Stretton, Brisbane deaths: Man, 49, charged over alleged murder of his girlfriend, 47, and her son
A meat cleaver has been seized from the suburban house where a 49-year-old man allegedly stabbed to death his girlfriend and her son – as detectives admit they are baffled by the timeline of events.
WeiFeng Huang was charged with two counts of murder after police found him and the bodies of Jifeng Liu, known as Eileen, 47, and her son Sam, in his early 20s, in an upstairs bedroom of a Brisbane home at about 9:30am on Monday.
Police said attending officers witnessed ‘large amounts of blood’ at the scene of the ‘frenzied attack’ at Coolidge Court, Stretton, an affluent suburb in the city’s south.
Detectives have been left mystified by the 49-year-old’s movements in the hours after the alleged attack, which police believe occurred early on Monday morning.
It is believed Huang left the home in a silver SUV at 4.22am and was gone for about half an hour, before returning and calling for help several hours later, police said.
Authorities believe the accused was in a relationship ‘for some months’ with Jifeng, and all three lived at the Stretton residence.
Jifeng Liu (pictured), known as Eileen, 47, (left) and her son Sam, (right) in his early 20s were found dead inside a home in Brisbane’s south on Monday morning
Police said attending officers witnessed ‘large amounts of blood’ at the scene of the ‘frenzied’ attack at Coolidge Court, Stretton, in Brisbane’s south (pictured, forensics at the scene)
Authorities believe the accused was in a relationship ‘for some months’ with Jifeng, and all three lived at the Stretton residence (pictured, a mourner near the home on Tuesday)
Detective Superintendent Andrew Massingham said there was evidence the accused changed his clothes at some point and attempted to wash himself.
‘I believe that there are cuts to his arm and in particular to his leg,’ he told reporters during a press conference on Tuesday.
‘There’s also evidence that it would appear he has changed clothes at some point as well and left in the vehicle so we believe he was injured at that point.
‘There is some evidence that he’s attempted to wash himself and blood from his body and has changed into another set of clothes.’
He added the victims had been dressed in ‘night attire’ which fit with a police theory the alleged attack occurred as early as Monday morning.
A 49-year-old man was arrested on Monday over the alleged ‘frenzied attack’ at the residence
Detective Superintendent Andrew Massingham (pictured on Tuesday) said there was evidence the accused had changed his clothes at some point and had attempted to wash himself
‘We also believe that one of the victims might have had phone contact with a number of friends and family just prior to the homicides occurring,’ he said.
‘The exact nature of those phone calls and from what’s been said is a subject of investigation today.’
Two weapons located by police at the home have been identified as a long-handled kitchen knife and a meat cleaver.
Det Supt Massingham said police were still piecing together the exact movements of the silver SUV and made a public appeal for the community’s assistance.
Two weapons located by police at the home have been identified as a long-handled kitchen knife and a meat cleaver (pictured, forensic officers at the scene)
A woman understood to be a friend of Sam’s appeared emotional at the scene on Tuesday
‘We do call upon people, delivery drivers, couriers, people going to work early, that may have seen that vehicle in the vicinity of this address during that 31-minute period to contact Crimestoppers,’ he said.
Det Supt Massingham said police have never been called to the home for domestic violence matters and there were no domestic violence orders in place.
Huang, who speaks Cantonese, raised the alarm by calling triple zero and telling authorities he needed assistance at about 9.40am on Monday and unlocked the front door of the home when officers arrived.
The accused underwent surgery at Brisbane’s Princess Alexandria Hospital overnight after suffering serious cuts to his arms and legs – which police believe were sustained in the alleged ‘frenzied attack’.
Det Supt Massingham (pictured during a press conference on Tuesday) said police have never been called to the home for domestic violence matters and there were no orders in place
Huang appeared briefly in Brisbane Magistrates Court via telephone from his hospital bed where he remains under police guard.
No application for bail was recorded with the matter adjourned to September 19.
The alleged victims have relatives overseas and police have been working with the Chinese community to ‘piece together the complex matter’.
‘We are liaising with our colleagues overseas to provide timely advice to friends and family during this difficult time,’ Det Supt Massingham said.
An autopsy for the female victim will be carried out on Tuesday while her son’s autopsy will be done in coming days.
The 49-year-old man charged remains in hospital under police guard and is expected to have a beside court hearing on Tuesday (pictured, police outside the home on Tuesday)
The scene at the affluent home in Coolidge Court, Stretton, in the city’s south remained cordoned off overnight (pictured, an office chair on the driveway on Tuesday morning)
The scene has been described as ‘confronting’ with officers finding the stairs of the two-storey property covered in a ‘large amount of blood’.
The man was arrested on Monday over the ‘frenzied attack’ and two ‘bladed weapons’ were taken from the scene.
Detectives were seen taking two mobile phone, sealed in plastic evidence bags from the home late on Monday afternoon which remained cordoned-off overnight.
Forensic officers returned to the home on Tuesday morning and were seen taking photos and marking various spots around the property.
A black office chair was seen outside the garage on the driveway.
Police have confirmed the 49-year-old man was the person who called triple-0 and let officers inside the home in Brisbane’s south (pictured, forensics at the scene on Tuesday)
Forensic officers returned to the home on Tuesday morning and were seen taking photos and marking various spots around the property in Brisbane’s south
Detectives were seen taking two mobile phone, sealed in plastic evidence bags from the home late on Monday afternoon (pictured, a black office chair on the home’s driveway on Tuesday)
The victims are yet to be formally identified.
A Cantonese interpreter was needed during communications with the accused who was treated in hospital for serious cuts to his arms and lower legs, police said.
‘There were some language difficulties with the interpretation of what he was saying, an interpreter was used by the triple zero service,’ Det Supt Massingham said.
‘He has exercised his right to silence and has requested the presence of a solicitor.
‘It’s still very early days in the investigation and it’s important that we keep an open mind. There’s been no information from neighbours to indicate that anything has been heard at this stage.’
Police and forensics rushed to the Coolidge Court residence in Stretton on Monday morning and found the bodies of the mother and son upstairs
A stylish brick archway at the home sits in-between a large living room and the main hallway
Pictured: An upstairs bedroom at the house where the man and woman where killed
The in the affluent suburb property features a pristine swimming pool in the backyard
Det Supt Massingham on Monday said there were CCTV cameras at the front of the home, which are yet to be reviewed.
‘The scene was confronting and has been described as an (alleged) frenzied attack on the two deceased persons,’ Det Supt Massingham told reporters.
A major crime scene was set up as officers cordoned off the quiet cul-de-sac and knocked on the doors of neighbours, with the street remaining under a heavy police presence on Monday afternoon.
‘So our forensic officers have been in on a couple of occasions now. The scene is quite traumatic in terms of a large amount of blood that is present,’ Det Supt Massingham said.
Forensic officers spent much of Monday at the home scouring for clues and photographing evidence outside the front of the double garage
Pictured: The affluent ‘President’s Estate’ home where Jifeng Liu and her son Sam reportedly resided
Police were confronted with traumatic scenes when they arrived at the Coolidge Court home
The bodies of a woman and a man were found upstairs inside the two storey home
Images of the property where the grisly scene played out reveal an affluent house with an interior hallway, upstairs bedroom and backyard with a swimming pool.
The photos obtained by Daily Mail Australia also shows an open plan living area with a spacious modern kitchen, four bedrooms, three bathrooms and a double garage for up to six vehicles.
Shocked neighbours told the Courier Mail a man, woman and boy lived at the house. They were described as ‘lovely people who mainly kept to themselves’.
Coolidge Court remained cordoned off with a heavy police presence on Monday afternoon
Police described the scene inside the home as confronting and traumatic with ‘large amounts of blood present’ (pictured, forensic officers at the home)
‘Recently I haven’t seen them too much but normally they are out in the yard,’ one man said.
‘I think the boy just got his licence not that long ago.
‘You don’t think this kind of thing will happen around you but obviously it has.’
Another told the ABC: ‘They kept to themselves, if they were going up the street you’d just wave, say hi and that was about it.’
Another local said said he heard a dog constantly barking on Sunday night.
Police hope to remove the bodies of a man and a woman from the home by Monday night
Shocked neighbours say Coolidge Court is a quiet and peaceful street and that the occupants who lived at the home kept to themselves (pictured, police in the cordoned off street)
‘In the morning it was very quiet until the police got here, the only thing we could recall was a dog barking and going crazy last night before the other dogs on the street started barking too,’ he said.
‘I have never heard any real noise or anything from that end of the street, it’s usually very quiet so it’s very scary and shocking.’
The property last sold for $760,000 four years ago, according to online data.
The median price for homes in Stretton is more than $900,000 and is home to a population of 4,334, according to the 2016 Census.
The average weekly household income for the suburb is $1,843, well above the national median of $1,234.
