Deakin University lecturer Adam Brown breaks down over Croydon North murder of wife Chen Cheng

Neighbours heard a Melbourne mother scream ‘help me, he’s trying to kill me’ in the moments before a university lecturer murdered his wife at their family home.

Adam Brown, 40, a former Deakin University digital media lecturer who also taught gender studies and women’s history, last year pleaded guilty to the murder of his wife of five years, Chen Cheng.

The 35-year-old mother of one was found lying in the backyard of their Croydon North home in April 2022, after being stabbed multiple times.

Ms Cheng was born in China, moved to Melbourne to study in 2015 and the couple met the following year. 

They married in Ms Cheng’s home country in 2017 and had a child together in 2020.

While there were no reported incidents of domestic violence, Brown had anger issues and sought help from a psychologist the year before the murder, the court was told.

Ms Cheng also sought mental health treatment after suffering a traumatic birth.

On the evening of April 30 last year, the couple were arguing about future kindergarten arrangements when the fight escalated and moved through different rooms of their home, prosecutor Nanette Rogers SC said.

Source of data and images: dailymail