NSW police say suicide note and ‘other evidence’ suggest six-year-old’s death was an act of domestic violence

NSW police say suicide note and ‘other evidence’ suggest six-year-old’s death was an act of domestic violence

A suicide note has been located after the bodies of a young girl and her father were pulled from the Parramatta River on Saturday.

The six-year-old may have been deliberately thrown in the water by the man from a hired boat in what police believe was a horrific act of domestic violence.

“We have uncovered a suicide note and some other evidence drawing us to this conclusion,” NSW police marine area commander, Supt Joe McNulty, told 2GB radio on Monday.

Officers were called to Hen and Chicken Bay at Concord, in Sydney’s inner west, at about 11.45am after reports of a man’s body floating in the water.

A boat owned by a member of the public was used by police to retrieve the 47-year-old, but he was unable to be revived.

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Reports that a young girl had also been present prompted a widespread search which lasted several hours before her body was also recovered from the water.

Police used CCTV images of the incident from a nearby home to help divers locate the girl’s body.

The man was not known to police and had no recorded history of domestic violence, leaving police with the difficult job of unravelling what occurred.

“We really need to make sense of this, because it is a complex investigation,” McNulty said.

McNulty said officers were immediately suspicious as to the circumstances of the incident because lifejackets were on board the boat but had not been used.

“It just didn’t stack up,” he said.

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Stock photo of Hen and Chicken Bay
Officers were called to Hen and Chicken Bay at Concord, in Sydney’s inner west, at about 11.45am on Saturday after reports of a man’s body floating in the water. Photograph: JohnCarnemolla/Getty Images/iStockphoto

The girl’s mother was notified and present during the search for her daughter.

“At this stage it’s horrible, but we’re wrapping so much care around the victim and the mother that’s been left behind,” McNulty said.

The girl is the couple’s only child, Supt Christine McDonald from Burwood police command told media on Saturday.

“Obviously, a mother in this situation … it would rock any mother to the core,” she said.

A friend of the man had contacted police an hour after his body was located with concerns for the father and daughter’s welfare, police said.

 In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is on 13 11 14 and the national family violence counselling service is on 1800 737 732. In the UK, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123 and the domestic abuse helpline is 0808 2000 247. In the US, the suicide prevention lifeline is 988 and the domestic violence hotline is 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). Other international helplines can be found via www.befrienders.org