Grieving mother’s heartbreaking act after her daughter Zhuojun ‘Sally’ Li’s body was found wrapped in plastic near Sydney Airport – as her husband remains missing and hunt for mystery ‘third person’ continues

The grieving mother of a woman whose body was found wrapped in plastic near Sydney Airport almost a week ago has undertaken the painstaking task of cleaning up her daughter’s marital home.

The body of 33-year-old Greenacre woman Zhuojun ‘Sally’ Li was discovered on December 9 in dense bushland by a jogger at Sir Joseph Banks Park in Botany Bay in Sydney’s south, 18km from her home.

The remains were wrapped in plastic and severely decomposed. The grim discovery was made a week after Ms Li’s mother reported her missing.

Ms Li’s partner Jai-Bao ‘Rex’ Chen, 33, is still missing. The police fear that he may also have been the victim of a violent crime.

On Sunday, six days after her daughter’s body was found, Ms Li’s mother placed the couple’s belongings on the front lawn of their rental home in Sydney’s south-west.

The distressed mother was faced with the task of clearing the house after police searched the property for possible clues on Friday.

A neighbor told me The Daily Telegraphthe mother was cleaning out the house on Saturday, loading furniture into a moving van for storage and leaving unwanted items in the front yard.

“I spoke to the mother, she was very upset, she said what happened to her daughter… so shocking, I couldn’t believe it,” the neighbor said.

Ms Li’s partner Jai-Bao ‘Rex’ Chen (pictured) remains missing and police fear he may also have been the victim of a violent crime

The couple was known to be very festive and decorated their home for Christmas, Halloween and Chinese New Year.

‘Sally always decorated the house… Last year at Christmas there were lights everywhere. For Halloween, the doorbell even played Halloween music,” the neighbor said.

Tinsel, decorative lanterns and Christmas lights were among the items left behind on the front lawn.

Forensic specialists searched the house for hours on Friday, looking for clues to Ms Li’s murder and Mr Chen’s disappearance.

Every inch of the house was inspected and dusted for fingerprints, including the front gate.

“They had been here for a long time… but they told me they don’t think anything bad happened in the house,” the neighbor said.

Ms Li and Mr Chen’s belongings were rounded up again on Sunday morning, with locals using torches to search the pile of belongings on the front lawn as early as 1am.

Police patrolled the couple’s home on Sunday, despite it having been emptied the day before.

Mrs Li’s mother emptied the couple’s home following the discovery of her daughter’s body (Photo: Police search Botany Bay Park where body was found)

A silver Toyota Avensis, which does not belong to either of them, was seized by homicide officers because they believe it was used to transport Ms Li’s body.

Homicide detectives are “attempting to identify the third party” involved in Mr Li’s death and her husband’s disappearance.

‘The focus for us at the moment is mainly on Rex, but we have to keep an open mind. We are also looking at a strong possibility of a third party,” Chief Inspector Danny Doherty told reporters on Saturday.

A silver Toyota Avensis, which does not belong to either of them, was seized by homicide officers because they believe it was used to transport Ms Li’s body.

“We are looking at associations and friends of Sally and Rex who may have been able to transport a body to Botany and then also cover up the actual body at the crime scene,” Detective Chief Inspector Doherty said.

‘It is a question mark whether Rex is a person of interest or a victim. We still don’t know.’

Chief Inspector Doherty said Mr Chen was last seen alive in November and there was a “strong investigative theory” that a third party could be involved.

“Not only in the suspected murder of Sally, but we also need to look at a third party involved in Rex’s disappearance,” he said.

“Right now we think he (Rex) is in Australia, but we don’t know if he’s alive or dead.”

Chief Inspector Doherty said Mr Chen was last seen alive in November and there was a “strong investigative theory” that a third party could be involved

Supt Doherty said they were a ‘normal couple’ with no known links to organized crime.

According to their neighbors, the couple recently provided home care to disabled people under the National Disability Insurance Scheme.

“In a world that often ignores the unique needs and abilities of individuals with disabilities, we stand as a beacon of support and advocacy,” Ms. Li wrote on their business website.

According to her social media accounts, she previously attended Riverside Girls High School and worked in early childhood education