Lin family deaths: The murder trials of Robert Xie.

By court reporter Karl Hoerr and Antoinette Lattouf

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

Min Lin was Xie’s brother-in-law.

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.

Four trials for 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.

Wired cellmate gave evidence

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.

Questions over DNA evidence

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.

This post originally appeared on ABC News.