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Sydney police investigate brutal killing of family

(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-07-19 19:51

SYDNEY: An Australian family of five, including two children, were bludgeoned to death in their home in a Sydney suburb in what police said Sunday was a targeted killing.

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New South Wales Homicide Commander Geoff Beresford said the motive was not clear in the "extremely violent" killing of the family in the early hours of Saturday.

Min Lin, his wife, two sons aged 12 and 9, and a female relative were killed by blunt force trauma to the upper bodies and heads, Beresford said.

"It's extremely violent and certainly unusual in my experience to have this many people murdered on one occasion," he told reporters.

The family ran a convenience store for more than six years after immigrating from China. Their bodies were found by a relative who went to the house Saturday morning when the store did not open on time.

Earlier this year, Lin gave evidence about a robbery of an armored van across from his store, but Beresford said that had not been linked to the killings.

He ruled out robbery, saying nothing was stolen from the house.

"We're open-minded but we believe it was quite targeted," Beresford said.

He said police had no suspects.

Police sealed off a park across the road from the family's house, scoured the ground and seized at least one vehicle for examination.