Justin Tsang murder: Yigit Erdogan sentenced for Burwood Heights murder

A murderer who tortured a teenager for hours on end before his body was wrapped in plastic and buried in a shallow grave had his actions described as “reprehensible in the extreme” as he was sentenced for his sickening crime.

The house where Justin Tsang was murdered. Picture: Darren Leigh Roberts

It has been a long wait for justice for the family of a teenager who was kidnapped and mercilessly tortured for hours on end by a group of young men he barely knew.

Only a few months away from his 18th birthday, Justin Tsang’s body was found wrapped in plastic in a shallow grave at Wentworth Falls on March 27, 2019.

He had died just under a fortnight earlier, at a Burwood Heights home where he was stripped down to his underwear, beaten and stabbed over the course of hours.

But now — almost four years after the callous murder of their son — Mr Tsang’s family learned the group’s ring leader, Yigit Erdogan, now aged 23, would be spending at least 24 years behind bars after a month-long trial in the NSW Supreme Court returned a guilty verdict.

Erdogan, dressed in his prison greens, sat emotionless in the docks and starred straight ahead and avoided all eye contact as Justice Mark Ierace handed down his sentence.

Yigit Erdogan in the back of a police wagon. Picture: Toby Zerna

Erdogan was the last of the murderers to be sentenced.

Two other men were jailed in 2021 for 13 years and two months and 12 years and nine months respectively for their roles in the murder.

Justin Tsang.

They were both aged 18 at the time of the incident and each pleaded guilty to murder in August 2020.

One was a talented cricketer, admitted to bashing Mr Tsang in the head in an attempt to kill him and the other, while he did not take part in the assault, confessed to being part of the joint criminal enterprise, guarding Mr Tsang during his torture and later wrapping his corpse in plastic, a court heard.

In court, Justice Ierace said there was no doubt Erdogan was the ringleader of this horrific crime.

“(Erdogan) was the instigator of the offence of murder,” Justice Ierace said.

The Burwood Heights where Justin Tsang was murdered. Picture: Darren Leigh Roberts

The court heard how Erdogan ordered his two accomplices to ‘soundproof’ the house so neighbours would not be aware of the unspeakable pain being inflicted on the teenager — the blinds were closed, heavy metal music blared, doors and windows were locked.

He then repeatedly struck Mr Tsang with a metal wrench, stomped on his head and bashed him with a cricket bat.

When he heard Mr Tsang was still breathing, Erdogan ordered one of the teenagers to retrieve knives from the kitchen, a court heard.

He stabbed the teenager multiple times, almost severing his throat and snapping the blade of the first knife he used.

Erdogan also told his co-offenders Mr Tsang could not be taken to hospital because he would “snitch” on them, a court heard.

In delivering his judgment, Justice Ierace did not find the brutal acts came from the allegation Mr Tsang had stolen $500 from the Burwood Heights house.

Instead, he found Erdogan was motivated by “anger … revenge and frustration”.

He also acknowledged the grief of Mr Tsang’s family, telling the court “they are haunted by their son’s death”.

A post-mortem revealed the teenager had 22 stab wounds to the neck and a fractured skull.

Erdogan was sentenced to 35 years behind bars with a non-parole period of 24 years. The earliest he could be released is April 26, 2043.