A teenager who was abroad when her entire family was beaten to death by her abusive uncle has now dedicated her life to helping others recover from the trauma.
Brenda Lin was 15 and on a school trip to New Caledonia in July 2009 when someone broke into her family home in North Epping, northwest Sydney, and murdered her parents, two younger brothers and her aunt. .
Speaking publicly for the first time in years, Lin, now 30, recalled the devastating way she learned what happened to her family while thousands of miles from home.
‘I remember my dad giving me his phone and saying, “Make sure you call me when you get there,” but I, as a teenager, didn’t. “I was too cool,” he told her. Sunday Telegraph.
‘We had limited access to the internet, but one night we had some free time at our homestay and we started using the computer.
Brenda Lin, now 30, was on a school trip to New Caledonia in July 2009 when someone broke into her family home in North Epping, northwest Sydney, and murdered her parents, two brothers minors and their aunt (pictured: Ms. Lin in 2017)
Two years after the murders, Lin’s uncle Robert Xie (pictured) was charged with their murders. Prosecutors alleged that Xie had been driven by her sexual obsession with her niece and her desire to have unlimited access to her.
‘A friend from school noticed that my friend was logged into Facebook and sent her a link to a news article.
‘They had no words so they sent the article. When he clicked on the link… I could see a photo of my house. I didn’t know how to process what followed. I was 15 years old.’
Min Lin, 45, Mr Lin’s wife Yun Li ‘Lily’ Lin, 44, their sons Henry, 12, and Terry, nine, and Mrs Lin’s sister Yun Bin ‘Irene ‘Lin, 39, was killed with a hammer during the horrific attack. .
Orphaned overnight, Ms. Lin was sent to live with her aunt and uncle Kathy and Robert Xie.
But the schoolgirl was attacked by her uncle, who made sexual advances toward her.
Two years after the murders, Xie was charged with them.
But it took four grueling trials and seven and a half years before he was handed five consecutive life sentences, one for each of the family members he beat to death.
Prosecutors argued that Xie had killed Lin’s family not only because he was jealous of her life, but because he wanted Lin to live in his house.
Ms Lin gave a powerful speech to the court at Xie’s sentencing, detailing her pain and betrayal, and how she was unable to say goodbye to her parents.
“I don’t even know how to begin to express how the murder of my immediate family has impacted my life; there are not enough words to describe the pain and suffering that was caused to me and those around me,” he said.
Ms Lin is pictured with her younger brothers Henry and Terry, aged nine and 12, and her parents Min and Yun, who were murdered by her uncle Robert Xie.
Detectives and forensic police outside Ms Lin’s home after the horrific murder of her family.
‘Being a proud teenager, I didn’t say anything to my dad, I just stood there awkwardly and thought, “It’s only going to be a week, I’ll see them again very soon.”
‘To this day, my biggest regret was not hugging (my father) and telling him I loved him, to thank him for being an incredibly loving and caring father.
‘It’s been seven and a half years since I lost my family. It’s seven and a half years without a loving mother, seven and a half years without a loving father.
Today, Mrs. Lin shows a notable lack of anger and bitterness over her uncle’s actions.
She is She is now an advocate for survivors of sexual abuse and is studying a PhD in criminology and youth justice rehabilitation at the University of Sydney.
To tell the truth, it doesn’t occupy my thoughts much. She is in prison for life, that is enough for me,” stated Mrs Lin.
‘I know there’s nothing more we can do. If someone asked me what else I would like to see done, I don’t know what the answer would be.’
Lin founded The Survivor Hub in 2021, a charity that helps people who have been victims of sexual assault.
Xie and his wife Kathy were seen leaving the New South Wales Supreme Court in 2016
Inside Ms. Lin’s family home, which would become the crime scene of a gruesome murder.
It has a dozen meeting places in New South Wales and Victoria, where survivors can share stories and support each other.
“It’s incredibly important to us to be able to bring something good out of something so hard and horrible,” Ms. Lin observed.
‘One of the good things that has come out of this for me is my extra families, there is something really beautiful about being in a family that you choose.
‘The wonderful support network around me makes sure I am never alone at Christmas, birthdays, Mother’s Day and all those special events. Without that incredible support system I wonder where I would have ended up and that really scares me.”
In 2021, Xie lost an appeal against his murder convictions, meaning he will spend the rest of his life behind bars.
