Yigit Erdogan murder: Justin Tsang’s family speak of agony

The family of a teenager who was tortured, murdered and buried in a shallow grave have described their enduring agony over “the degree of brutality, cruelty and violence” the murderer inflicted.

The father of a 17-year-old boy found buried in a shallow grave described his enduring agony over “the degree of brutality, cruelty and violence” the murderer inflicted on his son in court.

Yigit Erdogan was found guilty of murder for his role in the merciless torture of 17-year-old Justin Tsang at a Burwood Heights home.

Erdogan denied killing the 17-year-old, but on May 18, after a month-long trial in the NSW Supreme Court, a jury returned a guilty verdict.

The court previously heard after Mr Tsang went to a Burwood Heights sharehouse Erdogan claimed the teenager had taken property from people at the house, leading to a dispute over $500.

The 17-year-old was later stripped down to his underwear and Erdogan brutally struck him with a metal wrench, stomped on his head and stabbed him with a knife, the court heard.

Yigit Erdogan. Picture: Toby Zerna.

A post-mortem revealed the teenager had 25 stab wounds to the neck and a fractured skull.

His body was found wrapped in plastic in a shallow grave at Wentworth Falls on March 19, 2019. Tsang’s family last saw him on March 11.

The house of horrors in Burwood Heights where Mr Tsang was murdered. Picture: Darren Leigh Roberts.

On Friday, as Justice Mark Ierace considered his sentencing, the court heard Mr Tsang’s family speak of their enduring heartbreak.

A family member wrote a poem in her Tsang’s voice which she read to the court.

“Blow after blow, I’m screaming in pain … Boot, wrench, welder, knife, my body’s battered and bruised,” the family member read.

Mr Tsang’s father, Yan Yong, also spoke of the family’s enduring agony over how his son was “heartlessly and horrifically tortured … to death”.

Justin Tsang.

“It is something I will have to deal with for the rest of my life because of the degree of brutality, cruelty and violence that my son had to go through before the murderers killed him and buried him,” Mr Yong said.

“I cannot explain how it feel that my son was not only murdered for a trivial matter but that he was tortured for hours and hours and made to suffer.

“The image of my son being brutally tortured for hours upon hours, being beaten and stabbed flashes over and over … in my mind”.

The prosecution told the court Erdogan played a central role in the murder and his comment that “(Mr Tsang) would not snitch on us” displayed a “significant level of criminality”.

The defence barrister said even though the offending was serious, Erdogan’s youth and strong family support should be considered.

Justice Ierace reserved his judgment.