Amaal Abdullah Alsehli, 23, left, and Asra Abdullah Alsehli 24. Photo / NSW Police
Amaal Abdullah Alsehli, 23, left, and Asra Abdullah Alsehli 24. Photo / NSW Police
Peculiar details about the lives of two sisters have emerged after they were found dead in their Sydney apartment under very unusual circumstances.
The bodies of 24-year-old Asra Abdullah Alsehli and 23-year-old Amaal Abdullah Alsehli were found at a Canterbury Rd home, near Dibbs St, in the southwest Sydney suburb of Canterbury on June 7, following a concern for welfare report.
So far, the case has left investigators scratching their heads, with the bodies found in separate bedrooms and no signs of injury.
Police also believe the women had been dead for some time prior to being discovered, with the alarm only being raised by their landlord after they failed to pay rent.
Detective Inspector Claudia Allcroft said police are still treating the deaths as "suspicious", as a cause of death is not known and the circumstances are "somewhat unusual".
Police have been able to provide few details about the sisters, other than the fact they arrived in Australia from Saudi Arabia in 2017.
Investigators were unable to say what the pair did for work, though both have registered ABNs (Australian business numbers, for tax purposes) from 2018 to an address in Wetherill Park.
The pair also drove a black BMW, though an attendant at a local service station told the Daily Mail the women seemed to only fill up the car at night, despite one of the sisters often visiting the store multiple times a day.
"One girl would come in to buy iced coffee and sometimes V [energy drink]. Sometimes two or three times a day," she told the publication.
The woman said she never served her sister but would often see them walking up the street together.
She said she was "shocked and confused" after finding out what had happened to them, saying the sister she served was "so friendly" and "never looked sad".
The situation has rocked the sisters' neighbours, despite many telling 7 News the pair mostly kept to themselves so they didn't know them very well.
"The fact they were left there for that long, you know, it is just very, very sad," one neighbour told 7 News.
Another said they "felt a bit scared" knowing such a horrible thing had happened right near their home.
'Something felt off' in past welfare check
The welfare check in June which led police to discover the women's bodies, was not the first time officers had been called to the sisters' home.
Police previously attended the unit in mid-March after a call from the building manager.
"I believe food had been left out in the common areas and he contacted police as he was concerned for their welfare," Allcroft said.
At the time the girls "appeared to be fine" and "no issues" were raised during that visit, with no further action taken by police, Allcroft said.
The sisters were found dead inside a Canterbury apartment last month. Photo / NCA NewsWire/news.com.au
But the Daily Mail reported a source claimed the women were "timid" during the welfare check and at first refused to let police enter the apartment.
The source claimed when they let the officers inside they huddled together in a far corner of the unit while police asked them questions about their wellbeing.
"They were stand-offish and didn't really want to talk," the source claimed.
"Something felt off, but they said they were okay. What more could anyone do?"
Strike Force Woolbird has now been established by Burwood detectives to investigate the circumstances surrounding the women's deaths.
Police are yet to receive the toxicology results or coroner's report, with Allcroft saying the fact their bodies were "there for some time" made matters "problematic".
"Detectives are interested in speaking with anyone who may have seen or who may have information about the women's movements in the days and weeks prior to their deaths – which we believe occurred in early May," Allcroft said.
"Extensive inquiries have been made by Strike Force Woolbird detectives; however, we have been unable to determine the exact circumstances surrounding Asra and Amaal's death."
Allcroft said police still didn't know a lot of information about the sisters, adding they seemed to "keep to themselves".
"The Burwood community is a small and close community, and we hope that someone may be able to assist our investigators – either through sightings, or those who knew the sisters and may have some information on their movements prior to their death," she said.
