Bodies found in unit block

[Belangalo]

Article by Paul Bibby Peter Hawkins smh.com.au 14 Nov 2008

Police are investigating a possible double murder after the bodies of two women described ''happy go-lucky'' were found in a unit complex in Auburn last night.

Neighbours at the sprawling unit complex in Auburn's centre said they thought the women were either in their late teens or early 20's. A neighbour James Kim , 28 , said he had seen the pair around. It is understood the women were Chinese and that their famalies are overseas and yet to be informed of their deaths.

Emergency services were called to the complex on the corner of Queen and Harrow Streets around 6pm , Detective Inspector Paul Goddard , of Flemington Loacl Area Command said. ''They found the two people of Asian appearance deceased in their unit police are treating the deaths as suspicious.''

Ambulance officers found the bodies in the first floor bedroom and they had signs of injuries , the causes of the deaths were unknown late last night. Inspector Pat Wunsch from Flemington Local Area Command said a neighbour discovered the bodies in the apartment and called police. She had key's to the unit as many of the rooms in the block are sub-let he said.

He said the ages of the womenhad not been confirmed , ''but they are certainly not elderly women''. He also said there were no signs of forced entry and at this stage there were no signs of robbery. About six people who police believed shared the apartment with the dead women were gathered outside the building , they were being interviewed last night.

Officers from the Public Order Riot Squad searched the complex trampling through plant beds and garden areas. Dozens of residents from surrounding buildings gathered outside the block , some in shock as they watched the investigation unfold.

Forensic officers and Homicide Squad detectives were at the apartment complex overnight and remained there this morning. The bodies were taken to Glebe Morgue about 3:30am where they will undergo a post-mortem examination , a cause of death report is expected to be handed to police today.

Police interviewed a number of people from the block where the bodies were found , with the help of interpreters who spoke Cantonise and Mandarin. One neighbour who askewd not to be named said she had overheard police say there was a witness to the incident. The neighbour said she had heard others talking about the sound of screams coming from the building shortly before emergency services personnel had arrived. ''Apparently there was a woman screaming.''

The Auburn Central unit complex which has closed circuit television , is a new development in one of the highest density residential area's in Western Sydney . It houses thousands of people many of them families with young children , the buildings range from four to ten storey's

[Belangalo]

Article by Kara Lawrence and Gemma Jones dailytelegraph.com.au Nov 15 2008

Two Chinese women found murdered with their throats slit in a sub-let room were killed up to 5 day's before their body's were found.

The pair , who not yet have been formally identified were found decomposing face down on a bed in a room that they sub-let from the occupants of a first-floor apartment in Queens Street Auburn about 6pm on Thursday.

Police are investigating reports the women believed to have been on temporay visas , were advertised prostitution services in a Chinese newspaper. Police still have no suspects for the murders and were working late yesterday to formally identify the pair , reports they were sisters were unconfirmed with both having different last names.

Police were trying to track down family members to perform a formal indetification , as it is believed the victims were killed between three and four day's before they were found. Ther boyfriend of one of the victims discovered the bodies inside the room which was locked , he then went to a nearby Ambulance station to report the discovery the pair had only lived at the unit complex for about two months , but it is unknown when they arrived in Australia from China. The unit complex was allegedly known to Auburn Council as a haven for illegal prostitution.

[Belangalo]

Article by Yoni Bushan dailytelegraph.com.au Nov 16 2008

Two women stabbed to death in a Sydneyn home unit were living with nine other people , including three seperate family's.

Detectives have begun forensically studying kitchen knives in the unit to determine whether they were used to stab the victims and slash their throats.

Authorities have been unable to identify the women , police have worked with the Chinese Consulate to try to track down any relatives living in Australia. Both women are thought to have been illegal immigrants who used false passports to obtain visas.

Police are following several leads and have refused to rule out the possibilty that the women were prostitutes working in the area.

Officers spent yesterday visiting brothels and massage parlours in Auburn and Bankstown where the women may have worked , the walls of the unit blocks lift and the corridoor outside the unit were tested for fingerprints.

Detectives said the victims appeared to have shared the apartment with 3 other family's. Police say they have been provided with three or four different names by neighbours in the same unit block making it difficult for authorities to pinpoint the victims identity.

Detectives from Strike Force Community formed to investigate the deaths have revealed little of the circumstances of how the women died , an autopsy on the bodies found the women were killed by sharp force injuries.

The investigation has been hampered by language barriers between police and people who knew the pair , detectives also concede that many people in the complex have not been forth coming because they are hesitant to speak to police.