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AAP
AAP
National
Kat Wong

Double murder case reaches court as relationship probed

Police are investigating the relationships between an accused murderer and his two alleged victims. (Joel Carrett/AAP PHOTOS)

A man accused of fatally stabbing a woman and leaving her partner for dead has had his case heard in court for the first time.

​Anare Vunitabua, 47, appeared in NSW Bail Court on Monday after the 38-year-old woman was found dead in the kitchen of her Quakers Hill home in Sydney's northwest early on Sunday morning.

On the footpath outside, police found a 30-year-old man with stab wounds to his stomach and hands. He was rushed to Liverpool Hospital but died.

The 47-year-old handed himself in to police shortly after the alleged killings and was charged with two counts of murder.

During the first court mention, Vunitabua's lawyer Elie Srour said he would not apply for release.

"It's the first time he has gone through the system," the lawyer told the court.

Vunitabua requested to appear on screen via audio-visual link to hear the next date of his case, but the magistrate decided it would not be necessary.

Superintendent Jason Joyce on Sunday said the alleged murders appeared to be domestic-related, but police were not sure of the relationships between the victims and their accused killer.

Multiple crime scenes were established, including at the home where the couple were killed, the accused man's Blacktown home and at the hospital.

The case will return to Downing Centre Court on February 26.

1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)

Lifeline 13 11 14

Men's Referral Service 1300 766 491

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