Mother’s heartache after daughter Jayda Cook, 26, found dead on her birthday in Sydney apartment

When Kylie Cook gave birth to a little girl named Jayda 26 years ago, what she never imagined was learning of her daughter’s death on the exact same date — almost to the same minute she was welcomed into the world.

The Mackay mother had been planning to travel from Queensland to Sydney to surprise Jayda for her birthday on October 4 when she realised she hadn’t heard from her daughter in more than a week.

At first, Kylie told herself Jayda was probably busy, but when her calls also went unanswered on her birthday, her “gut feeling” told her something was wrong.

“She would always answer me. It’s so unusual — it’s her birthday, she would answer,” Kylie told 7NEWS.com.au.

Police later carried out a welfare check at Jayda’s unit on Addison Rd in Marrickville, Sydney’s inner west, where they found the 26-year-old’s body inside at about 9.15am.

“It was actually on her birthday, almost to the exact time she was born, when they rang me back and said they’d found a body — and it was Jayda,” Kylie said.

Silence that alarmed her family

Kylie recalled her last phone call with Jayda on September 6, when her daughter was beaming with excitement about becoming an aunt after her brother had a baby.

“She was so happy and so proud and just couldn’t wait to meet her,” Kylie said, adding that Jayda was already making plans to travel to Brisbane to meet her new niece.

Over the next two weeks, Jayda tried to call Kylie twice for her birthday, but their calls missed each other.

Police later told Kylie that Jayda had attended court on September 26 to apply for an AVO.

Kylie also tried reaching out that day, but still got no answer.

Even a friend who planned to visit Jayda on September 28 was met with silence.

According to JMC Academy, where Jayda was studying a Bachelor’s degree in performing arts, she hadn’t attended classes since around September 23.

“(It was) very unexpected,” Kylie said, saying the unusual quiet made her worry.

“She was always in touch. We had our moments — she was defiant and independent — but we always kept in touch.

“The last thing she sent me was a love heart emoji.”

Kylie is convinced her daughter would not have harmed herself.

“She’d always just say to me, ‘Mum, if anything ever happened to me, I didn’t do anything,’” she said.

NSW Police told 7NEWS.com.au that Jayda’s death wasn’t being treated as suspicious, though a crime scene has been established and an investigation into the cause of her death is ongoing.

‘Beautiful, independent, and headstrong’

As the oldest of Kylie’s nine children, Jayda was remembered as “a wild child”.

“She was very beautiful, independent, and headstrong — you’ve never met a headstrong person like her,” Kylie said.

After working as a beauty therapist in Brisbane, Jayda moved to Sydney to pursue her dream of breaking into the music industry and enrolled at JMC Academy.

She loved rapping, making music, and performing.

“She once sent me a message and said, ‘Mum, I’m going to be famous. I’m going to be rich, I’m going to buy you a house,’” Kylie said.

She also remembered her daughter’s kind soul — how she stayed close to her siblings, never forgot their birthdays, and was always friendly with her neighbours.

Though living in Sydney wasn’t always easy, Jayda was determined to stay.

Kylie said her daughter’s love for the city may have been shaped by family memories — particularly of visiting Sydney during holidays before her husband’s sudden death.

“Jayda’s dad passed away when she was eight. We used to come to Sydney for our holidays, and it was just a core memory for her,” Kylie said.

Despite the rest of the family living in Queensland, Jayda chose to make Sydney her home.

She finally secured community housing after what Kylie described as a hard-fought process.

“She was a wild soul, just trying to find her place in the world,” Kylie said.

“We’ve had our struggles, and she just wanted to give better than we had.”

Fighting to bring daughter home

Kylie was never given the chance to say goodbye to her daughter.

She was told that because Jayda hadn’t been found for eight days “it would be too traumatic for me to see her”.

All she received was a small lock of Jayda’s hair and a piece of jewellery her daughter had been wearing.

Entering Jayda’s unit to collect her personal belongings was also difficult.

“I’ve just been told that I’ve got to pay for this letter of administration — whatever it is — to get her belongings,” Kylie said, adding she had been quoted thousands of dollars.

That’s on top of the cost of bringing her daughter home.

“I’m just being a poor mother, I can’t lay her to rest. I don’t have the money for it,” Kylie said, her voice breaking.

“I just want to get my baby home so we can say our goodbyes and get her things.”

A close friend set up a GoFundMe page to “help give Jayda the beautiful memorial she deserves”.

“This tragedy has left her family devastated and unprepared for the costs that come with planning a funeral,” the fundraiser read.

“We’re asking for donations to help give Jayda the beautiful memorial she deserves, and to support Kylie as she faces the unimaginable task of saying goodbye to her first-born daughter.”

Kylie said the outpouring of kindness from family, friends and even strangers on the GoFundMe meant more than she could express in words..

“It’s been very overwhelming to have people behind me,” she said.

“I wouldn’t be able to do it without their help. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.”