SYDNEY - Australian police on Wednesday announced the arrest of a Taekwondo instructor on suspicion of murdering a South Korean-born family of three.
The bodies of the three victims were found at two locations in western Sydney on Tuesday.
A 41-year-old woman and a seven-year-old boy were found dead at a martial arts centre in the city.
Police said the pair had died from "injuries sustained during an assault".
"What we are going to allege is they were subjected to an assault. We will allege it was murderous intent," said Detective Superintendent Daniel Doherty of the homicide squad.
The body of a 39-year-old man was found at a nearby home. Police suspect he died of stab wounds.
The 49-year-old suspect presented himself to a local hospital on Monday night.
He was treated for stab wounds to his chest, arms and stomach, which he claimed occurred during an attack in a supermarket car park.
"Following extensive inquiries" and forensic examinations of the scenes, police said they placed the patient under arrest.
Police also said the three victims were related to each other and originally from South Korea.
The consulate and their families have been notified.
Doherty said the deaths were "not only tragic in the circumstances, but the consequences were cataclysmic. We've just lost three people from one family." - AFP