Sydney Man Killed Wife And Stuffed Her Body In Freezer Before Fleeing To China, Says Inquest

A man in Sydney, Australia, stabbed his 36-year-old wife to death and stuffed her body in a freezer before fleeing to China, an inquest heard.

The inquest before deputy state coroner Elaine Truscott has heard that Haoling Luo, also known as Andrew, murdered Chan Chen, who went by the name of Vivien, in late November 2019. After the horrific act, Luo left a voice message to a colleague saying that he had accidentally killed his wife, Perth Now reported.

"I was a little mentally abnormal a few days ago and accidentally killed my wife during a fight with her," Luo told his colleague in the voicemail.

Luo then turned up at Chen's family home in China and told her father about the crime, upon which the Chinese police were informed.

In the findings published Thursday, Truscott shared the events leading up to the discovery of Chen's body in a chest freezer at her Pymble home on Nov. 27, 2019.

According to the evidence gathered, Luo was erratic throughout 2019. He reportedly told a friend that he believed people were out to kill him and that Chen was having an affair. This prompted his friend to think he was delusional. Luo also lost his job at that time.

Another friend suspected that there was something "mentally wrong" with Luo. A year earlier, the victim told the friend that a Chinese doctor had diagnosed her husband with schizophrenia.

On Nov. 24, 2019, neighbors called triple-0 just before midnight to report about "raised voices and children screaming." Police who responded spoke to neighbors but heard nothing further and left.

The next morning, the victim's employer received a text message saying she needed a few weeks off. When the employer called back, it was Luo who answered the phone. He said his wife was in the bathroom and they were leaving for China soon.

In the morning of Nov. 25, Luo picked up a 324L chest freezer from Mount Druitt. He then asked a friend to drive him and the children to the airport. The flight did not take off that day due to bad weather, but Luo and his children fled the country the next day, Nov. 26.

On Nov. 27, Luo's colleague received the voicemail and alerted the police. Officers found Chen's body in the freezer and blood all over the place, even on carpets and curtains. Luo's DNA was also there on Chen's fingernails, the magistrate noted.

The police also recovered a typed letter which said the pair had agreed to separate but would live together with their kids.

Authorities believe that Chen was killed either on Nov. 24 or 25, according to a report from News.com.au. The inquest said Luo will be tried for the murder in China.