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Australia

NSW Police believe Saudi sisters Asra and Amaal Abdullah Alsehli died in suicide pact after interim toxicology reports

Amaal Abdullah Alsehli, 23, and her sister Asra Abdullah Alsehli, 24, were found dead inside their Canterbury unit block more than two months ago on June 7. Picture: NSW Police

New South Wales Police believe the two Saudi sisters found rotting in their south-western Sydney apartment had died in a suspected suicide pact.

The bodies of Asra Abdallah Alsehli, 24, and her sister Amaal, 23, were found in separate bedrooms inside a Canterbury unit on June 7 after a concern for welfare report.

The grim discovery was made by officers from the Sheriff’s Department after the women failed to pay their rent and owed more than $5,000 to their landlord, NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal records showed.

Police had been baffled for several weeks about how the women died, who were found fully clothed, badly decomposed and no signs of forced entry into the unit.

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But the mystery appears to have been solved with interim toxicology reports showing traces of substances, which were found next to their bodies, detected in their systems, The Daily Telegraph reports.

“There’s no indication of anyone else being in the unit … no forced entry. It really does appear to be a tragic suicide,” a senior police source told the publication.

Further testing is being conducted by specialist pathology labs before an exact cause of death for the sisters can be determined.

It’s believed the bodies were laying in the Canterbury Rd unit for at least six weeks before the remains were discovered.

It was also reported a bottle of bleach, non-perishable foot items and clothing were some of the items found in the bedrooms.

The sisters, who arrived to Australia from Saudi Arabia as teenagers in 2017, largely kept to themselves and were “afraid of something” one friend claimed.

NSW Police released the images of the two women in a press conference last week as they launched a community appeal for anyone who had any information.

But despite the media coverage on the case, officers still know little about the sisters.

The outstanding rent is expected to be paid to the landlord through a black BMW, believed to be owned by the sisters, which was seized when the bodies were found.

Their family in Saudi Arabia have made no plans to fly the bodies home and have not arranged a burial in Australia.

The NSW Coroner can organize a state-funded burial if there were no substantial funds in the deceased person’s bank accounts.

The Canterbury apartment was listed for rent for $520 this week with a disturbing claimer included at the bottom of the advertisement.

“Disclaimer: This property has found two deceased persons on 06/07/2022, crime scene has been established and it is still under police investigation,” the description wrote.

“According to the police, this is not a random crime and will not be a potential risk for the community.”

Lifeline 13 11 14.

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Categories
Australia

Sydney news: Saudi sisters’ Canterbury apartment for rent, with prospective tenants told of deaths

Two women looking at the camera

Here’s what you need to know this morning.

Saudi sisters’ apartment for rent

The Sydney apartment where two Saudi sisters were mysteriously found dead has gone back on the rental market, with a disclaimer from the real estate agent.

In June, Asra Abdullah Alsehli, 24, and Amaal Abdullah Alsehli, 23, were found dead in separate beds in their Canterbury apartment during a welfare check.

Police said there were no obvious signs of injury or forced entry and called the deaths “unusual.” Neither homicide nor suicide has been ruled out.

The Canterbury Road apartment has now been listed for rent again but prospective tenants have been notified of the recent deaths.

“A crime scene has been established and it is still under police investigation,” the listing reads.

“According to the police, this is not a random crime and will not be a potential risk for the community.”

John Barilaro inquiry

The parliamentary inquiry into former deputy premier John Barilaro’s controversial trade job appointment will summarize public hearings this morning.

Investment NSW CEO Amy Brown, who oversaw the recruitment process for the US-based role, will front the inquiry for a second time.

She first gave evidence five weeks ago but a lot of new information has come to light since then.

The opposition says it plans to question her about her discussions with Trade Minister Stuart Ayres and why she decided the original preferred candidate, Jenny West, was unsuitable.

Labor has previously called for Ms Brown to be stood down.

Goulburn firefighter wins gold

Ellen Ryan has won Australia’s first-ever gold medal in the women’s lawn bowls singles.(Supplied: Bowls Australia)

NSW firefighter Ellen Ryan has made Commonwealth Games history, claiming gold with a two-shot victory in lawn bowls.

The Goulburn brigade member became the first Australian in her sport to win a gold medal in Britain and the first to claim the women’s singles crown.

The 25-year-old got her first taste of the sport in 2008 and made her senior debut for Australia in 2017, narrowly missing out on a spot in the Commonwealth Games team a year later.

Five years on, she’s living out that dream of wearing the green and gold on the world stage.

Rooty Hill station assault

Blacktown’s mayor has publicly condemned violence after three teenage boys allegedly assaulted an off-duty police officer and Blacktown City councilor on Monday.

The teenaged trio were allegedly involved in an assault at Rooty Hill train station, which ended in a 60-year-old chief inspector allegedly being struck multiple times to the head with a bike seat pole.

Mayor Tony Bleasdale said the alleged attack was absolutely despicable and also involved one of the most respected members of the Blacktown City community, Councilor Bob Fitzgerald.

Three teenagers have been charged and police are urging witnesses to come forward.

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Categories
Business

Australian house prices fall at ‘fastest rate’ since 2008 financial crisis

Four photos of properties are placed in a grid, with a red silhouette of a house saying 'SOLD' and a key.

House prices in Australia are dropping at their fastest pace since the global financial crisis — and market conditions are “likely to worsen” as interest rates continue to rise, according to property analytics firm CoreLogic.

The latest data shows that the nation’s median property value has dropped by 2 per cent since the beginning of May, to $747,182 (a figure which includes houses and apartments).

“Although the housing market is only three months into a decline … the rate of decline is comparable with the onset of the global financial crisis (GFC) in 2008, and the sharp downswing of the early 1980s,” said CoreLogic’s research director Tim Lawless.

But he noted that, on average, prices had jumped 28.6 per cent from mid-2020 (the low point of the housing market during the COVID-19 pandemic) to April 2022 (when national prices hit their peak).

Regional Australia had an even bigger surge, with prices up 41.1 per cent in two years — as smaller towns outside the capital cities experienced a huge influx of city-dwellers seeking better lifestyles (as working remotely became the new normal).

“In Sydney, where the downturn has been particularly accelerated, we are seeing the sharpest value falls in almost 40 years.”

A table showing that Australia's median property price dropped 1.3 per cent in July 2022 to $747,812.
Property prices in Sydney, Melbourne and Hobart fell sharply in July.(CoreLogic)

The median price in Australia’s most expensive city fell by 2.2 per cent in July (taking its quarterly loss to 4.7 per cent). Despite that, an average house in Sydney still costs around $1.35 million, while an average unit may fetch about $806,000.

Melbourne and Hobart also recorded steep falls, with prices in both cities down 1.5 per cent last month, while Canberra prices dropped 1.1 per cent.

Prices in Brisbane and regional Australia fell 0.8 per cent (their first monthly decline since August 2020).

At the other end of the spectrum, Darwin, Adelaide and Perth were the only capitals where prices actually went up in July (by between 0.2 and 0.4 per cent). However, it has been a sharp slowdown since May, when the Reserve Bank began to aggressively lift the cash rate from its record low levels.

short and sharp

“I think this downturn will be similar to the global financial crisis in that it will be quite short and sharp,” Mr Lawless told ABC News.

Australia’s median property price fell by around 8.5 per cent over an 11-month period during the GFC, according to CoreLogic.

Line graph showing Adelaide property prices jumped 3.6 per cent in the past three months, while Sydney prices fell 4.7 per cent.
Adelaide property prices jumped 3.6pc in the past three months.(CoreLogic)

Mr Lawless said the property downturn is “accelerating”, and that he would not be surprised if “the current decline gets worse than what we saw during the GFC”.

He noted the main difference is that governments and central banks are currently determined to withdraw trillions of dollars worth of stimulus, in a desperate bid to lower inflation (instead of pumping it into the global economy, liked they did after the 2008 crisis).

Many analysts are predicting Australian property prices, on average, will fall between 10 and 20 per cent (from peak to trough) — with the two most expensive cities Sydney and Melbourne likely to suffer the biggest declines.

But even if the worse case scenario eventuates, it will not drastically improve housing affordability.

“If we saw say, a 15 per cent drop in national housing values, it would take prices back to where they were in about April 2021.”

How quickly (and by how much) prices fall will depend on how aggressively the RBA decides to lift its cash rate target in the next few months.

Graph showing that house rents have risen sharply in every capital city, with Brisbane jumping 13.6 per cent in the past year.
Brisbane and Adelaide tenants are experiencing the sharpest rent increases.(CoreLogic)

Since May, the RBA has lifted its cash rate target from 0.1 to 1.35 per cent.

If the central bank delivers another double-sized rate hike on Tuesday (0.5 percentage points), as widely expected, that would bring the new cash rate up to 1.85 per cent.

Buyers’ market and surging rents

“The market has moved to being very much more in favor of buyers over sellers now, especially in markets like Sydney and Melbourne,” Mr Lawless said.

“Buyers are getting back in the driver’s seat. They have more choice, and there’s less urgency.

“But for sellers, it means they need to be much more realistic about their pricing expectations, and they should expect there’s going to be more negotiation.”

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