By Josefine Ganko, Cindy Yin and Riley Walter
One man has been charged with murder and a second charged with concealing a serious indictable offence after a “gruesome” stabbing death in Sydney’s inner west that police allege was a drug deal gone horribly wrong.
A 29-year-old man was found with multiple stab wounds to his neck at a house on Kembla Street in Croydon Park on Monday evening, following a police welfare check.
NSW forensic police process the crime scene on Kembla Street.Credit: Kate Geraghty
Late on Tuesday morning, police charged 32-year-old Mohammad Sofwan Bin Mustafha with murder over the stabbing.
He was arrested at the Kembla Street home on Monday night before being taken to hospital for assessment.
Burwood detectives appealed for public assistance to locate the 36-year-old man.Credit: NSW Police
After his release from hospital, he was taken back to Burwood police station, where Strike Force Buchanan detectives investigating the 29-year-old’s death charged him. He was refused bail in Burwood Local Court on Tuesday and remanded in custody until his next court appearance on July 30.
On Tuesday night, police arrested a 35-year-old man allegedly seen at the Kembla Street home on Monday afternoon.
After a public appeal for assistance finding the man, Ahmad Amzar Ahmad Marsuki was arrested at Burwood police station just before 7pm, and later charged with concealing a serious indictable offence. Marsuki was also refused bail, and will appear before Burwood Local Court on Wednesday.
Police also appealed for anyone with CCTV or dashcam footage, or other information about the incident, to contact Burwood Police or Crime Stoppers.
“This is a gruesome crime,” Superintendent Christine McDonald told reporters at the scene on Monday night.
The dead man was initially thought to be in his 50s, but on Tuesday morning, police confirmed he was a 29-year-old Malaysian national. It’s understood the severity of his injuries made it difficult to determine his age.
The Croydon Park crime scene on Tuesday morning. Credit: Kate Geraghty
“The man’s injuries are horrific, and what we know from very preliminary investigations … we believe this is a drug deal gone horribly wrong. However, that may change,” McDonald said.
Despite emergency services responding within minutes of receiving the call, McDonald said, “it was too late” for the paramedics to save the injured man.
McDonald said she did not believe the stabbing was linked to domestic or gang-related violence. She said the community would be shocked that something “so brutal has happened in their street”.
Anyone with information about the incident is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
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