Evidence 'points to Xie's guilt': Crown

The Crown has told the jury in the NSW Supreme Court trial of Robert Xie, who is accused of murdering five relatives, that their verdicts should be guilty.

File

File image. Source: AAP

The combination of evidence against Robert Xie inevitably leads to the conclusion that he murdered five family members, a jury has been told.

"This is why we say to you, your verdicts, there are five, in each instant should be guilty," said prosecutor Tanya Smith.

She was concluding the Crown's final address at the NSW Supreme Court trial which began on June 29.

Xie, 52, has pleaded not guilty to murdering five relatives of his wife in their bedrooms at their Sydney home in the early hours of July 18, 2009.

He is accused 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, 9.

The Crown says Xie was motived to kill them out of jealousy, being infuriated with his perceived "subordinate status" within the extended family.

On Wednesday, Ms Smith listed the main pieces of evidence the Crown relied on to establish that "the single assailant who killed the five members of the Lin family was the accused".

Noting the electricity had been disconnected to the residence, Ms Smith said Xie had detailed knowledge of its layout and had easy access to a house key.

Referring to the method of killing, she reminded the jurors that Xie was medically trained, having been an ear, nose and throat specialist.

A recording with witness A, who was in jail with the accused, revealed Xie showed him a particular location on the neck that was incapacitating, she said.

One of the causes of death for four of the victims was asphyxia - "having injuries to the neck indicative of neck compression".

When Xie's wife, Kathy Lin went to the home on the Saturday morning to check why her brother did not turn up at his Epping newsagency, Xie followed her closely upstairs to the bedrooms.

"The accused - the Crown relies on - hugged Kathy Lin and told her not to look upon entry in the main bedroom at a point at which he was not in a position to see Lily Lin's body," Ms Smith said.

"The accused left his wife at the scene at the end of the second triple-zero call at a time when she was clearly scared and didn't want him to leave."

In a recording with witness A, he "implicitly admits there may be CCTV footage of him disposing of the hammer" when he left his wife at the scene.

Xie's lawyer Robert Webb will begin the defence final submissions on Thursday.


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Source: AAP


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