NSW Police have charged a Sydney martial arts instructor with three counts of murder after the bodies of a mother, father and seven-year-old child were found on Wednesday.
Kwang Kyung Yoo, 49, presented himself at Westmead Hospital late Monday night with multiple serious stab wounds to his chest, arms and stomach. At the time, he claimed he was attacked in a shopping centre in North Parramatta, and hospital staff admitted him for surgery for his injuries.
By Wednesday, police accused Yoo of murdering a Sydney family when their bodies were discovered in different parts of Sydney the day before. He was arrested while recovering in Westmead Hospital.
On Tuesday, police were called to a property in Sydney’s Baulkham Hills at about 10:30am after receiving a concern for welfare report.
It was here authorities discovered the body of a 39-year-old man, who had suffered several fatal stab wounds.
Later that day, at about 1pm, police found the bodies of a 41-year-old woman and a seven-year-old child at Lion’s Taekwondo Martial Arts Academy in North Parramatta. Kwang Kyung Yoo, who also goes by Master Lion, runs the martial arts studio, teaching hundreds of children in Sydney.
Police allege the mother and son, who attended the Lion’s martial arts studio, died between 5:30pm and 6:30pm on Monday night “as a result of injuries inflicted during an assault”.
Yoo, their alleged killer, then drove the woman’s BMW to the Baulkham Hills property and killed her husband and father of the child, police claim.
Following investigations, police charged Yoo with three counts of murder on Wednesday night. He remains under police watch in Westmead Hospital in Western Sydney, recovering from surgery for his injuries, and will face a bedside court on Thursday.
The deceased mother, father and seven-year-old child are believed to be from South Korea. On Wednesday, Superintendent Daniel Doherty told reporters their deaths came “out of the blue” and authorities are continuing their investigations to establish a motive.
“We’re still establishing what other relationships there might have been,” Superintendent Doherty said.
“It was out of the blue, it was something that wasn’t forewarned, there was nothing that could’ve put a red flag up as far as we understand.”
The South Korean family was well liked by neighbours and friends, with one describing the mother as a “sweetheart” who adored her child.
Superintendent Daniel Doherty said what happened to the family can only be described as a tragedy.
“It’s not only tragic in circumstances but the consequences were cataclysmic,” he said.
“They’ve had their lives taken away in what we allege was a murder.”