Murder accused Robert Xie was ‘fun to be around’, court hears

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/10/accused-robert-xie-was-fun-to-be-around-court-hears

Version 0 of 1.

A young female relative who was allegedly sexually abused by accused murderer Robert Xie says he was “fun to be around”.

Giving evidence at Xie’s trial for the first time via closed circuit TV, the young woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was asked about her relationship with Xie before the murders of the Lin family in July 2009.

Describing the relationship as good, she said she would often spend time at the home of Xie and his wife, Kathy.

“I loved hanging out with him a lot. It just wasn’t extremely close. But I still enjoyed his company,” she told the supreme court on Wednesday.

“I feel like he paid attention to me ... he was fun to be around.”

The court has previously heard crown allegations that Xie had engaged in “inappropriate sexual behaviour” toward the young female relative in the year leading up to the murders and that this “desire” formed one of three motives to carry out the killings.

The crown says Xie crept into his brother-in-law Min “Norman” Lin’s North Epping home in Sydney’s north-west in the early hours of July 18, 2009 and killed him, Mr Lin’s wife Lily Lin, their young sons Henry and Terry and Lily’s sister, Irene Lin, with a hammer-like weapon.

After the deaths, it is alleged the sexual behaviour towards the young relative escalated and Xie regularly sexually abused her.

The crown has also claimed that Xie was driven to kill the family by a “loss of face” as his wife Kathy’s parents compared him unfavourably with his brother-in-law.

But the young female relative told the court on Wednesday that she never noticed any hostility within the families before the murders.

“Everyone got along quite well,” she said.

The trial continues, with the young female relative expected to continue giving evidence on Thursday.