A Chinese student who beat two sex workers in their homes in 24 hours and left them for dead could be released from prison in seven years.
Xiaozheng Lin, 24, was sentenced to at least nine years behind bars on Thursday after admitting two counts of manslaughter in July.
He was due to face a murder trial for the deaths of Yuqi Luo, 31, and Hyun Sook Jeon, 51, but prosecutors accepted his plea to the reduced charges.
Both women were sex workers who operated their businesses from their apartments.
On Boxing Day 2022, Lin visited a brothel in Melbourne’s Oakleigh South, before a friend took him to Ms Luo’s La Trobe Street apartment.
After having sex, in the early hours of December 27, he requested more services from Ms. Luo, who told him it would cost him an additional $100.
Lin became enraged at this request and pushed Mrs. Luo onto the bed, before strangling her.
A Chinese student who beat two sex workers in their homes in 24 hours and left them for dead could be released from prison in seven years
He knocked her out and stole $7,000 in cash along with other personal belongings.
On the evening of the same day, he visited Ms Jiang at her Docklands flat and had sex before assaulting her.
It is unclear how Ms. Jiang died, as when the autopsy was performed on December 31, her body was too decomposed to determine the cause of death.
Judge Stephen Kaye said Lin had killed two “vulnerable and defenseless” women in their own homes.
An aggravating factor was that he was unfazed by the first assault and then killed Ms. Jiang within 24 hours.
Judge Stephen Kaye said Lin had killed two “vulnerable and defenseless” women in their own homes.
“Having assaulted Ms Luo in circumstances where she was left beaten and breathless… she clearly did not suffer any pangs of conscience,” he said.
Lin remained silent and kept his head down as Judge Kaye sentenced him to a maximum of 14 years in prison, with a non-parole period of nine years.
He has served nearly two years of that sentence and will be eligible for release in seven years, when he will most likely be deported back to China.