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Attempted murder charges against wife of celebrated chef after house fire
Attempted murder charges against wife of celebrated chef after house fire

The Advertiser

time4 days ago

  • The Advertiser

Attempted murder charges against wife of celebrated chef after house fire

A woman accused of trying to murder two children in a house fire has been identified as the wife of an Australian-based, internationally acclaimed chef. Hyun Ju Ahn, 37, was arrested on July 17 and charged with two counts of attempted murder after a fire at the family's Chadstone home in Melbourne's southeast on the night of May 21. She is married to Jae Bang, the head chef and owner of the celebrated Freyja restaurant on Collins Street in Melbourne's CBD. The couple and their two children, aged eight and ten, have lived in Melbourne for three years. Emergency services were called to a two-storey home on Terrigal Street in Chadstone at 9.40pm on May 21. A woman and two girls were rescued from the fire and taken to the hospital in a critical condition, police said. Detectives from the Arson and Explosives Squad investigated the fire and charged the 37-year-old woman with attempted murder after a two-month probe. Her case remains before Melbourne Magistrates' Court. A fundraiser, started almost a week before the charges were laid, had raised more than $20,000 to support the family. The GoFundMe page, organised by fellow chefs, said that Mr Bang was away from Melbourne on May 21. It said that the family was "unconscious when the firefighters rescued them". "The family is recovering, but they have no home, no other family in the area, and have many expenses to cover from the fire rescue and hospital stays," it said. The family has moved around the world as opportunities to work abroad arose. Mr Bang worked his way through some of the most respected kitchens in the US, Europe and Asia before moving to Australia in 2022 to open the Nordic-inspired restaurant. He told this masthead in April that, with such a busy schedule at the restaurant, the family relished their time together on the weekend. He said they loved sharing a meal at their favourite Chinese restaurant, Tung Wo, when they had time. A woman accused of trying to murder two children in a house fire has been identified as the wife of an Australian-based, internationally acclaimed chef. Hyun Ju Ahn, 37, was arrested on July 17 and charged with two counts of attempted murder after a fire at the family's Chadstone home in Melbourne's southeast on the night of May 21. She is married to Jae Bang, the head chef and owner of the celebrated Freyja restaurant on Collins Street in Melbourne's CBD. The couple and their two children, aged eight and ten, have lived in Melbourne for three years. Emergency services were called to a two-storey home on Terrigal Street in Chadstone at 9.40pm on May 21. A woman and two girls were rescued from the fire and taken to the hospital in a critical condition, police said. Detectives from the Arson and Explosives Squad investigated the fire and charged the 37-year-old woman with attempted murder after a two-month probe. Her case remains before Melbourne Magistrates' Court. A fundraiser, started almost a week before the charges were laid, had raised more than $20,000 to support the family. The GoFundMe page, organised by fellow chefs, said that Mr Bang was away from Melbourne on May 21. It said that the family was "unconscious when the firefighters rescued them". "The family is recovering, but they have no home, no other family in the area, and have many expenses to cover from the fire rescue and hospital stays," it said. The family has moved around the world as opportunities to work abroad arose. Mr Bang worked his way through some of the most respected kitchens in the US, Europe and Asia before moving to Australia in 2022 to open the Nordic-inspired restaurant. He told this masthead in April that, with such a busy schedule at the restaurant, the family relished their time together on the weekend. He said they loved sharing a meal at their favourite Chinese restaurant, Tung Wo, when they had time. A woman accused of trying to murder two children in a house fire has been identified as the wife of an Australian-based, internationally acclaimed chef. Hyun Ju Ahn, 37, was arrested on July 17 and charged with two counts of attempted murder after a fire at the family's Chadstone home in Melbourne's southeast on the night of May 21. She is married to Jae Bang, the head chef and owner of the celebrated Freyja restaurant on Collins Street in Melbourne's CBD. The couple and their two children, aged eight and ten, have lived in Melbourne for three years. Emergency services were called to a two-storey home on Terrigal Street in Chadstone at 9.40pm on May 21. A woman and two girls were rescued from the fire and taken to the hospital in a critical condition, police said. Detectives from the Arson and Explosives Squad investigated the fire and charged the 37-year-old woman with attempted murder after a two-month probe. Her case remains before Melbourne Magistrates' Court. A fundraiser, started almost a week before the charges were laid, had raised more than $20,000 to support the family. The GoFundMe page, organised by fellow chefs, said that Mr Bang was away from Melbourne on May 21. It said that the family was "unconscious when the firefighters rescued them". "The family is recovering, but they have no home, no other family in the area, and have many expenses to cover from the fire rescue and hospital stays," it said. The family has moved around the world as opportunities to work abroad arose. Mr Bang worked his way through some of the most respected kitchens in the US, Europe and Asia before moving to Australia in 2022 to open the Nordic-inspired restaurant. He told this masthead in April that, with such a busy schedule at the restaurant, the family relished their time together on the weekend. He said they loved sharing a meal at their favourite Chinese restaurant, Tung Wo, when they had time. A woman accused of trying to murder two children in a house fire has been identified as the wife of an Australian-based, internationally acclaimed chef. Hyun Ju Ahn, 37, was arrested on July 17 and charged with two counts of attempted murder after a fire at the family's Chadstone home in Melbourne's southeast on the night of May 21. She is married to Jae Bang, the head chef and owner of the celebrated Freyja restaurant on Collins Street in Melbourne's CBD. The couple and their two children, aged eight and ten, have lived in Melbourne for three years. Emergency services were called to a two-storey home on Terrigal Street in Chadstone at 9.40pm on May 21. A woman and two girls were rescued from the fire and taken to the hospital in a critical condition, police said. Detectives from the Arson and Explosives Squad investigated the fire and charged the 37-year-old woman with attempted murder after a two-month probe. Her case remains before Melbourne Magistrates' Court. A fundraiser, started almost a week before the charges were laid, had raised more than $20,000 to support the family. The GoFundMe page, organised by fellow chefs, said that Mr Bang was away from Melbourne on May 21. It said that the family was "unconscious when the firefighters rescued them". "The family is recovering, but they have no home, no other family in the area, and have many expenses to cover from the fire rescue and hospital stays," it said. The family has moved around the world as opportunities to work abroad arose. Mr Bang worked his way through some of the most respected kitchens in the US, Europe and Asia before moving to Australia in 2022 to open the Nordic-inspired restaurant. He told this masthead in April that, with such a busy schedule at the restaurant, the family relished their time together on the weekend. He said they loved sharing a meal at their favourite Chinese restaurant, Tung Wo, when they had time.

'They have no home, no other family': Wife of top Melbourne chef revealed as mother accused of attempted murder of kids in Chadstone house fire
'They have no home, no other family': Wife of top Melbourne chef revealed as mother accused of attempted murder of kids in Chadstone house fire

Sky News AU

time4 days ago

  • Sky News AU

'They have no home, no other family': Wife of top Melbourne chef revealed as mother accused of attempted murder of kids in Chadstone house fire

The wife of a top Melbourne chef has been revealed to be the mother accused of deliberately setting their home alight while two young girls were sleeping inside. Hyun Ju Ahn, 37, has been charged with two counts of attempted murder after a horror blaze engulfed a two-storey property on Terrigal Street in Chadstone on the morning of May 21, the Herald Sun reports. It has now been revealed she is the wife of Jae Bang, the executive chef at top Melbourne restaurant Freyja. The woman along with two girls, aged seven and eight at the time of the incident, were conveyed to hospital in a critical condition after firefighters forced entry into the home and found them unconscious on the first floor. Mr Bang was out of town when the incident unfolded with the Arson and Explosives Squad determining a gas cylinder had exploded inside the home which set it alight. "We believe [the fire] was from a gas cylinder … how that's come to explode is a matter for the investigation proper to unpack," Detective Inspector Chris Murray said. "Such an incident, where we have [an] explosion and fire, can be absolutely devastating." Following investigations, Ms Ahn was charged last week with two counts of attempt to commit murder and two counts of damage property by fire to endanger life. A GoFundMe has been set up to help the family cover ''many expenses'' with their home now lost to the tragic fire. "Chef Jae Bang (Freyja, Melbourne) lost his home to a fire while he was away. His wife and two daughters were sleeping when it happened, and they were unconscious when the firefighters rescued them," a post on GoFundMe reads. "They were seriously injured and have had extensive stays in the hospital. "The family is recovering, but they have no home, no other family in the area, and have many expenses to cover from the fire rescue and hospital stays." The fundraiser has collated more than $20,000 so far. Ms Ahn is currently recovering in hospital with burns to her hands, while the two girls were initially taken to hospital in a critical condition. Her husband, Mr Bang who is well known in the industry made his start in Seoul as a teenage dishy and trailblazed across the globe from San Sebastián to New York City to Stavanger – and now Melbourne. Previously Mr Bang said raising children while working in a restaurant is "a never-ending challenge, and it's not easy to manage". "Running a restaurant demands a significant amount of time, so my days off are crucial for dedicating my attention solely to my kids," he said. 'We prioritise spending quality time with each other. We do a lot of activities that I'm passionate about, such as camping in the wilderness, foraging in the mountains during peak season, skiing, rock climbing and, more recently, free diving.' A neighbour told the Herald Sun she remembered the family as being happy but largely keeping to themselves. Ms Ahn faced Melbourne Magistrates' Court last Friday.

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