Dramatic twist after husband was found dead alongside his wife in bushland near Sydney Airport

A husband who was found dead alongside his wife in bushland near Sydney Airport had a ‘serious and sophisticated’ criminal history.

The body of Jai-Bao ‘Rex’ Chen, 33, was found submerged in a creek near Botany Bay’s Sir Joseph Banks Park in Sydney’s south, on December 17.

His wife Zhuojun ‘Sally’ Li’s decomposed body, which had been wrapped in plastic, was discovered by a jogger 10 metres away eight days earlier.

It was revealed last week that Chen owed a significant amount of money to a loan shark and had a ‘chronic’ gambling habit.

It has since emerged that the Taiwan-native also had a criminal record over drugs going back many years. 

Police files obtained by the Sydney Morning Herald showed that Chen was caught up in a so-called ‘dial-a-dealer’ drug bust in 2020.

Court documents gave details of a website called LeafedOut that linked dealers with customers across Sydney, with either side allowed to leave reviews for each other and look at drug menus.

Under the nickname ‘Captain Hook’, Chen delivered cannabis and food – known as edibles – laced with the drug to many addresses across the city from his silver Holden Vivo. 

He got good reviews from happy customers, but didn’t realise that one of them was an undercover cop who paid him using traceable bills. 

Chen was stopped by police officers on July 17, 2020 after running a red light on William Street in the inner Sydney suburb of Darlinghurst.

His Holden smelled of cannabis and two sandwich bags filled with the drug were found in his jacket pocket, with five more in the glove box.

‘He said it was for his personal use, and he smokes a lot,’ according to the police fact sheet.

A female passenger, who was not his wife, worked with him on the drug deals, police said.

Chen, who showed a Taiwanese driver’s license as his identification, had no official work. 

‘The offences involved are serious and sophisticated, using an online platform to advertise and arrange supply of prohibited drugs,’ the police files said.

‘He is currently in Australia on a bridging visa and police believe he is a flight risk.’

The decomposed body of Zhuojun ‘Sally’ Li (pictured) was discovered by a jogger in bushland on December 9

Pictured: forensic officers examine the scene where the bodies of a couple were uncovered

Bags of cannabis and drug-laden edibles were later found at his apartment in Pyrmont, close to Sydney’s CBD. 

The police file on Chen noted that ‘investigations reveal that the supply of prohibited drugs is the accused’s sole source of income’.

In November 2020, Chen pleaded guilty to seven charges of possessing or supplying cannabis and was given a 12-month community corrections order.

But 20 months later, in July 2022, he was again convicted of supply drugs and got an 18-month community corrections order, which expired last January.

Due to the nature of his crimes and the community corrections orders imposed, Chen was allowed to stay in Australia with his wife, Ms Li.

At this point, his gambling habit led to him racking up debts to a loan shark, which police believe may have led to his and his wife’s death. 

Homicide Squad Commander Detective Superintendent Danny Doherty confirmed that Chen’s financial woes are ‘a strong line of inquiry’ in the investigation.

‘They owned money. There was no other criminality that we were aware of and certainly Sally has unfortunately become a victim because of that,’ he said.

Ms Li is understood to not have been aware of the extent of her husband’s debts. 

Police believe the murders took place at the couple’s Greenacre home, in Sydney’s south-west, before their bodies were driven by two third parties to the bushland near the airport.

‘At some stage after the bodies had been dumped in Botany, (the third parties) travelled up to Queensland,’ Det Supt Doherty said.

‘We’ve located a phone that ultimately had found its way back to the next of kin, which then police seized.

‘That phone has been forensically examined and from the enquiries we’ve had so far we believe there’s at least two people involved and both have travelled overseas.’

Police are liaising with both Chinese and Taiwan authorities in the hunt for the suspected third parties involved.

The couple had not been seen since November. Ms Li’s body was discovered a week after her mother Susan reported her daughter was missing.

A silver Toyota Avensis, which does not belong to either of them, was seized by Homicide Squad officers as they believe it was used to dump both of the bodies.

‘We are looking at associations and friends of Sally and Rex who may have been in a position to transport a body to Botany and then also to cover up the actual body at the crime scene,’ Det Supt Doherty previously said.

The deceased couple had recently been providing in-home care for disabled people under the National Disability Insurance Scheme, according to their neighbours.

‘In a world that often overlooks the unique needs and capabilities of individuals with disabilities, we stand as a beacon of support and advocacy,’ Ms Li wrote on their business website.

She previously attended Riverside Girls High School and worked in early childhood, according to her social media accounts.