'Jealous' boyfriend jailed for murdering Melbourne mum and dumping body in wheelie bin
A jealous, angry boyfriend who killed his new girlfriend and tried to cover up the murder by dumping her body in a wheelie bin has been jailed for at least 23 years.
Joon Seong Tan, 38, learned his fate at the Supreme Court in Melbourne on Friday, after he was found guilty by a jury of the murder of Ju 'Kelly' Zhang at her Epping home in February 2021.
He felt "rejected, jealous and very angry", believing his girlfriend of one month was cheating on him, when he stabbed the 33-year-old woman six times and then tried to cover it up, Justice Amanda Fox said.
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After murdering his girlfriend of a month, Joon Seong Tan allegedly dumped her body in a wheelie bin. Nine
"After killing Ms Zhang, you engaged in a deliberate and determined course of conduct calculated to hide your crime," she said.
Tan cleaned up the crime scene, washing her bed sheets and moved her body to a laundry cupboard.
Zhang's son, aged eight at the time, was in another room when she was killed.
When he asked where his mother was, Tan told him she was sleeping and then that she had gone out and not returned.
Tan called his housemate, who came over, and told him he had "lost his mind" and killed Zhang because she was bringing other men home.
He said her body was in the cupboard but was getting "stinky" and asked the housemate to look for a rubbish bin.
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Ju 'Kelly' Zhang was last seen alive by her eight-year-old son while wearing a pink nightgown watching something on her laptop on her bed. Victoria Police
The housemate left and did not return.
After driving around Heidelberg, Tan noticed it was bin night.
He went back to the Epping home, wrapped Zhang's body in a blanket and placed her inside a wheelie bin.
Tan drove the bin to Heidelberg West and left it for collection, returning the next morning to make sure the bin had been emptied.
He returned the bin to Epping, dried Zhang's sheets and made her bed.
Tan told Zhang's friends and family she had received a call and left her house in a pink dressing gown with her phone.
Her body was not found in landfill for another four-and-a-half months.
After being interviewed by police about her disappearance, he searched online for "how many years for killing a person in Australia".
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Zhang's body was discovered by police during a search of landfill at Wollert in June 2021. Victoria Police
Tan denied he had killed her for years, only admitting the crime during a pre-sentence hearing last month.
"It seems you were moved by hearing about how much pain and suffering you caused," Justice Fox said.
But she found his late confession was not evidence of his remorse
Justice Fox jailed Tan for up to 28 years and he must serve at least 23 years before he will be eligible for parole.
He has already spent two years and four months in prison.
Support is available from the National Sexual Assault, Domestic Family Violence Counselling Service at 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).
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