Heartbroken friends and neighbours have been left lost for words following the devastating discovery of a mother and her young daughter who were found dead at home in mysterious circumstances.
Jennifer Carrig, 53, and her daughter Ella, 13, were discovered inside their Menzies Road home in Marsfield in Sydney’s north-west just after 10.20am on Thursday following a concern for welfare report.
Their bodies were found in separate bedrooms and had no signs of injury.
The circumstances surrounding their deaths are being investigated by police. They do not believe there were any suspicious circumstances.
The tragedy has sparked an outpouring of tributes to the pair, who had lived at the home for several years.
Ms Carrig has been remembered as the ‘best mumma’ to her family, including to her daughter Ella, who was disabled and needed full-time care.
‘She was the best so caring and thoughtful,’ Ms Carrig’s best friend Samantha Thomas-Barber told the Daily Telegraph.
‘A true treasure and warrior … she was the best mumma to her family.’
Neighbours in the quiet suburban street were ‘absolutely shocked’.
Many said they didn’t hear or see anything out of the ordinary on Thursday morning until they saw the emergency vehicles in their street..
‘I’m devastated,’ one local said.
‘When we saw all the police we didn’t imagine this was the reason.’
Another saw Ms Carrig’s older son sitting out the front ‘shaking … (with) his head in his hands, rocking back and forth. It was horrible’.
Vera Wen said she ‘still shaking’ and had seen Ms Carrig come out every day to put her daughter on the bus.
She described Ms Carrig as ‘a very nice lady, so friendly’.
Another resident described them as a lovely family.
‘There were always people coming and going from the house,’ she told the Sydney Morning Herald.
‘It’s so sad to think that two of them died.’
A family friend told Daily Mail on Thursday that Jennifer took him into her home when he was homeless.
He said he rushed to the home as soon as learning about the pair’s deaths.
‘I can’t believe this has happened,’ the friend said.
‘Jen has lived here her whole life and that home was supposed to go to her children.
‘The fact that Ella has died is just messed (up).
‘I moved out of the house about four months ago and haven’t been back since.
‘When I got the call while I was at a motorbike driving test, I jumped in an Uber and came straight here.’
He said Ella lived with a disability and the mother had just recently completed renovations on her home.
A third neighbour said Jennifer used to babysit him and he knew her his whole life.
‘It’s sad,’ he said.
Daily Mail can reveal that Ms Carrig had an apprehended violence order taken out on her behalf earlier this year.
It is currently before the courts.
It is not suggested that those subject to the AVO proceedings played any role in the deaths.
The circumstances surrounding their deaths are being investigated by police.
Despite establishing a crime scene around the house police said they do not believe there were any suspicious circumstances at this time.
‘There was no bullet or stab wounds to the victims. Until a post mortem investigation is conducted we won’t know more,’ a spokesman told Daily Mail on Thursday night.
Anyone with information that may help police in their investigations are urged to contact their local station of Crime Stoppers.
Crisis support is available from Lifeline on 13 11 14 and Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636.