Australia is often seen as a land of opportunity, a beautiful country attracting people from all corners of the globe. But in July 2001, the nation was shocked by a brutal crime that shattered the image of a successful immigrant family.

Three members of the Gonzales family were found ended inside their North Ryde home. Who committed this horrific act, and why?

Teodoro “Teddy” Gonzales was born in Baguio, Philippines, in 1954. Described as diligent and hardworking, he pursued law.

In 1977, he met Mary Loiva Josephine, known for being gentle and intelligent, at the same school. They married, and their son Sef was born in 1980, followed by daughter Clodine three years later.

Teddy and Loiva worked hard in real estate and property development, also owning various stores, determined to provide a better life for their children.

After surviving the devastating 1990 Baguio earthquake, where Teddy heroically saved Sef from the rubble of their collapsed hotel, the family decided to immigrate to Australia.

Teddy requalified as a lawyer in Australia, eventually opening his own successful immigration law firm in New South Wales.

They purchased a home in a subdivision, embodying the immigrant success story.

The Gonzales parents were described as religious and strict, emphasizing education above all else. They provided their children with allowances, clothes, and cars, but expected academic excellence in return.

Relationships were discouraged, and failure to meet academic standards meant privileges would be revoked.

Sef attended Parramatta High School but struggled academically. He loved music and dreamed of being a singer, clashing with his parents who wanted him to become a lawyer or doctor.

After high school, Sef enrolled at the University of New South Wales, seemingly adhering to his parents’ wishes. However, unknown to them, he continued pursuing music with his band, Definite Vibe, while his grades suffered.

After two years, he dropped out and transferred to Macquarie University to study law, finally aligning with his father’s path.

His parents were pleased with his apparent academic improvement and gave him a paralegal position at the law firm, along with a personalized car.

Clodine was doing well academically, described as sporty, talkative, and cheerful. However, she secretly had a boyfriend, Chris, whom her parents disapproved of.

They sent Clodine to live with an aunt in Melbourne to separate them and ensure she focused on her studies. Despite the distance, the relationship continued until Sef intervened.

Sef allegedly threatened Chris, claiming gang affiliations, which frightened Chris into breaking up with Clodine.

Furious, Clodine retaliated by exposing Sef’s secrets to their parents. She revealed he was failing all his subjects and had been forging his grades.

They also discovered Sef had an older girlfriend. Enraged, Teddy and Loiva threatened to take away his car and disinherit him. Sef subsequently broke up with the girlfriend.

On July 10, 2001, Clodine was visiting home from Melbourne during a school break, studying intensely for upcoming exams. Teddy and Loiva left for work early in their separate cars.

Sef attended university, went to his father’s office, met a friend, Sam, for lunch and arcade games, finishing around 11:00 PM.

He dropped Sam home and arrived at his own house between 11:30 and 11:45 PM. Upon entering, he claimed he discovered the bloodied bodies of his parents and sister.

He called 000 (Australia’s emergency number) at 11:48 PM, reporting what he saw. He then ran to a neighbor’s house for help.

Teddy’s body was found near the front door, Loiva’s in the kitchen surrounded by groceries, and Clodine’s in her bedroom.

The neighbor described Sef repeatedly running back to his parents’ bodies, crying their names, until the neighbor pulled him outside, fearing the assailant might still be inside.

Police arrived to a horrific scene. Teddy had suffered multiple deep stab wounds affecting his heart, lungs, and spinal cord.

Loiva also had multiple stab wounds. Clodine’s demise was the most brutal; she had been bludgeoned, strangled, stabbed repeatedly in the abdomen, face, and neck, and her throat was severely cut.

The post-mortem estimated the time of the events began around 4:00 PM, likely starting with Clodine, who was found near her study books.

Loiva left work around 4:50 PM, dropped off a colleague, and went grocery shopping. Teddy left his office at 6:00 PM and tried calling Loiva twice around 7:00 PM, getting no answer. He was likely attacked immediately upon entering the house.

Investigators found racist graffiti spray-painted in the living room. Police questioned Sef, who appeared distraught and requested a rosary.

He claimed he saw two people running from the house as he arrived and chased them unsuccessfully.

When asked about potential enemies, Sef mentioned a road rage incident the day before where someone yelled “bloody Asians.” This, combined with the graffiti, initially led police to consider a hate crime motive.

They also explored robbery, as briefcases and bags were disturbed. However, the phone line inside the house had been cut, preventing Teddy’s calls from connecting.

Cabinets were opened, but nothing of value seemed missing. Loiva’s jewelry was untouched, as was $700 in Teddy’s wallet and $300 in Loiva’s purse. The disarray seemed staged.

The family’s five dogs were found unharmed, locked together in one room. Police concluded the crime scene was staged to mislead them.

They ruled out robbery and determined the timing (spanning potentially from 4:30 PM to 7:00 PM) suggested it wasn’t a random killing; an intruder wouldn’t likely wait hours between victims.

Investigators also noted the shower had been recently used, implying the assailant wasn’t rushed and had time to clean up.

The murder weapons – two kitchen knives and a baseball bat – came from inside the house. There were no signs of forced entry. No fingerprints were found, but a crucial shoe print (UK Size 7) was discovered.

It didn’t match the victims, paramedics, police, or forensics personnel who had entered the scene. Neighbors reported hearing nothing unusual due to a thunderstorm that evening. Police dogs failed to pick up any scent trail outside.

A day later, Sef gave a formal statement. He detailed his day: university, father’s office (leaving at 4 PM), meeting Sam (postponed to 8 PM). He claimed he drove home around 6 PM but didn’t go inside, thinking no one was home.

He allegedly sat in his car until the rain stopped, then drove to visit another friend nearby but couldn’t find the house, driving around until 8 PM. He couldn’t provide this friend’s name, number, or address.

He then met Sam from 8 PM until returning home around 11:30 PM to find the bodies.

Sef held a press conference, pleading for help and offering a $100,000 reward. He gave emotional tributes to his family.

After the tributes, however, he sang an acapella version of Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men’s “One Sweet Day,” a performance that struck many attendees as odd and inappropriate.

Public speculation ran wild: business corruption, gang connections, hate crime, disgruntled immigration clients of Teddy’s. But investigators focused on Sef.

His alibi for the crucial hours between 6 PM and 8 PM was flimsy and uncorroborated. A client of Teddy’s testified seeing Sef’s blue car in the driveway between 4:10 and 4:30 PM – the time Clodine was likely attacked.

Sef’s aunt, Emily Luna (Loiva’s sister), stated she visited the house at 6:00 PM but found it dark and received no answer to knocks or doorbells. She saw no car in the driveway, contradicting Sef’s claim he was sitting in his car there at that time.

First responders noted Sef showed no physical signs of crying. Investigators found his claim of performing CPR on his parents unbelievable given the minimal blood transfer onto his clothes, despite the gruesome scene.

His excuse – that rain washed the blood off as he ran outside, and he wiped his hands on the grass – seemed weak.

Police noticed a blue stain on Sef’s shirt sleeve. Forensic analysis confirmed it matched the blue spray paint used for the racist graffiti inside the house.

In Sef’s room, they found an empty shoe box for UK Size 7 shoes – matching the unidentified print at the scene. The shoes were missing. Sef claimed his father bought them as a gift for a cousin in the Philippines, an explanation police found illogical.

His friend Sam confirmed Sef always kept a baseball bat in his car for self-defense. That bat, like the two kitchen knives used, was missing.

Investigators re-interviewed Sef, asking him to recount the events. They observed his detailed recall but noted a complete lack of emotional distress or sadness. When asked about the bat, he claimed ignorance.

Police interviewed relatives, who consistently described Sef as a pathological liar. He reportedly told friends elaborate falsehoods: being a taekwondo expert, owning a security company, being a world champion kickboxer, a physical therapist, a lawyer, a landowner, a boy band manager, a music producer, and even having survived cancer. Cousins recounted him stealing money.

Sef then claimed he was a victim himself, reporting threatening emails. Computer forensics revealed he had sent the emails to himself.

In September 2001, he claimed he had a brain tumor, asking his aunt managing the family’s Philippine investments for $90,000 for surgery. She contacted the police instead.

A month later, Sef sold his parents’ cars and his mother’s jewelry, netting $88,000. He attempted to buy an expensive car but cancelled, settling for a cheaper one and moving into a new apartment.

Realizing police doubted his alibi, Sef contacted his friend, stating he had a new, foolproof alibi. Police, monitoring his phone, heard this.

When confronted, Sef admitted his first alibi was false. His new story: he was actually at a brothel. He claimed he lied initially to avoid shaming his family, who believed he was a virgin.

His revised timeline: university, father’s office, home at 4 PM, left car, took taxi to brothel, received free service, train station, taxi home, retrieved car, met Sam.

Police confiscated his phone, finding contacts for numerous sex workers and taxi drivers. One driver admitted Sef paid him $50 to lie about driving him home on July 10th. The sex worker Sef named denied working that day.

Sef then reported a break-in at his apartment and more threatening emails. Investigators traced the emails to a computer shop but couldn’t identify the sender due to lack of CCTV. Sef began demanding money from reporters for interviews.

He later claimed he was abducted, having a plastic bag put over his head and being warned to drop the reward offer. Doctors found no evidence of head trauma. Fearing he might harm his grandmother, police arrested Sef on June 13, 2002, charging him with three counts of murder.

He pleaded not guilty and was denied bail. His attempts to access his family’s frozen assets were blocked by the court.

The trial began in April 2004. Prosecutors revealed Sef had planned the annihilation for months. His initial idea was poisoning. Computer forensics showed searches for poisons easily hidden in food conducted before the events.

He had purchased castor oil seeds and another toxic seed. Police found a small bottle containing liquid extracted from one of the seeds, confirmed to be lethal if ingested. Sef denied this.

The prosecution’s final timeline: Sef arrived home between 4:10-4:30 PM, retrieved the bat and knives, attacked and ended Clodine in her room (likely motive: revenge for exposing secrets, ensuring he was sole heir), covered her body, ambushed and ended Loiva around 6 PM, then attacked and ended Teddy around 7 PM upon his arrival.

He then showered, staged the scene (graffiti, ransacked look), disposed of the weapons and paint cans, and met his friend Sam as if nothing happened. The ultimate motive: securing his inheritance after his parents threatened to cut him off.

In May 2004, the jury found Sef Gonzales guilty on all three counts. He was sentenced in September 2004 to three consecutive life sentences without parole. Psychiatrists confirmed he had no mental illness. Sef maintains his innocence, filing unsuccessful appeals in 2018, 2019, and 2021.