The first photos have been released of the two Saudi sisters who were found dead in ‘suspicious’ circumstances in southwestern Sydney – as police beg for help in solving the mystery.
The sisters, whose bodies were found in Canterbury on June 7 after being there for “some time,” have been identified as siblings Asra Abdullah Alsehli, 24, and Amaal Abdullah Alsehli, 23.
Detective Claudia Allcroft said on Wednesday, “Detectives are interested in talking to anyone who has seen the women’s movements or has information about the women’s movements in the days and weeks leading up to their deaths, which we believe took place in early May.”
Pictured: Amaal Abdullah Alsehli, 23. Her body was found in an apartment in Canterbury on June 7
Pictured: Asra Abdullah Alsehli, 24. She and her sister were found dead under ‘suspicious’ circumstances in southwestern Sydney
EARLIER
Two sisters found dead in an apartment in southwestern Sydney under ‘suspicious’ circumstances fled Saudi Arabia as teenagers to seek safety in Australia.
The women, aged 23 and 24, were discovered on June 7 in separate beds of their unit on the first floor in Canterbury by officers conducting a welfare check after the couple had gone four weeks without rent and the mail started on their doorstep. to pile up.
Police said the sisters’ bodies had been there for “some time” and showed “no obvious signs of injury.”
While there were no signs of a break-in, detectives are still treating their deaths as suspicious while the Homicide Division investigates the case.
Daily Mail Australia understands that the siblings fled Saudi Arabia without their family in 2017 when they were 18 and 19, and NSW police are now struggling to locate their relatives.
The bodies of two women, believed to be sisters in their early 20s, were found last week in a Canterbury apartment block (pictured) after weeks of no rent and mail piled up.
The women had been working for five years with a refugee service that helps foreigners escape persecution and apply for asylum.
On Friday, police were still waiting for some autopsy results and have yet to locate and contact the families of the women in the Middle East to formally identify the bodies.
The sisters had no regular contact with their relatives at home, sources told the Daily Mail Australia.
Daily Mail Australia can also reveal that the older sister entered into an AVO against a 28-year-old man in January 2019.
The AVO was later withdrawn and rejected.
In another lawsuit, the owner of their Canterbury unit filed a civil suit against the 23-year-old on May 13 this year.
Landlords can sue tenants through civil court for rent arrears before taking further action to have them evicted from the property.
That action was taken four weeks after sheriff’s officers went to the apartment to serve the women with an eviction notice — along with the police — and the horrifying discovery was made.
It’s unclear what attempts were made by real estate company Property Investors Alliance (PIA), which managed the lease, to contact the sister in the weeks before the sisters were found.
PIA declined numerous requests for comment from Daily Mail Australia.
Daily Mail Australia understands that in 2017 the women fled the Middle East to seek shelter in Australia. They were regulars at a petrol station (pictured) near their Canterbury facility
Daily Mail Australia understands that the two girls fled Saudi Arabia in 2017. The police are pictured in the apartment building on June 8
Forensics searched the unit last week (pictured) in the wake of the gruesome discovery
Despite their traumatic past, the women, according to the locals, were cheerful towards neighbors.
Staff at a nearby gas station said the women started visiting in 2020, just before the Covid pandemic, and were regulars until two months ago when they stopped visiting.
They described the couple – one brunette and the other dyed blonde – as “quiet” but “very friendly,” and said they would only respond to questions.
A female clerk said the sisters would visit the store during the day to pick up drinks, but only seemed to fill their black BMW coupe with gasoline at night.
‘A girl came in to buy iced coffee and sometimes V [energy drink]. “Sometimes two or three times a day,” a female attendant said.
“I never served her sister, but I did see them walking down the street together. When I found out what had happened to them, I was very shocked and confused.
A black BMW coupe covered in dust was removed from the apartment building’s garage the day after the bodies were found
‘She was so kind. Every time she came in and I spoke to her, she smiled. She never looked sad.’
The Home Office would not confirm whether the women are seeking asylum in Australia.
“The department does not make statements about individual cases,” said a spokesperson.
Daily Mail Australia has also reached out to Saudi Arabia’s consulate general for comment.
In 2019, a Four Corners report found that about 80 Saudi Arabian women had sought asylum in Australia in recent years.
The investigation found that many of them were fleeing Saudi Arabia’s male guardianship laws, which allow their husbands, fathers, brothers, uncles and sons to control their lives.
The sisters’ reasons for leaving their home country remain unclear and Daily Mail Australia does not suggest that this was due to child custody laws.
The latest revelations come after the Daily Mail Australia revealed that two social checks, one by the police, had been carried out on the women in the months leading up to their discovery.
Detectives spent days in the apartment building with forensic teams peering across the scene trying to figure out how the sisters died
At one of the checks, the women, the couple were described as “timid” and refused to let anyone into the apartment.
But after protests from an involved party, the sisters finally allowed the check to take place, but spent it together in the far corner of the unit.
One sat down while the other hid behind her while they answered simple questions about their well-being.
“They were distant and didn’t really want to talk,” said a source.
“Something didn’t feel right, but they said they were okay. What else could anyone do?’
A source told Daily Mail Australia that the first police check was carried out in March, with officers leaving after the women insisted they were okay.
In another incident months earlier, the sisters’ black car – which was towed from their apartment last week – was tinkered with.
The gruesome find of their decaying bodies shocked the local community, with residents describing the building as typically quiet.
NSW Police Inspector Claudia Allcroft said the sisters’ deaths looked suspicious
“It’s really shocking and scary,” said a neighbor.
“Now I have to think about whether to stay here or move. I do not know what happened. Nobody told us anything.’
Anyone with information that could assist the detectives is urged to contact the Burwood Police Department or Crime Stoppers.