A 24-year-old plasterer with gambling debts killed two women hours apart, robbing them both

In a black backpack found dumped in a rubbish bin in Melbourne’s south-east, homicide squad detectives found a set of house keys.

They would help unlock not only a Docklands apartment, but the killing of two Melbourne women hours apart on opposite sides of the CBD.

On Monday, 24-year-old plasterer Xiaozheng Lin pleaded guilty to two counts of manslaughter over the December 2022 deaths of sex workers Yuqi Luo, 31, and Hyun Sook Jeon, 51.

Both were killed in their own homes. Luo was found naked and fatally strangled. Jeon’s remains were so badly decomposed, her cause of death was unable to be determined.

The Supreme Court heard police began investigating the death of Luo after her agency found her lifeless body inside her La Trobe Street apartment. The case then unwittingly led police to Jeon’s body, streets away in Docklands.

Lin, who was in financial trouble due to a gambling habit, told another man he planned to rob sex workers for money. He went on to kill and steal from the women, leaving their homes with a laundry basket and a bag filled with valuable possessions, including designer handbags and $7000 in cash.

But he later dumped most of the items, including a set of Mercedes-Benz keys in a bin outside his house.

It was these keys, the court heard on Monday, that led police to a second body.

“The women were not known to each other,” Crown prosecutor Kristie Churchill said.

In a victim impact statement read out by Churchill, Luo’s father, Luo Bo, wrote of the pain of losing his daughter on the other side of the world from where their family lived in a remote mountainous village in China.

“Having to see my daughter leave this world before us is a huge blow to my heart. Right in the prime of her life. A young life cut short in an extremely brutal way by a criminal,” he wrote.

The court heard that on December 26, 2022, Lin messaged a friend to drive him to a brothel in Oakleigh South. He later called a booking agent via an internet ad to book an appointment with a sex worker.

He was told to drive to several locations before arriving at Luo’s La Trobe Street apartment, already angry at changing addresses.

While in the car, he told his friend he had recently lost money at the TAB and was intending to rob a sex worker.

Once he arrived, about 12am, his friend parked nearby and waited for Lin to return. Once inside, Churchill said Lin had showered and the pair engaged in sex but when he asked for oral sex, he became angry when he was told it would cost more.

Lin told police the pair had argued before he grabbed her head and pressed it into the bed as the 31-year-old attempted to fight back.

He claimed he left her on the floor gasping for air before he showered again, filled a laundry basket with money and electronics and left.

The following day, a fellow employee found Luo’s body. Lin’s brown wristwatch was nearby.

The court heard Lin later attended Jeon’s Docklands apartment. Exactly what occurred inside is unclear, but Lin left with a laptop, bank cards and keys.

During his police interview, Lin told officers he had been angry that Luo wanted him to pay $100 more for oral sex and that he “controlled her with my hands”.

“I was angry. The way she spoke made me feel that I was humiliated,” he said.

“She fought back.”

Following his arrest, police discovered items belonging to Jeon in a bin at his address, including passports and a condom wrapper, before her body was discovered on December 29, 2022.

Her body was found lying face down on her bed with towels wrapped around her head. Lin’s fingerprints were found nearby.

Lin was initially charged with two counts of murder and was due to face a trial in August. However, he pleaded guilty to manslaughter in July, avoiding a lengthy trial.

A suppression order had also largely prevented reporting on the two cases until now.

Defence barrister Paul Smallwood said his client suffered a basketball injury as a child, which left him with a limp. Because of this, he said, Lin had never had a girlfriend and hired sex workers.

Smallwood said Lin had no prior offences or allegations of violence against women with no other comparable cases appearing to ever have occurred in Victoria.

“In the space of 24 hours, he killed two women,” Smallwood said.

Lin will be sentenced at a later date.

Authorities declined to release any photos of the two victims.

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Man who killed two Melbourne sex workers within 24 hours strikes manslaughter deal with prosecutors

In short:
Xiaozheng Lin, a 24-year-old Chinese national, has been charged with manslaughter over the deaths of two women, Yuqi Luo and Hyun Sook Jeon, in December 2022.

Lin was due to face a double-murder trial before he struck a deal with prosecutors.

What’s next?
Lin is due to be sentenced within the next fortnight and faces less potential jail time under the lesser charges of manslaughter.

A man who killed two sex workers in the space of 24 hours has struck a deal with Victorian prosecutors, allowing him to dodge a murder conviction.

Instead, Xiaozheng Lin will be jailed for the lesser charge of manslaughter over the deaths of Yuqi Luo, 31, and Hyun Sook Jeon, 51, in late 2022.

Lin, a 24-year-old Chinese national, went to Ms Luo’s Melbourne CBD apartment on La Trobe Street early on December 27, 2022 and had sex with her, before assaulting and strangling the woman to death.

The Supreme Court of Victoria heard he left her naked body in the apartment and stole $7,000 cash, handbags and Ms Luo’s phone.

Later that day, Lin went to the Docklands apartment of Ms Jeon. Prosecutor Kristie Churchill said her body was later discovered by police covered in a blanket with towels wrapped around her head.

Lin committed an “unlawful and dangerous” act which caused Ms Jeon’s death, the prosecutor said, however a post-mortem had been unable to identify how she died.

“He stole from them, he left them in positions with no regard for their safety or dignity,” Ms Churchill said.

“His assaults were entirely unprovoked on women who were physically smaller than him and he has provided no insight into the reasons why or how he killed Ms Jeon.”

The court heard Lin used the women’s bank cards to pay his phone bill and to try and clear debts from his sports betting account.

The sex workers did not know each other and had never encountered Lin until their deaths, the court heard.

Lin was due to face a double-murder trial but prosecutors agreed to his offer to plead guilty to manslaughter in July this year, defence barrister Paul Smallwood said.

The standard sentence for murder in Victoria is 25 years with a maximum of life in prison.

However, with murder off the table, Lin now faces significantly less jail time. Each manslaughter charge carries a maximum of 25 years, and if standard sentencing practices are followed, he will serve a bulk of his sentence concurrently.

Killer tells court he believed ‘I didn’t kill her’

Lin was arrested within days of the attacks, after he was captured on security cameras and items belonging to the women were found at his house.

Lin told police that a fight with Ms Luo broke out when he demanded additional sexual services and refused to pay. He said he tried to silence her when she screamed, pressing her head against the bed.

“We started to argue. I controlled her with my hands but what happened next is completely forgotten. But I did bring her under control with force,” he said.

“I had a robbery. I didn’t kill her. That’s what I thought.”

Lin, who wore a crumpled white shirt, black pants and sneakers, cried in the court dock as details of his offending were read out.

After his arrest, he refused to tell police how Ms Jeon was killed, but Mr Smallwood said his client had admitted to seriously shaking her during the attack.

“Within the space of about 24 hours he killed two women in circumstances where he himself has no previous criminal history and no history of violence at all,” Mr Smallwood said.

Victim’s family suffering ’emotional torture every day’

A victim impact statement read out on behalf of Ms Luo’s father said the crime had taken the most considerate and caring person from their family.

“We are suffering this tremendous emotional torture every day,” he said. “My daughter was 31 years old, right in the prime of her life.”

A written victim impact statement was also provided to the court by Ms Jeon’s husband.

Mr Smallwood said his client, who spoke little English, developed a gambling addiction while growing up in China and spent much of his school years being teased by other children because he walked with a limp caused by a basketball injury.

“He’s never had a girlfriend, he’s never had a committed partner because of his self-conscious state in relation to his physical appearance,” Mr Smallwood said.

“Because of that his sexual outlet after he arrived in Australia was through the engagement of sex workers.”

Mr Smallwood said his client had been held in protective custody since his arrest.

Justice Stephen Kaye described the case as “very tragic” and said he intended to sentence Lin within the next fortnight.

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24小时内杀害两名女子 中国男子面临判刑

在2022年底抢劫并杀害两名女性的中国籍男子现即将面临判刑。

周一（10月28日），24岁的林小正（Xiaozheng Lin，音译）在墨尔本的维州最高法院出庭，承认两项过失杀人罪。

据澳洲新闻集团网站报导，林某于2022年12月底袭击了两名性工作者——31岁的中国女子罗玉琪 （Yuqi Luo，音译）和51岁的韩国女子全贤淑 （Hyun Sook Jeon，音译）。

法庭获悉，2022年12月26日，林小正前往罗玉琪位于墨尔本CBD的公寓。在罗雨琪要求更多报酬后，愤怒的林某将其勒死，林某还偷走了约7000澳元现金、手机、平板电脑和名牌手袋。但林某向警方称，他离开时罗雨琪仍然活着。

袭击罗玉琪不到24小时后，林某去见另一名性工作者全贤淑，在其墨尔本Docklands的家中将她杀害。全贤淑尸体于2022年12月30日在Docklands的一处公寓内被发现，已开始腐烂。

检方检察官丘吉尔（Kristie Churchill）在法庭上表示，林某的认罪表明他承认在24小时内造成了两名女性的死亡。

“他从她们身上盗取财物，毫无顾忌地抛弃她们的安全与尊严”，她说。“这些攻击完全是无缘无故的，攻击的对象均是身体比他矮小的女性”

林某的辩护律师斯莫尔伍德（Paul Smallwood）在法庭上表示，他的客户承认这些犯罪行为非常严重，但并不知道在他离开时这两名女性已死。

他表示，林小正持有的旅游签证现已过期，曾来到澳洲学习英语，并且在服刑结束后“不可避免”会被驱逐出境。

斯莫尔伍德律师还补充说，他的当事人只会一点英语，在中国成长期间染上了赌瘾。在学校时，由于一次篮球受伤导致走路一瘸一拐，常常被其他孩子嘲笑。

“他从未交过女朋友，从未有过固定的伴侣，因为他对自己的外貌非常自卑。”

“他来到澳洲时，他和家人对未来抱有希望，如今这些希望已破灭”，斯莫尔伍德说。

法官凯耶（Stephen Kaye）宣布延后宣判，表示希望在未来两周内做出判决。

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中国留学生澳洲1天杀两妓女 被捕2年认误杀换减刑

2022年12月，一名中国留学生在澳洲墨尔本涉嫌劫杀两名妓女后被捕。昨日（28日），他在法庭上承认2项过失杀人罪。法官表示，将于两周内宣布案件量刑。该留学生原本面临两项谋杀罪指控，但他于今年7月，与检控官达成协议，承认较轻的过失杀人罪。

澳洲《先驱太阳报》（Herald Sun）报道，2022年圣诞节期间，时年22岁的中国留学生林晓正（Lin Xiaozheng）在网络上看见招嫖广告，并联系31岁的中国籍妓女罗玉琪（Luo Yuqi，音译）。

因额外收费起争执

林晓正于12月27日凌晨时分前往罗玉琪的公寓，两人发生性关系后，因为额外收费而发生争执。

期间，林晓正用手臂勒住罗玉琪的脖子，并将她压在床上，威胁她不要乱叫。据悉，他觉得被罗玉琪「羞辱」，所以非常用力地按着她约1分钟。

林晓正表示，他当时喝了很多酒，加上罗玉琪的态度很恶劣，所以很生气。

罗玉琪之后躺在床上，没有动静。林晓正则去洗澡，离开前取走罗玉琪的7000元澳币（约3.6万元港币）现金、手机、平板电脑和名牌手袋。

2女相继遇害

同日晚上10时45分，林晓正又前往51岁的韩国籍妓女全贤淑（Hyun Sook Jeon）的公寓。据悉，林晓正之前已经认识该女子。

据检察官Kristie Churchill指出，林晓正在当天杀死全贤淑，事后取走她的手提电脑、手机、银行卡以及其它物品。他亦使用全贤淑的金钱购物及赌博。

罗玉琪及全贤淑的尸体相继被发现，罗玉琪的死因为被勒死，而全贤淑则因为尸体腐烂，无法确定死因。林晓正随即遭警方逮捕。

疑曾遭性工作者偷钱

据报，林晓正告诉过朋友，他曾光顾过一间妓院，期间怀疑遭人偷钱，所以他曾想过抢劫一名妓女。

林晓正被捕后，承认自己袭击罗玉琪，但坚称其离开公寓时，对方还活着。

林晓正的辨护律师Paul Smallwood表示，一名22岁的男子杀害2名女子是非同寻常的，而且他之前没有犯罪或暴力的记录。另外，他沉迷赌博，将所有钱都花在博彩上。

林晓正认罪后，禁止公布案件细节的禁制令被撤销。据当地法律，谋杀罪的标准刑期为25年有期徒刑，最高可判处无期徒刑。然而，过失杀人罪刑期最长为25年。