Text messages from a man accused of being part of a “kill crew” involved in the alleged kidnapping and murder of Sydney mum Thi Kim Tran have been revealed in court.
Ms Tran was allegedly snatched from her Bankstown home on April 17, 2025, before she was murdered.
Her body was later found inside a burnt-out car on Welfare Ave in Beverly Hills.
Police have previously claimed she was likely targeted due to her husband’s alleged involvement with an organised crime network based in Victoria.
Several people have been charged over the alleged kidnapping and murder since October last year.
Anthony Wong, 22, is facing a string of charges, including one count of murder and two of conspiracy to murder, related to the alleged kidnapping and murder of Ms Tran.
New details of Ms Tran’s “violent” murder can now been revealed as Mr Wong fought for bail in the Supreme Court of NSW on Wednesday.
Camera IconThi Kim Tran was allegedly kidnapped and murdered last April. Facebook Credit: Supplied
Four people were allegedly sent to a Springdallah property in Victoria’s southwest on April 16 or 17 last year, but Ms Tran and her husband “got wind of something occurring” and fled the property just before the group arrived, Acting Justice Robert Allan Hulme said while summarising the police facts in Mr Wong’s case on Wednesday.
About an hour after the group arrived in Springdallah, Mr Wong is accused of sending a message saying “Melbourne mates are fked”, the court was told.
Hours later, about 9pm, he allegedly sent another text saying “Bro it’s the wife”.
Camera IconText messages from a man accused of being part of a ‘kill crew’. Supplied Credit: SuppliedCamera IconPolice outside Ms Tran’s home. Gaye Gerard / NewsWire Credit: News Corp Australia
Mr Wong, then just 21, is accused of picking up three men in his mother’s Mercedes shortly after and dropping them off in Moorebank, where the trio allegedly met another person before the four of them made their way to Ms Tran’s home.
Mr Wong was allegedly waiting in Cabramatta as the alleged kidnapping and murder unfolded, the court was told.
‘Intimidating’ pics of slain mum
“In violent circumstances it is alleged that the wife was kidnapped, she was stripped naked, and taken to the car,” Justice Hulme said.
“Intimidating photos were taken of her and sent to her husband in Victoria.
“(The group) with the woman in their custody went to Welfare Ave … this is where she was murdered, (probably) shot in the head. The car in which they had travelled there (in) was set on fire with her inside.”
Camera IconMs Tran’s body was found in a burnt out car. Photo: Gaye Gerard / NewsWire Credit: News Corp Australia
Mr Wong, who had allegedly been waiting in Cabramatta, is accused of later picking up the same trio he had dropped off in Moorebank from a Cabramatta address before giving them a lift to Prestons, where they exited his mum’s Mercedes, the court was told.
The four alleged offenders in Victoria left the Springdallah address around this time and made their way back to Sydney the following day, Justice Hulme told the court.
Justice Hulme said the prosecution case against Mr Wong in relation to the alleged murder appeared “viable” but called the success of the conspiracy to murder case “somewhat doubtful”, nonetheless noting that assessment on the matters might be best left until the full brief of evidence is served.
Mr Wong will remain behind bars on remand after Justice Hulme denied him bail, ultimately finding the “seriousness of these charges overwhelms the persuasiveness (of Mr Wong’s bail application)”.
21yo ‘clearly aware’
The prosecution fought against Mr Wong’s release, claiming he was “clearly aware” of what his alleged co-offenders “were up to”.
“Here is a 21-year-old man – yes, he’s young – who has been charged with involving himself in a murder that goes beyond just being in that vehicle because there are those messages that clearly shows he was aware of what was happening in Melbourne,” the prosecutor told the court.
“And then the (text) in relation to ‘the wife’ … (He was) clearly aware of what the others were up to.”
Camera IconSeveral people have been charged in relation to the alleged kidnapping and murder of Ms Tran. Gaye Gerard / NewsWire Credit: News Corp Australia
‘Drop off and pick up service’
A lawyer representing Mr Wong denied suggestions he had any “awareness” of the actions of any of his alleged co-offenders, describing her client’s alleged involvement as essentially a “drop off and pick up service to locations”.
She also claimed there was “no evidence” the young man had been waiting to meet the group while he was in Cabramatta on the evening of the alleged murder, and there was no evidence the trio had any weapons on them by the time they met Mr Wong after the alleged murder.
Mr Wong’s lawyer also argued there was no evidence to suggest his client was trying to flee the country when he was arrested at Sydney Airport in January this year after booking a flight to Vietnam.
She ultimately submitted Mr Wong should be released on bail under a set of strict conditions, including home detention, due to his young age, lack of prior criminal history, the likelihood of significant time spent in custody awaiting a potential trial, and a “lack of strength” in the Crown’s case.
The court was told Mr Wong had been “on his own” in protective custody for the majority of his time on remand at Long Bay jail.
She concluded by claiming there were “insurmountable problems” in the Crown’s conspiracy to murder case and “big problems” in other aspects of the case against her client.
Camera IconMs Tran (right) and with her husband. Facebook. Credit: Supplied
He has not yet entered any pleas to one count of murder, two counts of conspire and agree to murder any person, one count of participate criminal group contribute criminal activity, and two of failing to comply digital evidence access order direction.
Mr Wong was recently hit with a second set of charges which he has not yet entered any pleas to, including three counts of dealing in indictable crime proceeds money/property less than $1m, and one count each of supplying an unregistered firearm, dealing with proceeds of indictable crime less than $10,000, and participating in a criminal group.
Four people were previously charged over the alleged kidnapping and murder, with police earlier this year revealing an additional five men accused of being involved in a “second kill crew” had also been charged.
The second “kill crew allegedly” waited at a rural property in Victoria for Ms Tran’s husband with the intention of killing him but allegedly kidnapped and killed Ms Tran when he failed to appear.
All those charged remain before the courts.
