Friends and colleagues of the 24-year-old woman killed in a Clarence Street apartment in Sydney's CBD on Tuesday say her death has been "overshadowed" by the events surrounding it.

Key points: Michaela Dunn was pronounced dead at the scene in a Clarence Street unit

Michaela Dunn was pronounced dead at the scene in a Clarence Street unit A fellow sex worker said there was too much focus on men who confronted Ms Dunn's alleged killer, rather than on her

A fellow sex worker said there was too much focus on men who confronted Ms Dunn's alleged killer, rather than on her Mert Ney, her accused killer, is still under police guard at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital

Michaela Dunn, called Mikki by her friends, was a "true delight" and a "bright young woman" who spent her last few months travelling the world, her close friends and family say.

Twenty-year-old Mert Ney is accused of killing her with a kitchen knife before fleeing onto the street and stabbing another woman, 41-year-old Linda Bo — who has now been released from hospital — as she was walking towards Darling Harbour.

Mr Ney is yet to be charged and this morning is under police guard at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital.

Michaela Dunn from Sydney's inner west was found just after 3:00pm on Tuesday. ( NSW Police )

It is understood police are waiting for Mr Ney to be fully recovered from any injuries before pressing charges.

Several men armed with chairs, a milk crate and a crowbar chased the knife-wielding man as he ran up Clarence Street and jumped on the bonnet and roof of a car.

Social media has been full of praise for the men, and Police Commissioner Mick Fuller said they were "the highest order of heroes".

But Rose Harper, a sex worker who travels Australia for her clients, said there had been too much focus on the men, and not enough on Ms Dunn.

"In a few articles I've read [her death has] been tacked on like a footnote almost … they don't even necessarily use the word 'woman'; they just use her job title," Ms Harper said.

"It's quite abrupt and it reminds the whole sex-worker community that it might be all we're known as some day."

Sex worker Rose Harper said the woman's death has been treated as a 'footnote'. ( Supplied: Rose Harper )

Ms Harper said Ms Dunn had also been the target of victim blaming.

"If a cashier got held up at gunpoint, people wouldn't blame them, they'd be sympathetic," she said.

Ms Dunn's family has been notified and, although police said they "appreciated the public support", they have requested privacy.

Police said initial inquiries indicated Mr Ney had allegedly gone to the unit for an appointment about 1:30pm and was captured on CCTV leaving the building about 1:50pm.

He also spent a short amount of time in Town Hall House prior to the incident, and rode in one of the building's lifts with three City of Sydney staff.

The ABC has been told that Ms Dunn, a sex worker, had been using an apartment along with another female sex worker, to earn a living.

She was found dead in the apartment with fatal cuts to her neck around 3:00pm on Tuesday.

Michaela Dunn's friends have paid tribute to her on social media. ( Instagram )

Police believe Mr Ney had visited Ms Dunn for sexual services.

"When sex workers experience violence or sexual assault, there's still a widely spread view that by being a sex worker we've somehow offered ourselves up to be the punching bag of men who are sexually or physically violent," Ms Harper said.

"If something unfortunate does happen to us … I wouldn't be 'Rose', I would just be 'that sex worker'."

'It could have been any of us'

The Australian Sex Workers Association said the sex-worker community was "devastated by the series of random and senseless acts of violence".

The association released a statement saying all victims involved in this incident were valued members of their families and communities, "none of whom should be portrayed solely in sensationalist terms, due to their having possibly been killed during the commission of their work".

Michaela Dunn had recently posted photos from her holidays. ( Instagram: Michaela Dunn )

The attack has hit sex workers hard, with many women telling the ABC they often fear for their safety.

"It's someone from our community and it does cut pretty deep," Ms Harper said.

"It could have been any of us … It's in the back of our minds."

Ms Harper said the threat of violence was something many sex workers and escorts had to contend with.

"It is a struggle to know that we could get up and go to work and just try and put food on the table and then have our lives cut short by something like this."

Friends pay tribute to 'incredible' Mikki

Ms Dunn's friends took to social media to call out violence against women and pay tribute to her.

"I am angry that male violence has taken another victim," Joan Westenberg wrote.

"Selfishly I am so angry that the victim is a young woman I deeply respected and cared about. Mikki was a true delight to know. The violence in this country cannot continue. It cannot."

Ms Westenberg said she'd known Ms Dunn "since she was just a kid in high school at 14".

"Mikki was like my baby sister. I cannot describe how sad and how broken I am at this moment. I loved this kid. She was incredible," she wrote.

"Sex work is work, she was working.

"Her job does not make her a lurid story. She was a person and she is now gone. And she is gone because male violence has taken her from us."

Other friends rued a life taken too soon.

"Such sad and shocking news," Giovanna Baggala wrote on Facebook.

Michaela Dunn was active on social media, including Instagram. ( Instagram )

"Can't believe it, no one deserves what happened to her.

"She was such a lovely person and has been taken way too young, way too soon. May you Rest In Peace Michaela."

Ms Dunn's Instagram account shows she had recently travelled to Sri Lanka and the USA on a months-long trip with friends.

Videos showed her celebrating New Year's Eve in Sri Lanka, before attending the popular music festival Coachella in April.