the neck, which was incapacitating.
Xie had a perverted sexual fascination with a teenager connected to the family, and would rub himself against her while erect, the murder trial also heard
Horrifically murdered: Xie's Chinese-born brother-in-law Norman Lin and Lin's wife Lily (both pictured) were killed
Witness A also testified to seeing Xie, who always appeared calm in the dock, screaming at an elderly inmate who was using a walking frame.
'The whole (exercise) yard stopped,' he said.
'It was like zero to 100.'
Defence barrister Robert Webb had argued the 'highly organised' and brutal execution involved multiple assailants, also contending that Xie got on well with his relatives.
He particularly loved his nephew Henry whom he treated like a son.
But the Crown said the boys and Irene were 'collateral damage' or secondary victims who may have woken up when the adults were being murdered.
'The Crown case is that he came to kill Min and Lily and was prepared to kill others should the need arise.'
What the jury heard in the trial
WHAT THE CROWN SAID:
* One person murdered the Lin family at their North Epping home in Sydney, in the early hours of July 18, 2009
* Xie sedated his wife before leaving their bed and creeping into the Lin residence, 300 metres away
* Xie knew the location of the Lin's outside power box to enable the electricity to be turned off
* Xie had access to a key and knew the layout of the Lin house
* Bloodied shoe prints in the Lin home were consistent with Asics sneakers Xie wore
* On May 6, 2010, Xie cuts up shoe boxes, showing 'consciousness of guilt'
* Small 'bloodstain' - dubbed Stain 91 - on Xie's garage floor 'most likely' contains DNA of four Lin family victims
* Partly motivated by his perceived 'inferior' status in the Lin family - supported by evidence of Witness A, an inmate who recorded Xie speaking disparagingly of Min Lin
WHAT THE DEFENCE SAID:
* It wasn't one person in the dark
* Improbable all five victims could be controlled by one person; crime scene suggests more than one assailant
* Xie's wife Kathy Lin confirms his alibi of being asleep with her at the time of the murders
* Disputes DNA evidence and the Crown's assertion stain on Xie's garage floor is blood
* No evidence showing Xie motivated to harm the Lin family
* Xie got on well with Lin family and was particularly close to nephew Henry
* He cut up the shoe boxes as he feared police would falsely implicate him in the murders
* Conversations with Witness A were 'nothing more than jail talk'
* Denies Crown's suggestion of a sexual motive, details of which cannot be published.
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