Disturbing twist ater Bankstown mum Thi Kim Tran kidnapped and murdered

By CHARLOTTE MCINTYRE FOR DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA

Published: 04:39 BST, 22 April 2025 | Updated: 05:21 BST, 22 April 2025

Police have been investigating threats made to associates of a mother who was kidnapped from her home and murdered in a horrific attack – as it’s revealed her partner was inovled in an organised crime group.

Thi Kim Tran, 45, was taken from her Bankstown home in south-west Sydney and forced to strip naked in her driveway before being taken away at gunpoint in an SUV.

She was subsequently found dead in a burnt-out car in the nearby suburb of Beverly Hills.

Her eight-year-old son is also fighting for his life in hospital after being hit over the head with a baseball bat during the home invasion.  

The horrific attack has rocked Sydney and specialist detectives from across NSW have been investigating the murder after Strike Force Bushfield was launched. 

Investigators are looking into threats made to associates of Ms Tran in the lead-up to her murder.

It is understood Ms Tran does not have any direct links to Sydney’s drug gangs, but one line of inquiry is whether associates of the mother could be connected. 

Police have revealed associates of Ms Tran had been threatened by rival groups, according to The Daily Telegraph.

Thi Kim Tran (pictured) was kidnapped from her Bankstown home on Thursday

Ms Tran was found dead in a burnt-out vehicle in Beverly Hills (pictured)

Investigators have been prioritising finding the source of these threats.

Tributes have flooded in for the mother as loved ones called on the police to ‘quickly return justice’. 

In a post shared on social  media a friend said she had been ‘left with grief’ over what happened to Ms Tran, who moved to Australia from Vietnam more than 10 years ago.

‘If one day your best friend leaves you forever, you will cry,’ she wrote. 

Police were called to a home in Bankstown on Thursday about 10.30pm following reports of a kidnapping. 

The criminals also assaulted her eight-year-old son, who was rushed to hospital and placed in an induced coma. His 15-year-old brother was also present on the night of the attack and taken to hospital for assessment. 

Ms Tran’s body was discovered in the burned shell of a SUV in Beverly Hills, about 6km away from the victim’s home. 

Ms Tran (pictured) has no direct links to organised crime

Police (pictured) are investigating threats made to associates of Ms Tran

The mother’s husband was away on business interstate when the horrific attack took place. It’s understood he has now reunited with their two sons in hospital. It is not suggested that the husband was in any way implicated in the death of Mrs Tran.

NSW Opposition police spokesman Paul Toole hit out at Premier Chris Minns and Police Minister Yasmin Catley over their failure to speak out on the crime. 

‘I can’t believe neither the government, nor the Police Minister, have gone out and spoken on this to ensure the community of Bankstown know they are safe,’ Mr Toole told The Daily Telegraph.

‘Everybody in that area would be living in fear thinking they could be the next victims of these thugs.’

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese branded the crime a ‘horrific event’ when asked about it over Easter weekend. 

On Sunday afternoon, acting Premier Prue Car said ‘the level of violence involved, particularly against children, is confronting and completely unacceptable’.

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Disturbing twist ater Bankstown mum Thi Kim Tran kidnapped and murdered

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