A Chinese student who, within 24 hours, bashed two sex workers in their homes and left them for dead may be free from prison in seven years.
Xiaozheng Lin, 24, was sentenced to at least nine years behind bars today after admitting two charges of manslaughter in July.
He was due to face a murder trial over the deaths of Yuqi Luo, 31, and Hyun Sook Jeon, 51, but prosecutors accepted his plea to the downgraded charges.
The women were both sex workers who operated their businesses out of their apartments.
On Boxing Day 2022, Lin visited a brothel in Melbourne's Oakleigh South, before a friend drove him to Luo's La Trobe Street apartment.
After having sex, in the early hours of December 27, he requested further services from Luo, who told him it would cost an additional $100.
Lin became enraged at this request and pushed Luo into the bed, before strangling her.
He left her gasping for air and stole AU$7000 in cash along with other personal belongings.
On the evening of the same day, he visited Jiang at her Docklands apartment and engaged in sex before he assaulted her.
It is unclear how Jiang died, as by the time an autopsy was performed five days later on December 31, her body was too decomposed to ascertain a cause of death.
Justice Stephen Kaye said Lin had killed two "vulnerable and defenceless" women in their own homes.
An aggravating factor was that he was undeterred from the first assault as he then went onto kill Jiang within 24 hours.
"Having assaulted Ms Luo in circumstances where you left her stricken and gasping for breath … you plainly suffered no pang of conscience," he said.
Melbourne man admits killing two sex workers in 24 hours
Xiaozheng Lin, 24, left the women for dead after attacking them and taking cash and personal belongings.
Crime and Justice
Mon, Oct 28
Lin was silent and kept his head down as Justice Kaye sentenced him to a maximum of 14 years in prison, with a non-parole period of nine years.
He has served almost two years of that sentence and would be eligible for release in seven years, when he would most likely be deported to China.
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