A desperate search is continuing after the suspicious disappearance of a man whose wife’s heavily decomposed body was found wrapped in plastic and dumped in bushes in a suspected murder.
A runner spotted 33-year-old Zhuojun “Sally” Li’s plastic-shrouded remains in bushes at 7am on Monday at Sir Joseph Banks Park, near Sydney Airport, in the inner-southern Sydney suburb of Botany.
She had been reported missing early in December after her mother was unable to contact her, police said.
Ms Li’s 33-year-old husband Jai-Bao “Rex” Chen remains missing and police hold “grave concerns” for his safety and welfare.
Mr Chen is described as being of Asian appearance, about 165cm to 170cm tall, of slim build with black hair and brown eyes.
A silver Toyota Avensis has been seized in Sydney and is being forensically tested, Homicide Squad commander Danny Doherty revealed on Saturday.
CCTV had captured the vehicle stopping on the northern side of Foreshore Road in Botany between 4am and 5am on November 30 and police believe the car was used to transport Ms Li’s body.
Investigators are appealing for anyone with dashcam footage or information about the car and its drivers – including from trucks and tradies who might have been driving past at the time – to come forward.
Ms Li moved from China to Australia more than 20 years ago and had been living with Mr Chen, who is from Taiwan, in a rental apartment in Greenacre, Detective Superintendent Doherty said.
“We don’t know where (Mr Chen) is, and there’s no confirmation of him being alive or been seen alive since the end of November,” he said.
“We do have to have an open mind and look at a third party possibly involved, not only in the suspected murder of Sally but … being involved in the disappearance of Rex.”
Strike Force Zygon has been established to investigate the gruesome discovery, with detectives making inquiries across Australia.
“We’ve spoken to his family and he’s certainly not over there (in Taiwan) and, at this stage, we believe he’s in Australia but whether he’s alive or dead, that’s the question,” Det Supt Doherty said.
“We’re looking at associations and friends of both Sally and Rex who may want to harm Sally and who may be in a position to transport a body to Botany and then also to cover up the actual body at the crime scene.”
Officers broke the news to Ms Li’s mother, who also lives in Sydney, on Friday night and police have been in contact with Mr Chen’s family in Taiwan through a Mandarin interpreter.
Ms Li had no links to any criminality while Mr Chen had minor issues but nothing to indicate involvement in organised crime, Det Supt Doherty said.
“She was a young woman who was living a normal life, and she’s lost her life in a suspicious way and now we have concerns about her husband,” he said.
“That’s why it’s making this job so difficult.”
There is no history of domestic violence and police are actively considering the possibility a third party was involved.
“This is a very sad and tragic death of someone who’s lost their life in not only an unusual way but in a suspicious and brutal way,” Det Supt Doherty said.
