Australian homicide detectives are investigating the suspected “targeted double murder” of a Sydney couple.
On Tuesday, Dec. 17., New South Wales (NSW) police confirmed a second body had been found in the Sydney suburb of Botany near where the remains of Zhuojun “Sally” Li, 33, were discovered “wrapped in plastic” on Monday, Dec. 9.
While Li’s husband, Jai-Bao “Rex” Chen, also 33, remains missing, police confirmed that a second body had been found around 2 p.m. local time on Dec. 17.
The remains have yet to be formally identified, but NSW Police Homicide Squad Commander, Detective Superintendent Danny Doherty, said in a news conference shared with PEOPLE on Tuesday, Dec. 17. that there is a “strong likelihood and assumption” that the body found is that of Chen.
NSW Police
Doherty told reporters that detectives are treating the case as a “targeted double murder,” stating that Chen’s next of kin in Taiwan had been informed amid the ongoing investigation.
Doherty said that the second body had been found in a creek covered in bush foliage and undergrowth and had “been there for some time.”
“One of the motives possibly could be financial debts,” he told reporters, adding, “They owed money.”
Doherty said there was “no other criminality” that police were aware of, and that police were working with Chinese and Taiwanese authorities, as they believe the two or more suspects had fled overseas.
NSW Police
Li moved to Australia from China 20 years ago, while Chen is originally from Taiwan, according to Australian newspaper the Sydney Morning Herald.
Doherty also confirmed the police’s working theory that more than one person had targeted the couple.
He said Chen’s phone had been located by police in Queensland and that police believe it was used by a third party before it was retrieved.
Per the detective, police have a “strong theory” that the alleged murders took place inside the couple’s Greenacre home, before their bodies were dumped.
NSW Police
In a Dec. 14 news release, police confirmed Li’s body had been identified after she was reported missing to Parramatta Police Area Command when her mother had been unable to reach her.
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Authorities also released CCTV footage of a silver Toyota Avensis believed to have been used in the case. The vehicle was seen “stopped on the northern side of Foreshore Road in Botany during the early hours of Saturday 30 November 2024,” per the release.
The couple was last seen together in late November, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
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