The bodies of two sisters discovered decomposing in a Sydney unit could have been there for up to a month before they were discovered, according to police, who confess they have no idea how they died.
After emergency personnel arrived at approximately 9.30 a.m. on Tuesday, the women, believed to be foreign nationals aged 23 and 24, were discovered dead in an apartment on Canton Street in Canterbury, Sydney’s west.
The building management sent police to the residence to conduct a welfare check after the couple failed to pay rent for several weeks.
The remains of the two girls were discovered in different bedrooms, according to authorities.
The length of time the women’s remains were inside their unit is still being investigated, and there were ‘no visible evidence of injury,’ according to detectives.
While the inquiry was still in its early stages, NSW Police Detective Inspector Claudia Allcroft said the deaths of the sisters appeared to be suspicious.
‘At this time, there are no evident symptoms of injury.’ ‘However, after a post-mortem examination is conducted tomorrow, we will know more,’ she said.
On Wednesday afternoon, a black BMW coupe belonging to one of the women was pulled from the apartment block’s garage, covered in dust. It didn’t seem to have been utilized recently.
The bodies had been there ‘for some time,’ according to Detective Inspector Allcroft, although police couldn’t say how long.
The women’s identities have yet to be revealed.
‘When we go to any deceased folks, let alone two sisters who are deceased, it’s a really awful scene,’ Detective Inspector Allcroft said. ‘Unfortunately, at this moment, we don’t know why.’
At the flat, there were no traces of forced entry. On Wednesday, police and detectives went to the scene to check the unit for clues.
Residents were informed of the awful news as they walked out of the building for work or to send their children to school on Wednesday morning.
‘They’re not telling us much,’ neighbors claimed, adding that they first learned of the fatalities on the evening news.
When Mohamed Saeed, a night shift worker who lives on the first floor, learnt of the two bodies discovered on the same level, he was taken aback.
He told the Daily Mail Australia, ‘I am just so heartbroken for them.’
Kim Bui, a mother of two, said she was concerned for her daughter’s safety when she noticed police in her building.
‘All I want to do is keep my girls safe,’ she explained. ‘I’m trembling, afraid, and worried. I’m only trying to keep my children safe.’
Ms Bui stated that she was unaware of the women who had perished.
‘It’s kind of unsettling to realize this is what’s happening in your own neighborhood, we hear sirens go up and down all the time… and then to be so near to home, it’s quite scary,’ another neighbor told Sunrise.
As authorities investigate all possibilities, a post mortem will be performed to discover how the women died.
Burwood Police Station or Crime Stoppers are urging anyone with information that could help detectives to contact them.