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Father May Have Thrown Daughter Into River in Suspected Murder-Suicide
🇳🇴 Norway /Crime & Justice

Father May Have Thrown Daughter Into River in Suspected Murder-Suicide

From Aftenposten · () Norwegian

Translated from Norwegian, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Under investigation
  • Police are investigating a suspected murder-suicide after a father and his six-year-old daughter were found dead in Sydney's Parramatta River.
  • A suicide note was discovered, leading authorities to believe the father intentionally drowned his daughter before taking his own life.
  • Investigators are working to understand the circumstances, noting the absence of lifejackets on the boat used in the incident.

A horrific incident in Sydney's inner west is being investigated as a suspected murder-suicide after the bodies of a father and his young daughter were recovered from the Parramatta River. Police discovered a suicide note, which has led them to believe the 47-year-old father deliberately threw his six-year-old daughter into the water before he died.

We have uncovered a suicide note and some other evidence drawing us to this conclusion.

— Supt Joe McNultySpeaking to 2GB radio about the police's initial conclusions.

Officers were alerted on Saturday morning when a man's body was seen floating in Hen and Chicken Bay. A public boat was used to retrieve him, but he could not be revived. A subsequent search for the girl, prompted by reports she may have been with him, lasted several hours before her body was also found. CCTV footage from a nearby home aided divers in locating her.

We really need to make sense of this, because it is a complex investigation.

— Supt Joe McNultyDescribing the challenges faced by investigators.

Authorities are facing a complex investigation as the man had no prior history of domestic violence and was not known to police. "We really need to make sense of this, because it is a complex investigation," said NSW police marine area commander Supt Joe McNulty. He added that officers were immediately suspicious due to the presence of lifejackets on the boat, which were unused. The girl's mother has been notified and is being supported by police.

It just didn’t stack up.

— Supt Joe McNultyReferring to the suspicious circumstances, including the unused lifejackets.

"At this stage it's horrible, but we're wrapping so much care around the victim and the mother that's been left behind," McNulty told 2GB radio. The girl was the couple's only child. A friend of the man had contacted police expressing welfare concerns for the father and daughter shortly after the man's body was found.

At this stage it's horrible, but we're wrapping so much care around the victim and the mother that's been left behind.

— Supt Joe McNultyAddressing the support being provided to the grieving mother.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Aftenposten in Norwegian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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