Sydney woman’s murderer jailed for 18 years in ‘bizarre’ crime
September 18, 2020

A man who murdered his housemate and dumped her body in a gully beside a Sydney motorway has been jailed for 18 years after a judge said the premeditated crime was “bizarre” and “dreadful” and the killer has shown no remorse.

Shuo Dong, 21, murdered Qi Yu, 28, on June 8, 2018, after he had lived with her for just under three weeks at her home in Campsie in Sydney’s inner south-west.

Two days before the murder, Dong searched online for “how would homicide be sentenced in Australia” and clicked on a number of pages including “the sentencing criteria for intentional homicide”. On the night Ms Yu was killed, he did a Google search for areas of bushland around Sydney.

On Friday, acting Justice Peter Hidden said Dong has refused to explain how or why he killed Ms Yu, which has increased the pain felt by her parents over the “brutal and untimely death”.

Justice Hidden accepted the murder was premeditated, and said despite Dong pleading guilty and later expressing shame, “I am not persuaded he is remorseful for his crime.”

He jailed Dong for 18 years with a non-parole period of 13 years and 6 months. When the sentence was handed down in the NSW Supreme Court, a woman began wailing and a man could be heard shouting in Mandarin.

Ms Yu, who moved to Sydney in 2009 to study electrical engineering, was talking to her mother Qin He on messaging service WeChat about 7.16pm on June 8, 2018, when suddenly her house went dark.

“OMG. We’re having a power outage … something is not right, only our household is having a power outage,” Ms Yu wrote. It was the last message her mother would receive.

From China, Ms Yu’s mother frantically began to contact neighbours. One neighbour who knocked on the door of the unit about 7.45pm was let in by Dong, who claimed Ms Yu was out for dinner.

Family of slain student believe killer’s motive was to stay in Australia
The neighbour saw the mains power in the linen cupboard was off and turned it back on. Later, when a third housemate arrived, she noticed the floor was unusually clean and there was a large red stain on the stairs.

About 10.30pm that night, Dong’s phone was used from the northbound lanes of the M1 Motorway at Mount Colah to perform a Google search for directions back to Campsie. Ms Yu’s body was found near that section of the motorway six and a half weeks later.

Using data from Dong’s phone, police discovered Ms Yu’s remains on July 25, 2018, in a gully at Mount Kuring-gai. A shirt was wrapped tightly around her neck and her smashed mobile phone was nearby.

A forensic pathologist was unable to determine the cause of Ms Yu’s death due to decomposition. Forensic testing revealed Dong’s DNA was on the long-sleeved shirt around her neck.

Dong claimed in January this year that Ms Yu made offensive comments about his mother and refused to refund some rent to him, so he grabbed her and hit her head on a wooden table. Justice Hidden noted the explanation but said, “I do not accept it.”

Justice Hidden said the murder was of “considerable objective seriousness” and there was “a degree of callousness on the part of the offender in depositing her body where he did”.

“It is fair to say there is something bizarre about this criminal episode, dreadful as it was,” Justice Hidden said.

He said Dong, who is of “subnormal intelligence”, has been diagnosed with schizophrenia but there is no evidence the murder occurred during a psychotic episode.

Dong will be eligible for parole in December 2031.

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Chinese man jailed for 13 years for ‘bizarre’ housemate murder
A Chinese man who Googled the length of prison sentences in Australia has been jailed for murdering his housemate.
September 18, 2020

The Chinese family of a woman who was murdered by her housemate in a “bizarre” crime that remains shrouded in mystery has reacted angrily after her killer was jailed for at least 13-and-a-half years.

The family of Qi “Kathy” Yu expressed their disbelief at the leniency of the sentence handed to Shuo Dong, who was sentenced in the NSW Supreme Court on Friday.

Family members had to be taken from the court in an ambulance and wailed and shouted “it’s not fair” as Acting Justice Peter Hidden delivered his sentence.

Prior to dumping her body in a ditch beside a road on Sydney’s northern outskirts in June 2018, Dong had googled “How would homicide be sentenced in Australia”.

Outside court, the victim’s father Zhihe Yu told the media through a translator he was disappointed after Dong, 21, was sent to jail for 18 years, with a non-parole period of 13 years and six months.

With time served, Dong will be eligible for release in December 2031.

“It’s only 13 years and six months which doesn’t make any sense at all … there’s no punishment,” Mr Yu said.

Ms Yu, who was 28 when she was killed, came to Australian in 2009 as an international student.

Her body was found with a long-sleeve business shirt wrapped around her neck however it remains unknown how she was killed after Dong refused to be interviewed by police or give evidence.

Dong made several incriminating internet searches about the legal system two days before Ms Yu disappeared from the apartment they shared at Campsie in Sydney’s south-west.

His searches included: “Legal knowledge, how many years would intentionally (sic) homicide be given in Australia” and “The sentencing criteria for intentional homicide. What expenses must be compensated for after intentional homicide”.

“Despite the paucity of evidence of the circumstances of the killing, it’s fair to say there was something bizarre about this criminal episode, dreadful as it was,” Acting Justice Hidden said.

On the night of the murder, Dong also performed searches for remote bushland locations including the Royal National Park, Mount Colah and St Ives.

Police also found he had used Google Maps on the night of the murder to plan a route from the M1 north of Sydney back to Campsie.

When they later searched that location, they found Ms Yu’s body at the bottom of a gully among dead branches and shrubbery near the Mount Kuring-Gai railway station.

The court heard Ms Yu was talking to her mother on social messaging app We Chat on the night of June 8, 2018 when she told her that the power had gone out in her apartment – it would be the last time she spoke to her.

When she did not respond to further messages, Ms Yu’s mother contacted a neighbour who asked her to check on her daughter’s welfare.

The neighbour found Dong inside the unit in darkness with the main switch turned off and he claimed that Ms Yu was out to dinner.

When a third housemate arrived home, she noticed a large red mark on the stairs.

“Sometime between 7.16pm and 10pm, the offender murdered Ms Yu,” Acting Justice Hidden said.

Dong then took Ms Yu’s body, put it in her car and dumped it on the side of the road more than 40kms away from their shared unit.

He was arrested the next day after police, who were called to the unit, discovered bloodstains on the wooden floors and stairs.

Dong came to Australia in September 2017 on a tourist visa however his application for a protection visa was knocked back in March 2018.

The court heard that Dong had been diagnosed with schizophrenia but there were doubts about whether his mental illness had been a factor in the murder.

“The offender appears to have acted in a purposeful and clear-headed way in the commission of the offence, as he did in seeking to conceal his involvement afterwards,” Acting Justice Hidden said.

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Shuo Dong jailed for 18 years for murdering his Sydney housemate Qi Yu and dumping her body in bushland
Fri 18 Sep 2020

A Chinese construction worker has been sentenced to 18 years in jail for murdering his housemate and dumping her body in bushland north of Sydney

Key points:
Shuo Dong has refused to disclose how and why he killed Qi Yu
The court heard he lured her from her room by switching off power in their home
Two days before the crime, Dong did a Google search on murder sentences in Australia

Shuo Dong, 21, pleaded guilty to murdering 28-year-old electrical engineer Qi Yu in June 2018 at the house they shared at Campsie in Sydney’s south-west.

Six weeks later, police found her partially clothed body at the bottom of a gully off the M1 motorway.

Loud wails and angry shouting could be heard coming from the courtroom after the sentence was announced.

The court heard Dong had carried out an internet search two nights before the killing to find out what the sentence was for murder in Australia.

In a victims’ impact statement, Ms Yu’s parents suggested that Dong had overstayed his visa and killed their daughter to avoid being sent back to China.

They said he preferred to go to prison rather than return to China.

Acting Justice Hidden said he was satisfied the murder was premeditated.

“The offender appears to have acted in a purposeful and clear-headed way in the commission of his offence,” he said.

With an automatic 25 per cent sentencing discount for pleading guilty, Dong will be eligible for parole in 2031 after serving 13 years and six months in jail.

As the judge finished handing down the sentence, Ms Yu’s mother let out a series of loud wails and her father, Zhihe Yu, yelled out in Mandarin: “It’s not fair. It’s just not fair.”

Ms Yu had been communicating with her mother in China on the messaging service WeChat on the night she was killed.

She messaged her mother that the lights had gone out in the house.

It was the last her mother heard from her.

Speaking outside via an interpreter, the parents who had travelled from China expressed their dissatisfaction with the sentence.

“It doesn’t make any sense at all,” Mr Yu said.

Mr Yu said the family believed Dong had cynically manipulated the Australian justice system.

“He pleaded guilty to reduce the sentence. He used the law to escape from prison, he doesn’t regret what he’s done,” he said.

The court heard that on the night of the murder, Dong did 18 internet searches on areas of bushland around Sydney.

He later dumped Ms Yu’s partially clothed body at the bottom of a gully near Ku-ring-gai railway station.

After his arrest, police used the Google Maps app on his phone to track his movements and find the body.

Acting Justice Peter Hidden said he was not persuaded that Dong was remorseful for his crime.

“In the light of his refusal to disclose how and why he killed Ms Yu, he doesn’t demonstrate acceptance of his crime which is an essential aspect of remorse,” he said.

Judge accepts Dong suffered schizophrenia

The court heard Dong had a difficult childhood in China where he was assaulted at boarding school.

After arriving in Australia on a tourist visa, he worked in the construction industry, where his boss reported he was a quick learner and enjoyed socialising with the other Chinese workers.

During a psychiatric assessment in prison, he revealed he experienced auditory hallucinations and believed that God spoke to him.

The judge said he accepted that Dong was suffering from schizophrenia and was of sub-normal intelligence and that this may have played a role in his “bizarre” crime.

His prospects of rehabilitation, he said, were uncertain.

He said Dong’s refusal to give details of how and why he killed Ms Yu had worsened the suffering of her parents.

“Their pain is increased by the offender’s failure to reveal the exact circumstances of their daughter’s death,” he said.

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Family of slain student believe killer’s motive was to stay in Australia
July 14, 2020

The family of Chinese student Qi Yu, who was murdered by her housemate in Sydney two years ago, have told a court her killer was motivated by a desire to stay in Australia and was prepared to go to prison rather than return to China.

Shuo Dong, now 21, pleaded guilty in December to the murder of 28-year-old Ms Yu, with whom he had lived for just under three weeks at a home in Campsie in Sydney’s inner south-west.

Her body was found wrapped and dumped in scrub near a section of the M1 Motorway at Mount Colah, more than six weeks after she went missing on June 8, 2018.

In a victim impact statement tendered to the NSW Supreme Court during a sentencing hearing on Monday, Ms Yu’s parents Zhihe Yu and Qin He claimed Dong murdered their “intelligent, beautiful, lovely, lively and innocent” daughter because his visa had been cancelled and he did not want to go back to China.

“We believe he preferred to go to prison rather than return to his hometown,” the statement said.

Mr Yu and Ms He claimed Dong had told their daughter in the lead-up to her death that the Immigration Department had cancelled his student visa, and they believe “he was afraid that our daughter would report his illegal immigration status, and feared being repatriated to China”.

“He learned from the internet that there was no death penalty in Australia, so he decided to do premeditated murder.”

According to documents submitted by the Crown, Ms Yu had told her mother that Dong planned to move out on June 9, and she had refunded him two weeks’ rent without argument.

On June 8, Ms Yu told her mother the power had gone out. It would be their last communication.

Agreed facts state that, two days before the murder, Dong did a number of online searches, including “How would Homicide be sentenced in Australia” and “comparison of underage criminal offence sanction between China and Australia”.

He also made more than a dozen searches of different areas around Sydney, including Royal National Park, St Ives, St Ives Chase, Mount Colah and Berowra.

A psychiatric assessment of Dong tendered to the court, which concluded that he suffered from schizophrenia, also stated he was worried that Ms Yu would report him to the Immigration Department.

While their daughter was missing, Mr Yu and Ms He travelled to Australia from China and made anguished public pleas for help to find her.

In the impact statement, Mr Yu said the family had been “ruined by this murderous offender” and that his wife had “reached the edge of collapse”.

“She washes her face with tears every day, and wakes up in nightmares almost every day. She wants to end her life every day and follow our daughter.

“In order to dissuade and prevent her from doing wrong things, her body and mine are already blue, purple and bruised. I can’t leave her on her own at any time,” he said.

“Our daughter had tried her best and worked hard in Australia for ten years, building her dream step by step,” the statement said.

“She would have been a productive, positive and excellent part of the Australian community. Such brilliant achievements and a bright future have been destroyed by this offender. My wife’s life and mine destroyed too.”

Noting Dong’s health records referred to past symptoms “regarded to be factitious or malingered”, Crown prosecutor Gareth Harrison sought an adjournment in order to seek a second psychiatric assessment, which acting Justice Peter Hidden granted.

The sentencing hearing is set to resume on August 7.

—

Sydney woman Qi Yu’s body found by major highway, police believe
Wed 25 Jul 2018

Police believe they have found the body of missing Sydney woman Qi Yu near a major highway in Sydney’s Upper North Shore.

Officers say the woman’s body was found about 8:00am Wednesday morning during a search of bushland off the Old Pacific Highway at Berowra.

The missing 28-year-old was last seen last month in the south-west suburb of Campsie where she lived.

Her flatmate, 19-year-old Shuo Dong, was charged with her murder in June.

Mr Dong appeared in court on June 13, but it is understood he is not helping police with their inquiries.

He remains in custody.

The family of Ms Yu travelled to Sydney last month to make an impassioned plea for information regarding their daughter’s whereabouts.

At the time Ms Yu’s father Zhihe Yu told media at a press conference that he and his wife have been out searching for their daughter at Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park near Sydney — the area where police say she last used her mobile phone.

There was a large police presence on the M1 near the Berowra exit, near where the body was found.

Phone records showed her car had been driven around the Berowra area on the night she disappeared.

The car was later found a few kilometres from her home at Campsie on the other side of Sydney.

Police say it will be some time before they can confirm the identity of the body found this morning.

One northbound lane of the M-1 has been closed all day as forensic teams collected evidence.

—

Sydney man charged with murder of missing Campsie woman Qi Yu
Wed 13 Jun 2018

A teenager has been refused bail after being charged with the murder of his flatmate who had been missing from their shared home in Sydney’s south-west since last week.

Shuo Dong, 19, was taken to Campsie police station upon his release from hospital and was on Wednesday charged with the murder of 28-year-old Qi Yu.

Police said Ms Yu last made contact with her family in China on Friday night.

Police found her car in Burwood the following night, but she has not been heard from since.

Ms Yu’s body has not been found.

At a brief mention in Burwood Court this afternoon police said they planned to analyse a forensic sample taken from the 19-year-old.

The application will be mentioned in court next month.

Shuo Dong did not appear in court, choosing instead to stay in his cell.

Bail was not applied for and it was formally refused.

A crime scene has been established at their unit in Campsie.

—

中国女子澳洲被害案：凶手今日认罪 曾搜索未成年人认罪是否从宽
红星新闻
2019-12-04

2018年6月8日，28岁的俞琪（Qi Yu音译）在悉尼家中跟远在中国的母亲聊天时，通话突然中断，她也自此失踪。几天后，她的19岁室友董硕（Shuo Dong音译）被捕，并被控谋杀。而俞琪的尸体，直到47天后才被警方找到。据《悉尼先驱晨报》报道，12月4日，董硕对谋杀俞琪认罪，将于来年2月14日在新南威尔士州高等法院受审。

▲董硕今日对谋杀罪认罪。

董硕去年在位于悉尼西部Campsie的俞琪家中，将对方杀害并抛尸野外。案发时，他入住才不到三个星期。
2018年6月6日，即行凶前2天，董硕在网上搜索“澳大利亚谋杀的惩罚是什么”，还搜索了“未成年人认罪的惩罚和成年人有什么不同”。此外，他还搜索附近有林地的区域多达18次，其中包括皇家国家公园、科拉山、Berowra和Ku-Ring-Gai等地。
据悉，俞琪于2009年留学悉尼，并先后取得电气工程学位及工程硕士学位。2018年6月8日晚7点16分，她正和母亲在微信上聊天，家里突然黑了。“天哪，我们断电了。有点没对，只有我们家断电了。”这是俞琪母亲收到的最后一条信息。

▲被害女子俞琪。

女儿没了回应，身在中国的母亲慌了，连忙开始联系女儿的邻居们。一位邻居于当晚7点45分前去敲门，董硕应了门，称俞琪出门吃饭去了。邻居见电源主开关被关了，还将其打开。后来，另一名室友到家，注意到地板特别干净，楼梯上还有一大块红色印迹。
当晚10点30分，董硕的手机在科拉山M1高速上用谷歌搜索回Campsie的导航路线。根据这些数据，去年7月25日，警方终于在高速路附近找到了俞琪的尸体。一件衬衣紧紧缠绕在她脖子上，而她已经摔坏的手机就在一旁。因为尸体腐坏程度严重，法医无法确认俞琪的死亡原因，但她脖子上的长袖衬衣上发现了董硕的DNA。
而俞琪位于Campsie的家里，血迹到处都是。她卧室门的内侧有一个带血指纹，一把园艺剪刀的把手上也沾有她的血迹。
被捕前，董硕称根本没注意到房子里的这些血迹，跟俞琪的失踪也没有任何关系。被捕的时候，董硕“晕倒”了，但医生称，他“很可能”是在“装病”，并让其出院。警方称，董硕被捕后依然不配合，“不提供DNA证据，让调查受到了严重阻碍”，而俞琪的尸体也因此久未找到。

▲案发后，俞琪母亲哭求女儿线索。

在董硕被捕之后，俞琪的父母仍不愿相信女儿已经离世。夫妻俩一度召开新闻发布会，哭求大家帮忙寻找女儿下落，并到处散发女儿的失踪传单。据多位邻居描述，俞琪是个文静的姑娘，特别和善、诚恳，平时碰到都会点头问好。据中国侨网报道，悲痛中的俞琪父亲仍然保持风度。一位认识他们一家的朋友曾表示，这一家人人品正派，待人有礼，女孩从小非常优秀，也很乖，从来不出去乱玩，谁也没想到会出这样的事。

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28岁中国女子在澳被杀！事发前与母亲聊天：家里停电了，但不对劲
2019-12-05

2018 年，一名 28 岁中国女子俞琪（音译，Kathy Yu）在澳大利亚被杀害。当地时间 12 月 4 日，20 岁的嫌犯董硕（音译，Shuo Dong）承认谋杀。据了解，董硕是俞琪的舍友。
综合《每日邮报》、《悉尼先驱晨报》报道，4 日，董朔承认自己在 2018 年 6 月 8 日谋杀了他的室友俞琪。2020 年 2 月 14 日，董朔将在新南威尔士州最高法院出庭，接受审判。
2018 年 6 月 6 日，也就是谋杀发生的前两天，当时还是 19 岁的董朔曾在网上搜索”澳大利亚对谋杀的处罚”以及”未成年罪犯和成年罪犯认罪有什么区别”的相关信息。
报道称，他还多次上网搜索了悉尼周边的丛林地区，以寻找满意的抛尸地点，其中包括皇家国家公园（National Park）、科拉山（Mount Colah）、贝罗拉 ( Berowra ) 和库林盖（Ku-Ring-Gai）等。
被害人俞琪最后一次被人看到是在谋杀当天，即 6 月 8 日，地点在悉尼西南部的垦思公寓中，当时她和董朔以及另一名女性在一起。
当天晚上 7 点 30 分左右，她正用微信与在中国的母亲聊天。在给母亲的最后一条信息中，她写道，家里停电了，可是有些不对劲，因为好像只有她们家一片漆黑。她的母亲非常恐慌，于是开始联系住在女儿周围的邻居。
晚上 7 点 45 分左右邻居敲门时，董朔告诉他们，俞琪出去吃饭了。当天晚些时候，另一名室友回家时，发现楼梯上有一处红色污渍，而且地板异常干净。而在那之后，俞琪就失踪了。在她失踪不到一周之后，董朔被指控谋杀。
调查人员发现，在当天晚上 10 点 30 分左右，董朔曾用谷歌搜索”如何从克劳山的 M1 高速公路回到垦思”。根据这条线索，调查人员对相关地点周围的灌木林地进行多次搜索，甚至将搜索范围缩小到了悉尼北部灌木林地，可是，依然没有任何结果。
在俞琪失踪近 7 周后，即 7 月 25 日，她的遗体被发现在一个灌木丛中，位于库林盖山高速公路上的一个紧急停车点附近。