A woman accused of killing her daughter-in-law by hitting her 33 times with a hammer at Bundoora had told her son he was not the father of the couple’s baby boy, a court has heard.
Mother-of-three Huajiao Zhuang, 50, has pleaded not guilty in the Supreme Court to murdering Dan ‘Selina’ Lin, 21, on May 3, 2012.
Ms Lin’s husband, Mr Rong Ping ‘Peter’ Zhuang, told the jury on Thursday how the relationship between his mother and his wife had been fine at first but began to deteriorate about a month after the couple’s son, Alfred, was born in 2010.
Peter said the women would argue about various matters and his mother told him ‘‘quite a few times’’ that he should leave his wife.
He claimed his mother would be yelling when arguing with Selina while his wife would remain quiet.
Peter said his mother urged him to divorce Ms Lin and marry someone else.
‘‘Did your mother explain to you why you should divorce Selina, or why you should leave Selina?,’’ Crown prosecutor Peter Kidd, SC, asked Peter.
‘‘She thinks Selina has a very bad attitude,’’ Peter replied.
Mr Kidd – Did she say to you that Alfred was not your son?
Peter – Yes.
Ms Lin’s mother, Mrs Shui Ying Cheng, had earlier told the court how Peter and his family had travelled to China in 2009 to ask for permission to marry Selina.
Mrs Cheng said she and her husband eventually agreed to the marriage not knowing their daughter was pregnant.
Mr Kidd has told the jury Mrs Zhuang struck Ms Lin 33 times with a hammer in the bathroom of her Bundoora home after an argument.
Ms Lin died from repeated blunt force trauma to the head.
The prosecutor said Mrs Zhuang put Ms Lin’s body in a large black travel bag before placing it inside a green wheelie bin, which she left in the backyard of the house.
Mrs Zhuang later retrieved the wheelie bin and rolled it about 700 metres down to the Darebin creek where she tipped Ms Lin’s body into the water, the court heard
Mr Kidd said Mrs Zhuang would complain Ms Lin did not show her or her family enough respect; would complain about Ms Lin’s attitude towards her; would complain that Peter, Ms Lin and Alfred lived too far away; would complain about the lack of contact with her grandson; and that Peter should never have married Ms Lin.
The prosecutor said Ms Lin was killed in ‘‘a murderous attack driven by anger and animosity’’.
But defence barrister Shane Gardner said Mrs Zhuang had been acting in self-defence when she killed Ms Lin.
Mr Gardner said Ms Lin had produced the hammer and began to attack Mrs Zhuang who managed to take the hammer from her.
The trial, before Justice Stephen Kaye, continues.
