A woman who is believed to have been stabbed to death by her partner before he leapt to his death in a murder-suicide was a university student from China.
The 21-year-old woman was found dead inside a unit of a high-rise apartment block on Conder Street, in Sydney’s inner west, at 8.50am on Monday.
Her partner is suspected of stabbing her before jumping to his death from a balcony – with officers discovering his body in the courtyard of the building.
The pair were living in on student visas, the Daily Telegraph reported.
It’s understood they were in a relationship and were heard arguing shortly before their deaths.
Officers from New South Wales Police had been called to the apartment block for a welfare check shortly before 9am.
It was there they discovered the half-naked body of the man lying in a garden bed.
CCTV footage from earlier Monday morning showed him walking into the complex with two other females.
Careful examination of the footage led officers to the unit the group was seen entering.
Officers forced their way inside and discovered the woman’s body with stab wounds.
Burwood Police Superintendent Christine McDonald said officers had recovered the suspected murder weapon from the unit.
‘It’s too early to say if this is domestic violence … but violence against any person is not, and will not be, tolerated,’ she said.
A resident of the apartment complex told the outlet she had seen officers crouched over the man’s body from her balcony.
Police have since established a crime scene and covered the remains with a tent.
‘It was pretty scary … then they covered it up before we could really see much more,’ the woman said.
Another resident who lives nearby said they heard a ‘really loud clap’ at about 6am on Monday.
‘I wasn’t sure what it was, I didn’t hear anyone scream though. It was dead silent,’ they told Daily Mail .
‘[Then] at around 8.15am I saw about eight police officers and three detectives.
‘Police were standing around counting the balconies, there was a white cloth there then it began to rain so they put up a blue tent.’
The man was found with injuries to his ankles and police are investigating the line of inquiry that he jumped from the building.
Superintendent McDonald said the unit and individuals are not believed to have been known to police.
The woman and man are yet to be formally identified.
Anyone with information in relation to the incident is urged to contact local police or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.