A taekwondo instructor who allegedly murdered an entire family in Sydney has had his first court hearing as NSW Police continue investigating the motive.
Kwang Kyung Yoo was charged with three counts of murder late last night, after the bodies of a mother, father, and their seven-year-old son were found in two separate locations.
His lawyer briefly appeared in Parramatta Local Court on his behalf today and made no application for bail.
The 49-year-old martial arts expert was arrested and remains under police guard in Westmead Hospital after presenting with non-life-threatening injuries on Monday.
The bodies of the woman, aged 41, and child were found in Lion's Taekwondo Martial Arts Academy on Daking Street in North Parramatta, at about 1pm on Tuesday.
The woman's 39-year-old husband was also found dead at a Baulkham Hills home on Watkins Road hours earlier, about 10:15am.
Mr Yoo, a married father, allegedly strangled the mother and son sometime between 5:30pm and 6:30pm on Monday.
Police say he then left their bodies behind and drove the woman's BMW to the family home, where at some point he met up or confronted the father and fatally stabbed him.
The taekwondo teacher was known as Master Lion, and had taught the child in his studio, along with hundreds of other local children.
Superintendent Daniel Doherty said detectives were still trying to work out the reason behind the killings.
"We're still establishing what other relationships there might have been," he said on Wednesday.
"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."
Mr Yoo needed surgery after walking into hospital with serious stab wounds to his chest, arms and stomach.
At the time he claimed he had been attacked in a supermarket car park in North Parramatta.
A friend of the family, who are believed to be from South Korea, said the couple had been together for a long time before they got married, and were "very kind and humorous".
She described the mother as a "sweetheart," and said both parents adored their little boy.
The court will hear Mr Yoo's case again on April 18, and he is expected to appear via audio visual link.
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