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[Music] our episodes deal with serious and often distressing incidents if you feel at any
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time you need support please contact your local crisis center for suggested phone numbers for confidential support
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please see the show notes for this episode on your app or on our website this episode deals with violence towards
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children that won't be suitable for all listeners thank you what's a requiring ambulance tell you five three seven one
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seven Thank You police emergency the same not just let me fine if he what corner streets closest
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backstreet close to what's wrong why you need an ambulance what's wrong why you think someone's dying you need to tell
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me something you'd you're asking for an ambulance and y-yeah you need to say why
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what have you seen what makes you think someone is going to die screams in the background you need to tell me what's
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wrong someone unconscious why why [Laughter] what do you think on the ground are they
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on the ground in the house is your brother in the house we are driving there answer my questions please have
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you found a body my body have you found a body Connie and I go to check in my father we
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are driving there it's a quick tell me what's wrong have you seen your brother we're already driving there you don't
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need to worry we're on the way but can you see your brother I'm not sure no yes or no can you see
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him no eat in the house is your brother in the house I'm not sure no it's yes or
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no have you seen him no no what why do you think he's dead I'm a bit confused can you see the body
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we're coming we're on the way you don't need to worry well either way we're ambulance are on the way as well please
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up in the street now they'll be there in 10 seconds the you outside the house are
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you at the front o sauna yes finally can you see the police yes they're driving there right now so have your lights on
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[Music] the Lin family were tightening a strong family who did everything together they
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were happy and truly grateful for their life that hard work and perseverance had
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allowed for them in North Epping in the northern suburbs of Sydney New South Wales mingling aged 45 and his wife Ewan
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Leland also known as Lily aged 43 migrated to Australia from China as students they met in Sydney fell in love
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and began a life together men opened a news agency on the local Epping shopping strip it was a busy and successful
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business he was well known in the community and was a daily fixture in many lives by 2009 the Lin's business
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was thriving turning over a million dollars a year Minh had also purchased two other commercial properties on the
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same shopping strip he was known around Epping as a friendly hard-working family
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men although English was his in Lily's second language people found their wings easy to talk to they owned a two-story
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home nearby where they lived with their three children and Lily's sister Ewan Ben also known as Irene Irene was 39
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years old and worked part-time in min and Lewis news agency to help them out Brenda was the oldest of the link
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children she was 15 and in year 10 they also had two boys Henri aged 12 and Terri aged 9 the Lin siblings were very
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close and spent a lot of time together brenda was a studious and intelligent year-10 student with a tight circle of
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friends and a happy outlook Henry and Terri enjoyed school when playing sport Henry played tennis and badminton and
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had a hard-working and friendly personality much like his father he also enjoyed learning magic tricks
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min spent every day running the news agency even if it was closed he was still usually doing something like
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restocking Lily worked there part-time while making sure she was home for the family men and Lily's goal was to give
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their children the best education and the best life they possibly could hard work was not something that was
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discussed around the dinner table it was just the way they were men and Lily grew
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up without so they wanted to give everything to their children means sister Kathy who also worked part-time
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at the news agency lived nearby with her husband Robert Z and their young son Kathy and Robert first arrived in
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Australia in 2002 they moved to Melbourne where Robert opened a restaurant Robert had wanted to bring
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over three chefs from China but was denied and the restaurant failed in 2005 Robert and Kathy made the move to Sydney
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to be closer to men and Lily Robert had been an ear nose and throat specialist in China before they migrated to
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Australia although they hadn't quite had the success in Australia they imagined Robert and Kathy had the work ethic to
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keep going and make it work they were very close to men Lily in their three children they did a lot together
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Henry practiced badminton with his uncle Robert every chance he got the two families looked after each other and
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helped each other any way they could men and Cathy's parents yeh faylene and funk ings you looped clothes buying
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maryland's a suburban Sydney's west around 30 minutes drive from both men and Kathy Yang fail in and functions you
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lived for their family in mid-july 2009 as part of her French class at school Brenda flew to New Caledonia on a school
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excursion to practice French at 15 years old Brenda was apprehensive about going
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overseas for a week without her family the night before she left she told her mum Lily that she was going to miss her
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unless she loved her she gave Henry a hug and said the week would go fast and she'd be back soon Minh drove Brenda to
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the airport at 4 a.m. on Monday morning and the two of them watched as Brenda's classmates stood in tears saying goodbye
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to their families Brenda thought it was a bit over-the-top she held her head high and acted cool it
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was only a week no need for tears or gushy goodbyes Brenda and min said goodbye without a
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dramatic hug or an I love you it wasn't that they didn't love each other they just didn't need to say it
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they knew on the evening of Friday July 17 2009 the Lindsay family's had to get together at yang falen and funking zoo's
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house in maryland's it was a typical family dinner Brenda was still away New Caledonia so the focus was on the two
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boys Henry and Thierry Henry complained to his grandparents that his shoes were broken but he was happy when his
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grandmother gave him fifty dollars for winning his badminton competition she tried to twist his arm into sleeping
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over at their place but Henry insisted on staying at home as he had another badminton game in the morning it was a
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happy and harmonious evening when everyone left to go home they saw it was a particularly dark night there was
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barely a moon the following morning July 18 2009 mins sister Kathy Ling and her husband Robert C were up early their
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home was closed by two men and lui just over the park Robert had been up early cleanings
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garage while I was doing that Kathy received a phone call men and Lily's news agency hadn't been open to
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that morning the news agency was always open on time especially on Saturdays the
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busiest morning on the shopping strip people were standing at the front of the news agency staring at a huge pile of
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papers still bundled on the footpath and when they tried the door that was locked
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immediately fearing something was wrong Kathy and Robert went straight over to men and Lily's house they assumed they
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were either sick or maybe one of the boys had hurt themselves when they arrived they found the front door
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unlocked Robert and Kathy entered the house and called out but no one responded they slowly made their way up
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the stairs Kathy opened her brother and sister-in-laws bedroom door located to the right at the top of the stairs
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Robert was following close behind all they saw was red blood all over the bed blood all over the walls there was
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everywhere Kathy looked down at the bed and saw a body which she knew instantly was her sister-in-law Lily
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Robert pulled her from behind trying to shield her from the horror Kathy ran out made her way to the next
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room it was the bedroom of Lily's sister Irene the door handle was bloody and the
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door was ajar inside her room the scene was no different blood everywhere for a moment Robert thought Irene may
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have still been alive and his instinct was to reach out for her lastly at the end of the first floor corridor Cathy
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and Robert walked towards the shared bedroom of their two nephews Henry and Terry what they saw was a mirror image
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of what they found in the first two rooms they ran downstairs the call triple zero there was Cathy you could
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hear in the emergency call at the beginning of the episode the call is a mix of panic and confusion Cathy
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struggled to get her mind straight in the grief of seeing her family murdered at first
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Robert can be heard in the background but then in an obvious state of shock he told Cathy he was going to leave the
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house to go and get her and men's parents from there Marilyn's home Cathy can be heard pleading with Robert in
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Cantonese not to leave her alone in the house she was scared Cathy said to the operator she hadn't seen her brother min
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and with everything a blur she considered the possibility that he might have murdered his family and fled but
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she wasn't sure maybe he was there Cathy was left shaking and Robert clearly frightened
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that run from the scene Cathy can be heard saying I am more scared than you are in Cantonese before he left Robert
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left and caught his in-laws yang Fei Lin and functions U and told them that something terrible had happened when
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they asked what had happened Robert couldn't say he just said that they should get on a train as soon as
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possible then he changed his mind and said he would go and get them Robert was panicking when police and
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paramedics arrived at the scene they didn't know what they were walking into Cathy's frantic emergency call indicated
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there was likely at least one body and it wasn't known if the killer was alive or dead they had no idea what had
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happened or what to expect Cathy was standing at the front of the property screaming in a frantic State when they
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arrived inside as they opened the front door they found a simple family home cluttered with daily life
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the downstairs study and living area filled with books papers and a walking machine the family shoes lined up at the
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foot of the stairs there was nothing out of the ordinary police headed up the stairs and into the first bedroom which
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was men and lilies that were confronted with a room so red and so bloody it was at first difficult to determine if there
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was a body when those officers went to work that morning not one of them was prepared for a family beaten to death
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beyond recognition in a quiet residential area not known for its violent Kron that went into the other
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rooms and check to see if anyone was still breathing when that was a negative their thoughts
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turned to min where was he police called guard around the property in case the killer possibly
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men was still around when men's parents arrived at the scene with Robert they were told by police that their
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daughter-in-law Lily her sister Irene and their two grandsons Henry and Terry were dead with no word
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as the Worman was they feared here day they'd been abducted or he was responsible but as crime-scene
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investigators arrived Cathy suggests that they look under the Doudna where Lily was Kathy said she had
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seen men's watch and she just had a feeling that her brother men might be under the do not upon closer inspection
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underneath the blood-soaked do know they found the body of men when he was beaten
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so badly he was unrecognizable there was blood spatter from floor to ceiling a phone charger pod being close to the
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ground was covered in blood as was the ceilings light fitting the level of violence was extreme this was no regular
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breakin and a resulting in murder this was a family murdered beyond recognition five people attacked at a time of high
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vulnerability in the middle of the night police cordoned off the street while detectives canvassed neighbors for any
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information Robert kathy yang Phelan and Fung teens you were taken to Hornsby hospital to be treated for shock and to
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receive counseling it was only then they were formally told that men had also been found dead a few hours later Brenda
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who was still in New Caledonia with her class jumped on the internet with some friends Brenda told Channel Nine's a
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Current Affair program quote we decided we would use the internet and go on Facebook to see what all their friends
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were doing in the holidays and talk to them and catch up and then everyone started asking if I was okay someone
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said that my family was murdered and I couldn't believe it at first I thought it was just some cruel joke that they
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were playing on me and it's not funny I didn't think that could happen to my family and at first I guess I felt
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really dizzy and I don't know I was really shocked and I just couldn't really think or see anything straight
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her school principal Susan bridge made contact with the teachers on the trip and Brenda was put on the next available
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flight home Kathy was at the airport with police officers waiting for Brenda when Brenda arrived she was escorted
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into a special room when she fell into the arms of her crying aren't Kathy she realized that was all true the gravity
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of what had happened hit her her family was gone when news broke the media reported the possibility of the incident
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being a murder-suicide acting superintendent Stephen Henkel spoke to waiting press at the scene he confirmed
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the possibility of murder-suicide and said it was being investigated when questions were raised over the
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relationships of the victims and how they died he declined to comment police determined that the murders occurred
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between 2:00 a.m. and 5:30 a.m. the electricity to the linnaeus had been cut and it was likely that if someone had
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entered from the outside the key was used to gain access as there was no sign of forced entry
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an examination of the house showed no obvious signs of theft a makeshift hammerlock weapon was determined to be
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the murder weapon but it wasn't located none of the injuries were deemed to be self-inflicted this was definitely not a
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murder-suicide the severity of the injuries initially led police to believe the gun had been used but post-mortem
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examinations showed otherwise as well as blunt-force trauma as Fixer was a contributing cause of death in four out
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of five of the victims the likely scenario was that men and Lily were killed first possibly suffocated to
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subdue them and then beaten the level of brutality inflicted on both men and Lily
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showed they had received the most violent attacks of all the victims Lily's sister Irene was killed in the
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same manner the killer then went to Henry and Terry's bedroom where as believed that at least one of the boys
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was already awake woken up by what was happening in the neighboring bedrooms it was apparent from blood spatter patterns
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that there had been a furious trouble the boys had fought with their killer [Music]
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blood was found smeared on all of the bedroom door handles except for Brenda's her door and room hadn't been touched
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the blood smears showed it was likely the murderer was wearing gloves 24 bloody shoe impressions were found
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measured to be mens u.s. size between eight and a half and ten and a half on July 22nd 2009 four days after the
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murders Robert and Kathy were interviewed by police the interview room at Parramatta
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police station was painted gray with four chairs around a white desk during Robert's interview he sat with his
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interpreter sipping water from a plastic disposable cup while two detectives asked him questions and took notes
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almost 35 minutes into the interview Roberts sits with his hands clutched together on the table his head is down
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and he begins to slowly wring his hands he struggles to explain what he saw although he can manage broken English he
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continues in his native Cantonese so he can speak fluently and doesn't need to stop to find the right words his answers
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are short and sometimes confused he speaks in a quiet tone barely lifting his eyes from the desk as he describes
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finding the bloodied remains of his family he describes how the night before after being at the family dinner he and
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Kathy returned home he spent the rest of the night watching cycling cricket and movies before having a bath around 2:00
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a.m. and then going to bed he then describes the scene he and Kathy walked into he explains that he was telling
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caffeine not to look at the bodies he rubs his face with his hands rubbing his eyes and massaging his forehead when
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Robert gets to approaching the bedroom that Henry and Terry whirring he struggles to get his words together it's
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a moment when it seems he might break down [Music] but I thought I hope you secure I I can
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see everywhere was left homes if you make see I'm everywhere or something I don't know us us all in Ghana I I think
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I saw my sister-in-law third pilot you what to cut down love the kissed off kissing oh yeah once I saw her
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aye aye I hope Kathy and I stick a victim don't look at it I believe Kathy had already seen you
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know you hate hotbed county opinion and I income had in oh oh wait I think her calling and I saw that um the best side
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which is close to the door I thought this guy I saw a staff of birth stop I think it was hot rather wallow the
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coca-cola bhai don't what I don't that chant because they all had a responsible I always think that her brother was in
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this well because I saw her a car with his car I saw his bench and can't be saw watch I gotta open oh I I just feel it
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was so red and messy everywhere on what they do harm to let her know and maybe not more have seen she can teach
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it around anyway we went out from the grave I went now with Cathy you know one day
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though powerfully barely know that if we read we went to the other room Connie eating all taters and Terry oh my
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god Jamie I saw there Terry's room I indicated before used to be Terry's room the door was closed
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you create a few toilet that one person named Irene they Bungie the doors close ding going
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against it tiffy um heavy push open the door it's something we saw iron on the bed yep
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okay so like also a lot of blood around very red very sound touch clay what do you want sounds you know could have made
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it totally true I tried to touch her and I went closer I try to touch up because
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I wouldn't know whether she was still alive you know I could you could not see what
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I couldn't I didn't even turn it off cuz I when I saw her she was not just right
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down on the bed slightly so I want to try to locate sigmaji wrong but can't be hold me back so any more for my meeting
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so I think I did not actually touch touch funny then we came out in some people say how long time will you
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reach the last bedroom so how many there's ten rates that you're lying interchange on the left
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inside the the the door was half-closed eye oh sure I'm not sure you know what they did touch chocolate honey we enter
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the room don't do I am NOT I don't hate the muscle to hit it harder well we can see both children were lying on the
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floor because I also feel very red and drop all around mastery you know boy my ho so he mo are very talented if I might
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remember several time I again I wanna touch them because they have just little kids and I really want to know whether
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they're still alive or not okay then we'll play something else all of this I was sick I think uh you
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remember I tried to reach them by writing located but by family member you know England against lunch all telling
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nothing get the hell me beg you Oh came from your dicing sure yelling let's go let's go she was so frightening
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don't I I was afraid as well during Kathy's interview she was calm her descriptions were hushed but clear
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Robert and Kathy became legal guardians of Brenda she moved into their home and they tried to give her some sense of
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normality they also took over the running of the news agency that had now become a shrine to the Lin family locals
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filled the footpath with flowers and tributes Brenda quote I still wake up each morning thinking oh yeah mum and dad are
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going to be downstairs making breakfast and Henry and Terry will be playing on the computer or something I don't think
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right now I realized what has happened I think sometimes soon everything will just come crashing down on me and I'll
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finally realize the murders shocked the community no one had noticed anything unusual in the leader or felt anything
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strange was going on many neighbors had bumped into the wind family in the days leading up people were shocked that such
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a friendly normal family had been targeted in such a brutal and callous way no one could make sense of it and
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despite a thorough investigation police had no leads on August 8th a public funeral was held for the whole family
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five coffins covered in white flowers stood in a row in front of hundreds of mourners each coffin had a framed photo
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sitting on top orange robed Buddhist monks led the procession the grief was felt by everyone who attended even
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members of the police who were there Brenda showed her immense strength by keeping stoic and supporting her
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grandparents and Arne and uncle Brenda still admitted that the loss of her parents hadn't yet sunk in she still
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felt it was all a bad dream and that she would wake up and find everything was okay
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police deliberated over whether or not Brenda had been spared intentionally or she was still a target of a killer who
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didn't know she was away for the week they also had questions about Henry and Terry were they part of the original
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plan or had they been killed out of necessity perhaps because they woke up and saw the killer without knowing for
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sure that was important to keep a close watch over Brenda for her own protection
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following the funeral a trust fund was set up to secure Brenda's future education the community rallied around
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her Robert and Kathy became her substitute parents Brenda called them the next best thing to her family and
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described how they were looking after her and taking her to school and making her lunches strikeforce norborne was
00:32:34
established to investigate the lynn murders the strike force was comprised of detectives from the State Crime
00:32:40
Command homicide squad with assistance from the Eastwood Local Area Command almost the month after the murders the
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strike force received information that an arrest had been made in parent matter which they believed was linked to a
00:32:53
number of violent armored car robberies these robberies took place around Epping
00:32:58
and surrounding suburbs early in the morning while vans were on their ends to fill up ATMs why this was of interest is
00:33:06
because on May 28th only two months before the murders min Lynn witnessed one of these armed robberies the robbery
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occurred at the Epping Club a local aerosol which was directly across the road from men's news agency police
00:33:22
started investigating that angle to see if they could find a link the pressure on investigators to find the killer or
00:33:29
killers was immense the case was one of the largest single homicides in New South Wales history that had shocked the
00:33:37
entire country the investigation was led by sergeant Joseph Murray Murray was known for his very quiet demeanor and an
00:33:48
approach to his work that was calm he was never hurried or stressed a fellow senior officer said of him
00:33:54
quote he's very very quiet I've never seen him or heard of anyone seeing him getting stressed or worried or concerned
00:34:02
by anything he's got a Buddhist monk thing about him he's an enigma he's a legend they identified several persons
00:34:13
of interest but one by one they were crossed off the list they were also able to rule out any connection between men
00:34:20
witnessing the robbery and his murder that line of inquiry was looked at thoroughly but it was determined to be
00:34:26
nothing more than a coincidence detective Murray and his team had their sights set all swept they firmly
00:34:33
believed that the killer was part of the family they believed the killer knew the
00:34:38
layout of the house they knew where the electricity box was and they may have ever known where to find a spare key or
00:34:45
they already had one the bloody shoe impressions found at the scene indicated the killer acted alone
00:34:52
eventually they felt there was only one person worth watching more closely Robert Z Roberts behavior in the months
00:35:04
after the murders puzzled police and once he was granted power of attorney over Brenda and her family's estate it
00:35:11
was difficult to not question his motives detectives were aware that after the murders men and Cathy's parents
00:35:18
young faylene and funk teens you needed emergency housing because they were evicted from their home the home they
00:35:26
lived in was purchased for them by men so it belonged to the Lin family estate which means they were evicted by Robert
00:35:35
while would Robert a victor Brenda's grandparents his own mother and father-in-law from their home Brenda's
00:35:41
father had purchased for them a theory at the time was that by evicting them have reduced the options for Brenda
00:35:49
she couldn't decide to leave Robert and Cathy's and live with her grandparents if they didn't have a home the strike
00:35:56
force was faced with a serious dilemma the number one priority was the safety of Brenda who is now in the care of
00:36:03
their number one suspect they conducted a number of risk assessments after which they didn't
00:36:10
think Robert would harm Brenda if he was in fact the killer if Robert was the killer and had wanted to harm Brenda as
00:36:17
well then he could have just waited until she was back from a trip hers was the only bedroom not touched and police
00:36:24
believed the killer knew she wasn't there still they needed to be assured of Brenda's safety so they started covert
00:36:32
video surveillance inside the house it was the start of a six-month electronic surveillance operation on Robert see
00:36:38
little pinhole cameras were set up throughout his home in the New South Wales Crime Commission assisted with the
00:36:44
operation in March 2010 eight months after the murders Robert made a call to Detective Sergeant Joseph Murray he
00:36:55
wanted to clarify something he had said previously Robert said he may have told a police officer at the scene there were
00:37:02
five bodies in the house but in fact he meant four or five this phone call strengthened police suspicions of Robert
00:37:10
Z they believed he knew from the outset there were five bodies not for when mins
00:37:16
body hadn't been found in the very beginning and he was actually considered a potential suspect at one stage police
00:37:22
felt Robert knew exactly where he was and that he was the one who pushed Kathy to tell police to look under the Doudna
00:37:30
they met with Robert at Ryde police station for another interview on March 16 2010 do you know anything about the
00:37:40
murders that means Lebanese fan we got any idea who may have been responsible for the birds have you
00:38:03
thought about who may have been responsible do you have any idea why someone would done this to mean any spam
00:38:12
no no idea in early May the New South Wales Crime Commission interviewed Kathy she denied that Robert had told her to
00:38:26
tell police to look under the Doudna Foreman's body she was adamant that she simply had a feeling he was under there
00:38:33
she was informed about the 24 bloody chew impressions that were found at the scene showing a men's shoe size between
00:38:39
us eight-and-a-half and ten and a half they also told her that the shoe impressions were linked to one of three
00:38:46
specific models of essex trainers one of those models was called a sixth elevation which hadn't been produced
00:38:53
since 2005 they asked Kathy what type of shoes Robert wore just days later on May
00:39:03
7th 2010 investigators watched the video surveillance inside Robert and Kathy's home the view is from above the kitchen
00:39:11
on a far wall you can see through the kitchen over into a study area with a couple of desks and computers Kathy is
00:39:19
sitting at one desk watching as Robert stands over the other he's back to the camera a cutting sound
00:39:26
can be heard over and over Robert is cutting something into little pieces and placing the pieces into a
00:39:31
plastic bin containing liquid apart from the repetitive sound of the cutting there is silence
00:39:40
upon closer inspection of the video detectives realized that Robert is cutting up a NASA crew box from his
00:39:46
men's US size nine and a half asacs trainers Robert picks up the bin and walks into the kitchen towards the
00:39:54
camera then walks past it then the sound of a flushing toilet can be heard a few
00:40:04
days later police began what was a five day search of Robert and Kathy's home they knew that Robert had been up early
00:40:10
cleaning his garage the morning the bodies were found while combing his garage for any forensic evidence crime
00:40:17
scene investigators moved the chest of drawers on the floor underneath was a stain a discoloration of the concrete
00:40:24
measuring two centimeters by six centimeters it was photographed swapped and labeled a stain 91 stain 91 was
00:40:34
found to be a complex DNA mixture capabilities in Australia to establish DNA from mixed samples weren't quite
00:40:41
there yet so they sent the sample to a specialty lab cyber genetics in Pittsburgh USA they kept Robert under
00:40:49
surveillance while waiting for the result meanwhile it had gotten out that Robert was the prime suspect people were
00:40:58
talking Brenda was interviewed in the local Northern District times and she was adamant that her uncle was innocent
00:41:05
she said quote he was really stressed and really upset because we know it's not true
00:41:11
and he doesn't like to think that people around him might think that way about him he has helped me so much and he
00:41:18
really supports Kathy and has done so much for us it's not fair that people in the media are making out like he might
00:41:24
have something to do with it police reassured the public that the investigation was still active and to
00:41:31
that progress was being made towards finding the killer Brenda's school principal Susan bridge
00:41:37
had become a firm fixture in Brenda's life while brenda was supported at home by her auntie uncle grandparents and
00:41:44
extended family she also found comfort at school from her peers and teachers after having lunch with Brenda and her
00:41:51
uncle Robert one day something didn't sit right with Susan Bridge she noticed that Robert was overly firm with Brenda
00:41:59
and it appeared like he was trying to force her into saying something the interaction wasn't normal
00:42:05
Susan was unsure what to do but she talked Brenda into speaking with a lawyer and she also spoke to the police
00:42:12
she wanted someone usual who could help Brenda understand the relationships around her police eventually got what
00:42:20
they were waiting for from the US lab Cyber genetics the testing of stain 91 from Roberts garage was extremely
00:42:27
complex because it was a mixed sample if it was even just a few years earlier the
00:42:32
sample would have been dubbed too difficult to determine but the technology was now there according to
00:42:39
cyber genetics stain 91 was found to contain DNA of at least four of the five murder victims with teri lens DNA
00:42:47
matching part of the stain with a 1 in 50 quadrillion chance of a coming from another person they were also able to
00:42:55
match stain 91 to a blood spot on a mattress from the murder scene on May 5th 2011 nearly two years since
00:43:05
her family was murdered Brenda Lin was called to the principal's office at a school just after 9:00 a.m.
00:43:11
she was greeted by her principal and two detectives from the strike force whom she knew they told Brenda that her uncle
00:43:19
Robert had just been arrested for the murders of her parents her aunt and her two brothers at the same time another
00:43:26
strike force detective phoned Kathie win at the news agency she was at the back doing paperwork when she got the call
00:43:33
after she hung up a staff member watched Kathie run from the store crying Brenda went home to be
00:43:41
cared for by her aunt Kathy Kathy said I am caring for her and I will always do that I am okay thank you and she is okay
00:43:51
we are shocked but I don't want to talk about it anymore [Music] meaning Kathy's parents young fail in
00:44:02
and functions you were in Shanghai when they received the news and they flew back to Australia straightaway Robert
00:44:09
chose not to appear in the Parramatta local court to hear the charges nor did he make an application for bail at the
00:44:15
time and it was formally refused by the magistrate he did make numerous bail applications after this but they were
00:44:22
all refused while preparing their case detectives believed that they may have been able to get Robert to confess if
00:44:31
not to them then to someone else so the strike force forged the relationship with another inmate at Sydney's Long Bay
00:44:38
jail and devised the plan to record Robert confessing to the murders the inmate was only identified as witness a
00:44:47
On February 10 2012 the real-estate agency who originally sold the family home to men and Lily in 2001 put the
00:44:56
house on the market on behalf of the Lynn estate the agency stated that upon successful completion of the sale any
00:45:03
fee they earned would be donated to Brenda a month later Robin again applied for
00:45:11
bail in the New South Wales Supreme Court justice Derrick price denied bail but did acknowledge that a jury may find
00:45:18
there is not enough evidence to convict him on August 20th 2012 three years after the murders Roberts committal
00:45:28
trial began Kathy Lynn was called as a witness for the prosecution but her evidence over the two days she
00:45:35
was on the stand showed she was convinced that her husband was innocent of the murders Kathy testified that
00:45:41
Robert didn't leave the house the night of the murders but that hadn't always been her story crown prosecutor mark
00:45:49
Tedeschi QC quote on the 20th of July 2009 you claimed that Robert was home all night in March 2010 he didn't know
00:45:59
and on the 6th of May 2010 you didn't know and now you claim that you know and that he didn't leave the house is it the
00:46:10
case that your memory of what happened on the night of July 17th is better now than it was then
00:46:20
covert surveillance audio was produced that suggested Robert may have told Kathy and another relative what to tell
00:46:26
police following in the five murders justice Rothman said quote this suggests a significant degree of collusion in the
00:46:34
evidence that is to be given and the degree of coaching is that what could and should be said those conversations
00:46:41
give me serious concern after a lengthy committal hearing on December 19th 2012 Robert was committed to stand trial for
00:46:51
the murders of men Lily Irene Henry and Terry Roberts lawyer again applied for bail but the
00:46:58
application was refused Kathy continued to support her husband believing he was the scapegoat for
00:47:05
someone else's crimes his trial date was set for September 2013 but as that day drew closer that was vacated and the
00:47:14
trial was delayed until 2014 on May 8th 2014 almost 5 years after the murders Robert's trial began Crown
00:47:29
prosecutor mark Tedeschi QC gave his opening statement and the jury were presented with the DNA evidence from
00:47:35
stain 91 they were also presented with a large number of recordings between Robert and witness a who were in
00:47:43
adjoining cells in Long Bay jail between July 2011 and February 2013 some of the
00:47:50
conversations between Robert and witness a were captured on tape but others were
00:47:54
not it was made clear to the jury that witness a had received a substantial reduction in his sentence for agreeing
00:48:01
to assist police in this investigation the recordings and testimony from witness a revealed that Robert admitted
00:48:08
he purchased a hammer at a store that he knew didn't have surveillance footage he said he hid the hammer after the
00:48:15
murders and could still access it if required although he was concerned there could be surveillance footage of him
00:48:20
hiding the hammer he didn't elaborate where he hid it he wanted to plan another hammer in an innocent man's
00:48:27
house but never got around to it he said he easily controlled his five victims because he had martial arts
00:48:33
training he then demonstrated a pressure point on the neck he said he sedated his wife
00:48:39
Cathy so he could sneak out of the house without her knowing Robert spoken negatively about the lin
00:48:45
family in these conversations showing his true feelings about them he told witness say he didn't want to be the
00:48:52
person to discover the bodies because that would make him the prime suspect but it was unavoidable the way it played
00:48:59
out meant he had to be with Cathy when she found them witness a told Robert he had a friend
00:49:05
named Harry who is a corrupt cop and he could arrange for Harry to steal someone's DNA from a funeral home and
00:49:12
plant it on the murder weapon Robert made plans with witness aid to make that happen what he didn't know was
00:49:19
that Harry was on a corrupt cop he was an undercover cop the case against Robert appeared strong when Brenda Lynn
00:49:30
took the stand she revealed that she being the victim of ongoing sexual assaults committed by her uncle Robert Z
00:49:38
these assaults started prior to the murders and escalated once she moved in with Robert and Cathy afterwards she
00:49:45
said she didn't reveal this information earlier because she believed her uncle was innocent of the murders when this
00:49:52
information came out in the court Justice Peter Johnson declared a mistrial the information from witness a
00:49:59
as well as the information regarding the sexual assaults of Brenda Lynn were suppressed until the new trial Robert
00:50:07
Z's second trial commenced on August 5th 2014 three months after his first it was
00:50:14
presided over again by Justice Peter Johnson the DNA evidence was presented to the new jury as was the evidence from
00:50:21
witness a the jury heard that vastly more force than necessary was used in order to kill the five victims they also
00:50:30
heard the motive as alleged by the prosecution Robert was driven by bitterness and loss
00:50:36
of face within his family where he believed his in-laws favored the hard-working men and Lily over him
00:50:42
he was also driven by a clear sexual interest in Brenda Robert wasn't charged over their sexual assaults but Brenda's
00:50:51
evidence was admissible at trial Brenda's grandmother funk ings you told a jury she believed her grandson Henry
00:51:00
would have stayed over at her Marilyn's home on the night of the murders had it not been for Robert making plans to play
00:51:06
badminton with him the following day she said I don't know what Robert said to him but I will regret Henry not staying
00:51:13
over for the rest of my life that is why I hate Robert he's a wolf under a sheepskin he was
00:51:20
trying to deceive us now I realized that I realize now he is not a human being he
00:51:27
is a monster Brenda's grandfather yang Fei Lin then took the stand he confirmed that he and
00:51:36
his wife lived with Robert and Cathy for a time after the murders this was after
00:51:41
Robert evicted them from their home he described how one night he got up to go to the bathroom and when he returned he
00:51:48
saw Robert standing near Brenda's bedroom Robert got a fright when he saw him it was also revealed that shortly
00:51:56
after the murders the surviving family was sent a hoax letter demanding 128 thousand three hundred and forty five
00:52:03
dollars for a drug death it was later proven that this drug that didn't exist on September 23rd 2014 seven weeks into
00:52:15
the second trial of robber Z the trial was aborted because justice paydirt johnson became sick Robert Z's lawyer
00:52:23
again applied for bail but it was denied on February 4th 2015 five and a half years after the Lin
00:52:36
family was murdered and almost four years after his arrest Robert Z's third murder trial began this
00:52:43
time it was presided over by justice Elizabeth Fullerton the evidence presented by the prosecution followed
00:52:50
the same path but the second trial took before it was aborted the information regarding the sexual assaults and
00:52:56
jailhouse confessions to witness a had again been suppressed after the second trial so it was the first time the new
00:53:02
jury heard the evidence the third trial ran for ten months and was the longest in New South Wales history for a single
00:53:09
accused it concluded on November 12th 2015 and the jury began their deliberations after 19 days the jury
00:53:19
returned to the court with their decision on December 1st 2015 they told the court
00:53:27
they couldn't reach a verdict meaning a fourth trial would have to be conducted justise Fullerton acknowledged that the
00:53:37
time Robert had spent in custody mostly in solitary confinement had taken a heavy toll on his mental well-being she
00:53:44
said for an accused person to remain in custody for five years or more is impossible to view as fair and
00:53:51
commensurate with a fair and just criminal process she agreed to accept a report from a clinical psychologist who
00:53:59
stated that Robert was suffering from a severe depressive condition that could prevent him from participating fully in
00:54:04
another criminal trial she rejected the crown prosecutors argument that Robert was a flight risk and that if he was
00:54:11
released there was a risk he would attempt to intimidate witnesses this time Robert Z was granted bail his bail
00:54:20
was strict with 17 conditions in total his Epping home worth more than $1,000,000 had to be put up as bail
00:54:29
surety his sister also had to put up a $100,000 cash bond he had to surrender his passport wear an
00:54:36
electronic monitoring bracelet and report to police three times a day he was only allowed to travel to and from
00:54:43
his home for legal or health-related appointments it took nearly three days to sort out the paperwork for his
00:54:51
release before he could leave silverwater prison he was driven home by Cathy in their red Toyota Corolla when
00:54:58
they pulled up in their driveway there was a huge amount of press waiting for them after being asked how it felt to be
00:55:03
home Robert replied in a quiet hushed tone I'm grateful to be home and I'll continue to fight for my innocence thank
00:55:12
you the fourth trial was set to begin the following April in 2016 but it was delayed had finally started in the
00:55:23
Supreme Court of New South Wales on June 29th 2016 7 years after the murders there was a new defense team
00:55:31
representing Robert and that there were also new prosecutors Robert Z sat in the
00:55:37
wooden dock with a composed then often blank expression he sat quietly as the prosecution
00:55:42
described the savage and violent murders for a fourth jury occasionally throughout the trial he gestured mildly
00:55:50
towards Cathy or his lawyers with a hint of a small the original senior Crown prosecutor on the case marked Tedeschi
00:55:57
QC this time sat in the public gallery with young Phelan and functions you they both wept continuously throughout the
00:56:06
entire trial like the trials before the crown put forward their arguments for guilt the DNA known as stain 91 the
00:56:16
conversations with witness a Robert destroying his a secured bucks after he learned police matched the bloody
00:56:22
footprints in the house to Essex nica's and the fact Robert had a key to the Lin
00:56:26
family home and intimate knowledge of its lair other things came into play as well Robert made no attempt to check if
00:56:34
anyone was alive despite his medical training and he left Cathy alone in the house while he went and collected her
00:56:40
parents at a time when they had no idea if the killer was still close by Crown prosecutor Tania Smith told the court
00:56:49
that Robert was a quote trusted relative who meticulously planned and carried out
00:56:55
the killings with an extreme degree of violence he did so in their bedrooms in a very quiet suburban home in the early
00:57:02
hours of the morning a place where they were all entitled to be safe and secure and a place where young Terry and Henry
00:57:09
only 9 and 12 should have happily pursued their childhood the defense argued that Robert had an alibi he was
00:57:18
at home in bed or night with his wife Cathy they rubbished claims that Robert admitted to witness a he had sedated
00:57:25
Cathy so he could sneak out and this particular conversation with witness I wasn't actually recorded so it was
00:57:31
Roberts word against witness a in relation to the conversations that were actually recorded the defense said it
00:57:39
was simply jailhouse talk the defense also attacked the DNA evidence stain 91 they said that it couldn't be ruled out
00:57:47
that the stain had DNA of other family members in it as well meaning it couldn't be linked to the crime scene
00:57:52
they also weren't satisfied the stain was blood the defense said that nothing in Roberts conduct on the day of the
00:58:00
murders or the time after the murders gave any indication of guilt he isn't the only person in Australia who wears
00:58:06
Essex knickers and just because he destroyed a shoe box doesn't mean he's guilty
00:58:13
friends of Robert testified and described him as a friendly gentle and honest family man who loved his nephews
00:58:19
and was especially close to Henry in anticipation of the jury retiring to consider its verdict
00:58:27
Robert Z's bail was revoked and he was taken back into custody on the 22nd of December 2016 the trial and
00:58:36
deliberations then went on hold over Christmas On January 12th 2017 the jury had reached a verdict
00:58:46
the majority of the 11 jurors found Robert Z guilty of all five counts of murder
00:58:53
Cathy sobbed quietly with her head down as the verdict was read Robert Z stood up and said why did not murder the Lin
00:59:01
family I am innocent Cathy also cried out he's innocent on the other side of the courtroom Crown
00:59:10
prosecutor Tania Smith hugged to Fung qingxue and young fatally their daughter Cathy continued to support her husband
00:59:17
Robert telling the waiting press he's innocent we believed that he's innocent we will keep fighting phim Detective
00:59:26
Sergeant Murray said upstairs in the courthouse throughout the four trials he sat quietly and sometimes as he passed
00:59:33
people related to the case he would give up a lot smarter or not as the guilty verdict was read he slipped quietly out
00:59:41
of the courthouse his colleagues said that was typical of the quiet nature detectives one of his
00:59:47
colleagues said had it been anyone else in charge I don't think they would have made it to the end it then came time for
00:59:55
justice Elizabeth Fullerton to sentence robber Z the fact that I am unable to reach a point of satisfaction to the
01:00:04
criminal standard as to what in fact motivated him to do what he did does nothing to diminish the gravity of his
01:00:14
offending the commission of a series of intentional and brutal killings of five members of a family into including two
01:00:24
children in their family home in the early hours of the morning whilst they were sleeping or being roused from sleep
01:00:32
in a single episode of brutal and calculated murderous violence is a course of offending that can only be
01:00:41
described as heinous in the extreme would you stand up please then then Robert Z on counts one to five
01:00:54
on the indictment you are convicted of the murders of men Norman Lynn young Lee Lily Lynn young
01:01:05
bin Irene Lynn Henry Lynn and Terry Lynn on each count you are sentenced to imprisonment for life commencing on 25
01:01:18
May 2012 justise Fullerton went on to support Brenda stating I acknowledge the profound grief she suffered and
01:01:31
continues to suffer I also commend her for her strength and dignity in her courage as she faces the future with our
01:01:38
parents siblings or a loving aunt Brenda had seen Kathy as the most important person in her life after her family's
01:01:48
murder but what had happened over the course of the four trials strained to that relationship beyond repair
01:01:56
Brenda Lynn told the Australian newspaper quote it's been seven and a half years
01:02:02
since I lost my family that is seven and a half years without a loving mother seven and a half years without a loving
01:02:09
father seven and a half years without two exuberant brothers who were my best and closest friends and seven and a half
01:02:16
years without an extremely corn dog in this time I finished my HSC was accepted into uni got my first part time
01:02:26
job and learnt to drive but I have achieved all of these things without my family beside me these inherently happy
01:02:34
moments an hour at most bittersweet they have now become a painful reminder of the family I have lost and I will never
01:02:41
see again [Music] you