Fuelled by resentment and humiliation at his perceived "inferior" status in the Lin family, Robert Xie crept into a Sydney house and bludgeoned five of his wife's relatives to death.

More than seven years and four trials later, Xie continues to maintain his innocence, telling the jury that convicted him by majority verdict on Thursday, "I did not murder the Lin Family."

"I am innocent," he said as the jury left the NSW Supreme Court.

His wife Kathy Lin cried.

Xie used a hammer-like object to inflict horrific head injuries on his newsagent brother-in-law Min "Norman" Lin, 45; his wife Yun "Lily" Lin, 43; her sister Yun Bin "Irene" Lin, 39; and the Lins' two sons, Henry, 12, and Terry, 9.

Mr Lin's mother wailed as she left court.

Holding pictures of their loved ones outside court, she and her husband spoke to the media, mostly in Mandarin.

"My son has been avenged," Feng Quin Zhu said in Mandarin.

"The law has given me truth.

"God can see this."

After two aborted trials and another resulting in a hung jury, the latest jury took eight days to deliberate and informed Justice Elizabeth Fullerton on Thursday they could not reach a unanimous verdict.

Shortly after Justice Fullerton allowed the jury to reach an 11 to one decision they returned a verdict to bring an end to the six month trial.

Back in July, 2009, Xie was joined by his wife in an emotional public plea for information to help solve the terrible crimes., saying he couldn't imagine why anyone would want to harm the family

But Xie was found to have left his bed in the early hours of July 18, hours after attending a "normal" Friday night dinner with his extended family.

At the Lins' North Epping house, he disconnected the electricity before making his way upstairs in the dark.

He then killed his brother-in-law and his wife as they lay in their bed and did the same to Irene in the next room.

Blood splatters revealed a furious struggle took place in the third bedroom occupied by Xie's nephews.

But schoolboys Henry and Terry still suffered the same shocking fate.

"This was a well-planned crime of a personal nature, by a single person who has carefully improvised a murder weapon," prosecutor Tanya Smith said.

The former ear, nose and throat specialist 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 said this made Xie angry and resentful.

Xie's wife supported 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.

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, Ms Smith said.

The Crown also contended 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.

Witness A also testified 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."

The matter has been listed for sentencing submissions on February 10.</s>Lin family murders legal proceedings took a new turn with Kathy Lin’s husband found guilty of the five murders committed in 2009. The five bodies were found bludgeoned to death in their beds. There have been four murder trials held to find out the hidden truth behind the murders but Xie never seemed losing his calm throughout the procedure.

It was on July 18 when the bodies of Lin’s family members were recovered in North Epping. The victims included Epping newsagents Norman and Lily Lin, Lin’s kids Henry, 12, and Terry, 9, and Liliy’s sister Irene Yunbin. Around two years after the murders in May 2011, police arrested Xie as a suspect of the murders. He was charged with five counts of murder.

The trial began in May 2014 but the court could only decide on the final verdict in 2017. There has been two aborted trials for Xie on Lin family murders proceeding whereas one hung jury and a fourth trial where Xie remained in the wooden dock. The jury remained clueless on the case and could not reach a unanimous verdict after eight days of deliberation during the murder trial.

The five victims of Lin family murders were beaten harshly and their bodies were lying on the pools of blood with bright red stains on the walls. The Crown claimed that the suspect received as inferior status in the family and hence he intended to kill his brother-in-law and other members out of jealousy. The bloodied shoeprints were obtained from the crime scene that indicated the shoes belonged to ASICS sport shoes. It was the same brand used by Xie, the Crown argued.

On the other hand, defense lawyer Robert Webb said that the shoe prints found at the spot were believed to belong to three different brands and not ASICS alone. On Thursday, Justice Elizabeth Fullerton told the jury to be back to the jury room to reach a verdict. After examining all sides of the Lin family murders case, a majority of 11 jurors at NSW Supreme Court found Xie guilty of the five murders, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.</s>After four trials spanning three years, a jury has found Sydney man Robert Xie guilty of murdering five members of the Lin family.

Newsagent Min Lin, his wife Lily Lin, sister-in-law Irene Lin and two sons Henry, 12, and Terry, 9, were bludgeoned to death inside their North Epping home in July 2009.

The brutality of the crime and the fact that two of the victims were children shocked Sydney and prompted speculation about who could have been responsible.

Mr Lin was well liked by customers at his Epping newsagency and by all accounts, the business was doing well, so what were the possible motives?

Was it gang related? Was it payback for a debt owed? Who would murder a family as they slept?

After the initial barrage of headlines about the murders and funeral, the story went quiet, with no new leads on the case the media could report.

To the public, it may have appeared as though the trail had gone cold.

But a team of police officers, led by Detective Sergeant Joe Maree, were still quietly going about their work.

And almost two years later, Robert Xie was arrested.

One set of bloodied footprints and a possible motive

Xie was interviewed extensively by police, not long after the murders in 2009, and again the following year.

Bloodied footprints were found in the upstairs bedrooms of the Lin family home and police would later count 24 sole impressions in the house.

The footprints were found to be consistent with the brand of sport shoes worn by Xie.

Investigators also came to the conclusion that this was a crime committed by a member of the family — although Xie's lawyers would later reject claims that one person could have carried out all the killings.

Xie and his wife, Kathy Lin, were subjected to six months of electronic surveillance and the powerful New South Wales Crime Commission also got involved in the investigation.

It was not until May 2011, nearly two years after the family's death, that police moved in, placing Xie under arrest and charging him with five counts of murder.

It took four trials to find Xie guilty.

In the first instance, the jury was discharged after several weeks, when new evidence came to light about an alleged sexual motive for the murders involving a person who cannot be identified.

The second trial came to a halt several weeks into the trial when the judge fell ill.

The third trial in 2015 went full term but culminated in a hung jury — they could not agree unanimously on whether Xie was guilty or not guilty.

Xie has maintained his innocence since 2009, pleading not guilty to five charges of murder in a trial before Justice Elizabeth Fullerton in the NSW Supreme Court which commenced on June 29, 2016.

Motivation for one of the largest homicides in NSW history?

The case put to the jury by prosecutors was that this was a crime of intense bitterness, jealousy and hatred, because Xie resented the way Mr Lin was being treated by his in-laws.

Crown prosecutor Tanya Smith said Xie felt humiliation, anger and resentment about his brother-in-law being held in such regard, when in his mind, he was so undeserving.

Ms Smith said Xie had become bitter after getting into a dispute with the adults in the Lin family over the management of their North Epping newsagency which left him feeling "subordinate".

The crown argued the murders were "well planned" and "personal" against the successful businessman and his family.

Defence barrister Robert Webb said there was nothing wrong with the relationship between the families at the time.

He said his client loved Mr Lin's son Henry as if he was his own and it did not fit that he would then murder him.

Spare key and bloodied footprints at centre of dispute

Prosecutors said the bloodied shoeprints left on the carpet of the Lin family's Boundary Road home suggested there was only one killer.

But the jury was then told the prints may have belonged to three brands, other than the one prosecutors linked to Xie.

Prosecutors said Xie secretly drugged his wife so he could leave their house in Beck Street, Epping, after 2:00am on July 18 and walk the 300 metres to the Lin family's house.

Power to the Lin home was cut and there were no signs of forced entry.

Police said the killer must have had a key and known their way around the property.

Xie's lawyers disputed claims only one person was responsible for the murders and argued that anyone with a torch could have navigated the Lin family home.

The weapon, which has never been found, was "an improvised hammer-like implement" and the crown said there was a "distinct pattern of injuries of the five deceased".

Prosecutors said Xie disposed of it after leaving his wife at the Lin family home after she discovered the bodies.

Prosecutors relied on a prison informant, known to the court as 'Witness A', who gave evidence about his conversations with Xie in custody and wore a wire for police, with some of the conversations recorded.

But Xie's lawyers attacked the credibility of Witness A.

"The defence don't accept that he's a man of truth. You wouldn't trust him with a cracked cup," Mr Webb said.

"If he told you it was raining, you'd go outside and check."

The defence also stressed the "improbability of all five [Lin family members] being incapacitated or killed without making a noise".

Mr Webb pointed to Xie's alibi, supported by his wife, that he was in bed asleep with her when the crimes occurred.

DNA evidence also featured prominently during the trial.

The jury heard police discovered a small smear of blood, from at least four of the victims, on Xie's garage floor, 10 months after the murders.

Xie allegedly cleaned his garage on the morning of the murders, but failed to notice this stain.

The crown said this could have been caused by the murder weapon, Xie's shoes or his clothing being placed on the garage floor.

Henry Lin had defensive injuries on his forearms, suggesting he was moving around the room, during the attack.</s>Robert Xie has been found guilty of murdering five members of his wife’s family at their North Epping home in July 2009.

Xie, 53, was convicted of using a hammer-like object to inflict horrific head injuries on his newsagent brother-in-law Min Lin, 45; his wife, Lily Lin, 43; her sister Irene, 39; and the Lins’ two sons, Henry, 12, and Terry, nine.

As the majority 11-to-one verdict was handed down in the New South Wales supreme court on Thursday, 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.

The verdict comes after Xie faced four trials and almost five years on remand in jail after the killings. Two previous trials were aborted for legal reasons and last year a jury was unable to reach a verdict in a nine-month-long trial.

The crown said Xie had been motivated by anger and resentment over his perceived “subordinate status” within the extended family and the uncritical regard given to his brother-in-law Min Lin. The crown also suggested there was a sexual motive.

Prosecutors also said Xie also had a financial incentive to carry out the killings and had gone to great lengths to gain control of his brother-in-law’s assets. These included the family’s newsagency, their North Epping home, a unit at Merrylands and a commercial unit which had just been leased.

The defence pointed to Xie’s alibi, supported by his wife, that he was in bed asleep with her when the crimes occurred in the nearby Lin residence and also said more than one assailant was likely to have been involved.

In the days after the murders, Xie and his wife made emotional public pleas for information to help solve the terrible crimes. He 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”.

Police, however, were busy building a case and arrested the former ear, nose and throat specialist in May 2011.

They found Xie had left the bed he shared with his wife in the early hours of 18 July 2009, hours after attending a “normal” Friday-night dinner with his extended family.

The crown suggested Xie sedated his wife before creeping into the Lin residence around the corner. Lin lied at times to “assist” her husband, not because she knew he was guilty but because she was convinced he had been framed by police, said the prosecutor, Tanya Smith.

At the Lin house, Xie disconnected the electricity before making his way upstairs in the dark. He then used a hammer-like object to attack Min and Lily as they lay in their bed. He did the same to Lily’s sister Irene in the next room.

Blood splatters revealed a furious struggle took place in a third bedroom occupied by Xie’s nephews. But Henry and Terry still suffered the same shocking fate.

“This was a well-planned crime of a personal nature, by a single person who has carefully improvised a murder weapon,” Smith said.

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 had showed him a particular location on the neck which was incapacitating.

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.”

The defence barrister, Robert Webb, had argued the “highly organised” and brutal execution involved multiple assailants, also contending that Xie had got on well with his relatives.

But the crown said the boys and Irene were “collateral damage”, or secondary victims, who may have woken up when the couple 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.”</s>Robert Xie's wife broke down in tears as he was found guilty of bludgeoning five of her relatives to death at their Sydney home.

Kathy Lin has stood by Xie through the more than seven years after their family were brutally killed at their North Epping home.

And on Thursday, a jury found Xie used a 'hammer like' tool to inflict horrendous injuries on his brother-in-law Min Lin, 45, his wife Lily Lin, 43, her sister Irene, 39 and their two young nephews Henry, 12, and Terry, nine.

He was fuelled by resentment and humiliation at his 'inferior' status in the Lin family, prosecutors said.

The jury decision - a majority verdict - followed eight days of deliberations.

Xie remained defiant as he learned his fate, telling the court he was not the Lin family killer.

'I am innocent,' he told the jury as he left the court.

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.

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.

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.</s>Robert Xie killed brother-in-law Min Lin, Mr Lin's wife Lily, their sons Henry, 12, and Terry, 9, and Mrs Lin's sister Irene, in a crime that shocked Australia in 2009. The New South Wales Supreme Court heard evidence Xie, 53, resented Mr Lin, 45, because he was perceived as the better businessman within the extended family.

Start the conversation, or Read more at BBC News.</s>SYDNEY (AFP) - A former surgeon was on Thursday (Jan 12) found guilty of murdering five members of a Chinese-Australian family in Sydney, including two children, in a gruesome case that shocked the country.

Robert Xie, 53, was charged with killing his Chinese-born brother-in-law Norman Lin, Lin's wife Lily, their sons Henry, 12, and Terry, 9, and Lily's sister Irene.

Their bodies were found in their northwestern Sydney home in July 2009.

The long-running case saw Xie - an ear, nose and throat surgeon in China before moving to Australia in 2002 - face four murder trials. Two were aborted, one ended in a hung jury and the most recent retrial lasted six months.

Xie was found guilty by the majority of a New South Wales Supreme Court jury, and will be sentenced on Feb 10, a court official told AFP.

"I did not murder the Lin family, I am innocent," Xie told the court after the verdict was announced, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.

His wife sobbed, saying "he's innocent", the newspaper added.

Prosecutors alleged that Xie was motivated by bitterness towards the family.

It was Xie and his wife Kathy Lin, the sister of Norman, who discovered the bodies and called police, sparking a mammoth investigation spanning Australia and China. He was eventually charged in 2011.

The three adults were killed in their beds, with their faces "smashed by a hammer-like object" with a rope attached to it. The children were murdered in their rooms with one hit 18 times.</s>Robert Xie found guilty of murdering five members of extended family

Sydney man Robert Xie has been found guilty of murdering five members of his extended family, including his two young nephews.

After three years of court hearings, including four separate trials, a Supreme Court jury found Xie bludgeoned his five victims to death inside their North Epping home in July 2009.

The jury came to a majority decision after earlier indicating to the court that it had been unable to reach a unanimous decision.

Xie stood up in the dock and rejected the verdict as the jury left the courtroom.

"I did not murder the Lin family," he said. "I am innocent."

Min and Lily Lin's sons Henry, 12, and Terry, 9, were also killed.

Min Lin was the brother of Xie's wife, Kathy Lin.

The couple was put under electronic surveillance for six months before Xie was arrested in May 2011.

More to come.</s>SYDNEY: A former surgeon was found guilty of murdering five members of a Chinese-Australian family, including two children here. Robert Xie, 53, was charged with killing his Chinese-born brother-in-law Norman Lin, Lin’s wife Lily, their sons Henry, 12, and Terry, 9, and Lily’s sister Irene. Their bodies were found in their northwestern Sydney home in July 2009. The long-running case saw Xie—an ear, nose and throat surgeon in China before moving to Australia in 2002—face four murder trials. Two were aborted, one ended in a hung jury and the most recent retrial lasted six months.Xie was found guilty by the majority of a New South Wales Supreme Court jury, and will be sentenced on February 10, a court official told AFP.</s>SYDNEY
• A former surgeon was yesterday found guilty of murdering five members of a Chinese-Australian family in Sydney, including two children, in a gruesome case that shocked the country.

Robert Xie, 53, was charged with killing his Chinese-born wife's brother Norman Lin, 45, Lin's wife Lily, 43, their sons Henry, 12, and Terry, nine, and Lily's sister Irene, 39. Their bodies were found in their north-western Sydney home in July 2009.

The long-running case saw Xie - an ear, nose and throat surgeon in China before he moved to Australia in 2002 - face four murder trials.

Two were aborted, one ended in a hung jury and the most recent re- trial lasted six months.

Xie was found guilty by the majority of a New South Wales Supreme Court jury, and will be sentenced on Feb 10, a court official told Agence France-Presse.

"I did not murder the Lin family, I am innocent," Xie told the court after the verdict was announced, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.

The newspaper added that Kathy, his wife, sobbed, saying: "He's innocent."

Prosecutors said Xie was motivated to kill his wife's brother and his family because he was enraged by his perceived lowly status within the family. "These perceptions invoked intense emotions on his behalf, including anger and resentment, and (he) directed these emotions at Lin and his wife," Ms Tanya Smith was quoted as saying.

The Sydney Morning Herald said yesterday there was also an alleged illicit sexual motive, details of which could not be reported due to non-publication orders.

Prosecutors also suggested a financial incentive for the killings, saying Xie had gone to great lengths to gain control of his brother-in-law's assets. These included the family's news agency, their North Epping home, a unit at Merrylands and a commercial unit which had just been leased.

The victims were beaten almost beyond recognition, their bodies lying in pools of blood, some splattered on the wall, according to the newspaper.

Prosecutors said Xie was carrying a hammer-like weapon - "assembled for maximum effect to incapacitate and kill" - and used it to beat Mr Lin and his wife while they slept in their bedroom.

Xie then crept to a second bedroom and killed Mr Lin's sister. Terry and Henry were murdered, possibly because they had seen Xie and would have been able to identify him. One of the boys was hit 18 times.

"It's apparent from the blood splatter patterns - there was a furious struggle in that bedroom," Ms Smith said.

For unknown reasons, Xie then returned to the parents' bedroom and rearranged their bodies so that they were lying in a V-shape.

It was Xie and his wife who discovered the bodies and called police.

Xie's main alibi, supported by his wife, was that he was in bed asleep with her when the crimes occurred, but the prosecution suggested that he could have sedated his wife and left home in the early hours to commit the murders at the nearby Lin residence.

The killings sparked a mammoth investigation spanning Australia and China, and Xie was eventually charged in 2011 and has been in remand since then.
Robert Xie is found guilty of the Lin family murders seven years after their bodies were found in the Australian city of Sydney.