A man charged with murdering his wife at their home in Sydney's south west allegedly said "I killed her" in front of police and witnesses on Easter Sunday, a court has heard.
Altaf Hossain, 49, was wearing a white hospital gown and both hands were bandaged when he faced Parramatta Bail court via video link from Amber Laurel Correctional Centre today.
The cafe worker is accused of stabbing his 33-year-old wife, Syeda Hossain, to death in the garage of their Minto property early yesterday morning.
A family friend found her body and called police, who found the couple's two children — aged seven and nine — unharmed and asleep in their bedrooms.
They are now in the care of protective services.
In arguing for his release, Mr Hossain's lawyer said his client had strong community ties, no previous criminal history and wanted to care for his two children.
He was asked to raise his bandaged hands during the bail hearing, with his lawyer telling the court he told police at the time that "she did this to me".
The court heard Mr Hossain confessed to killing his wife in front of police and witnesses, but said he was acting in self-defence.
Outside court, family friends and neighbours described their shock at the alleged murder and said the Hossains seemed happy.
"We never heard yelling or anything like that, they both seemed happy, but we know that maybe they had a few problems," Khadija Huda told the ABC.
"Syeda Hussein was a good mum — this is so sad and heartbreaking."
Family friend Zahir Bhuiyan said he was worried about what might happen to their children.
"I just hope they can remain with their family," he said.
"They are such beautiful children.
"They don't deserve this."
Mrs Hossain supported the family by cooking traditional Bangladeshi sweets and selling them to shops in Minto.
Mr Hossain had been receiving workers compensation after he hurt his back while working at Sydney TAFE cafe.
He will remain behind bars until his next court appearance at the end of this month.
