Australian police appealed to the public yesterday for help in solving the gruesome killing of a Chinese man who was shot 34 times in the head and neck with a nail gun before being dumped in a river.
Chen Liu’s badly decomposed body was found in Sydney on Nov. 1, about two weeks after a friend reported him missing, but police have yet to say whether they’ve identified any suspects. New South Wales state police yesterday asked the public to provide any information they may have about the case, releasing graphic X-ray images of the 27-year-old’s skull to highlight the brutality of the crime.
“In 36 years, I’ve never seen a murder of this nature,” Homicide Squad Superintendent Geoff Beresford told reporters. “It’s a particularly brutal and vicious murder and hence the reason we are seeking information from the public.”
PHOTO: REUTERS
The 34 nails were found during a post-mortem examination of Liu’s body, and were located mainly in his skull.
They were fired from an 85mm nail gun at close range, Beresford said. Police have not recovered the weapon.
“We certainly believe the nail gun is responsible for the death — there’s no doubt about that,” he said.
Police believe he was killed 12 days before his corpse was discovered.
Police are investigating associates of Liu, who also went by the name Anthony Liu, but said they had no evidence to suggest he was linked to any criminal group.
They refused to say whether they’ve identified any suspects or persons of interest.
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