Married Couple Found Dead in Sydney Park Likely Killed Over Gambling Debt

Posted on: December 18, 2024, 07:21h. 

Last updated on: December 18, 2024, 07:21h.

Philip Conneller @casinoorgphilc Read More
Expertise: Gaming Business, Regulation, Tribal Gaming.

A married couple whose decomposing bodies were found dumped in a Sydney suburb park may have been murdered by loan sharks, Australian authorities believe.

Sally Li, Rex Chen, Chen Jai-Bao, Li Zhuojun, murders, Sydney
Sally Li, left, and Rex Chen. The Sydney couple were found dead 30 feet apart in a Sydney park. Police believe they may have been killed by loan sharks who were chasing Chen for gambling debts. (Image: The Australian)

New South Wales homicide detectives told media Wednesday that the husband, Jai-Bao “Rex” Chen, 33, had recently amassed a “significant amount” of debt to a loan shark.

Chen was a problem gambler whose finances have become the focus of the case, according to sources who spoke to Australia’s Daily Telegraph.

Chen and his wife, Zhuojun “Sally” Li, disappeared from their home in Greenacre, Sydney, last month. Li’s partially buried body was found wrapped in plastic in a park by a jogger last Monday, prompting a frantic search for Chen.

Police said Chen had amassed large gambling losses shortly before the couple’s disappearance and they held “grave concerns” for his safety.

Second Body Found

On Tuesday afternoon, Chen’s body was found in a creek about 30 feet from where his wife’s body had been discovered.

“The body [was] submerged in a creek in water, covered with very thick bush foliage, bulrush reeds, which makes it very difficult to see and has been there for some time,” Detective Superintendent Danny Doherty told reporters.

Based on observation of footage from security cameras, investigators believe the couple were killed in their apartment on November 30 and their bodies were driven in a silver Toyota Avensis to Sir Joseph Banks Park in Botany.

The suspected killers – two or possibly three people, according to police — then drove to Sydney Airport and took a flight to Queensland. From there, police believe they fled overseas, possibly to China or Taiwan. Detectives seized the Toyota at Sydney Airport.

‘They Owed Money’

Doherty said he believed the killers had used Chen’s phone after his death. The phone has since been retrieved.

He confirmed that police suspect the double homicide was linked to Chen’s financial troubles.

They owed money,” he said. “There was no other criminality that we were aware of, and certainly Sally has unfortunately become a victim because of that.”

Sources told the Telegraph that Li was unaware of the extent of her husband’s gambling problem.

Doherty described Li and Chen as a “normal couple” who had no known links to organized crime. However, Chen had several drug-related convictions and was subject to an order to undergo treatment for his “alcohol and drug issues” as part of his parole.

Doherty said his department is working with Chinese and Taiwanese authorities to track down the suspects.