‘Senseless’: Tragic details emerge after apparent murder-suicide on Parramatta River
Police have made a devastating discovery after the bodies of a man and his six-year-old daughter were found in the water on Saturday.
A Sydney father accused of murdering his six-year-old daughter at the Parramatta River on Saturday before ending his own life hired the rental boat several times before the tragedy.
Officers received a triple-0 call from a passer-by who saw the man floating face down in the water.
The 47-year-old man was found floating in Hen and Chicken Bay at Concord in Sydney’s inner west shortly before 11.45am on Saturday.
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Before his body was found, the man was seen in the rental boat with his six-year-old daughter.
The little girl could not be found after the man’s body was discovered, sparking a major search by police.
Shortly after 5.30pm on Saturday, about seven hours after the alarm was raised, police located the body of the little girl on the waterbed.
Speaking to 2GB’s Ben Fordham, NSW Police Superintendent Joseph McNulty said police suspected the incident to be a murder-suicide.
He revealed officers uncovered a suicide note from the scene.
“There’s a lot of facts to go through,” he said.
“It is a complex investigation just to work out the reasons why.”
He said the incident was “horrific” and police were working through “a lot more to prepare a report for the coroner”.
“We have looked at the evidence at this person’s home address, uncovered a lot of data that will be sifted through,” he said.
“We’re trying to make sense of this senseless crime.”
A marine industry source told The Daily Telegraph the father hired a runabout from the Cabarita Point Marina three times in the week leading up to the deaths.
“He turned up early June with a woman and a child and at least one other time by himself,” they said.
About 45 minutes after the first triple-0 call on Saturday, a worried friend made a call to emergency services with “concerns for the child’s welfare and the man’s welfare”.
The friend told the Telegraph the man had previously said he was suicidal.
Police said the father sent messages to friends indicating he would kill his daughter before taking his own life.
NSW Police Superintendent Christine McDonald said the incident was an “absolute tragedy for the family and the community on every level”.
While the bodies of the two people are yet to be formally identified, the child’s mother has been notified and is assisting police with their investigation.
She has not been accused of any wrongdoing.
“Officers are providing support to the child’s mother as inquiries continue,” she said.
Superintendent McDonald said police would investigate whether the incident was domestic violence-related.
“In terms of whether this was an accident or this was intentional, that will form part of our inquiries,” she said.
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Originally published as ‘Senseless’: Tragic details emerge after apparent murder-suicide on Parramatta River
