Mystery surrounds lives and deaths of Saudi sisters in ‘unfriendly’ units

They lived above a popular dessert bar and beside one of south-west Sydney’s busiest roads,in a block with more than 200 apartments. Yet no-one noticed their deaths,and few knew much about the lives,of two young Saudi sisters whose bodies lay undiscovered for up to a month.

Asra and Amaal Alsehli,both in their early 20s,lived in one of the many apartment blocks that have cropped up across the once-sleepy suburb of Canterbury in the past few years,which have become home to people from all over the world.

Sisters Asra Abdullah Alsehli (left) and Amaal Abdullah Alsehli,whose bodies were found inside a unit in Canterbury last month.

Sisters Asra Abdullah Alsehli (left) and Amaal Abdullah Alsehli,whose bodies were found inside a unit in Canterbury last month.NSW Police

There are South American students,Mongolian families,and young couples from other parts of the city seeking an affordable flat. But for some,the sense of community has not grown as quickly as the population.

That’s one of the reasons why,one neighbour said,the bodies of the young women who likely died in early May were not discovered until early June.

“People here are not very friendly,” said the woman,who lived on the same floor as the sisters but rarely saw and never talked to them,and who spoke on the condition of anonymity. “Even the cleaners had no idea.”

Police on Wednesday released photographs of Asra Abdullah Alsehli,24,and Amaal Abdullah Alsehli,23,who moved to Australia as teenagers in 2017 but whose lives here,as well as the reason for their deaths,remain mysterious.

The Canterbury unit block in which two Saudi sisters were found dead.

The Canterbury unit block in which two Saudi sisters were found dead.Rhett Wyman

Both sisters had Australian Business Numbers,but there is no paper trail to indicate what they did beyond the fact they had been sole traders since 2018,and police will not elaborate.

Officers have been in touch with members of their family in Saudi Arabia,who are not considered suspects. There was nothing to suggest they fled their home country. Police would not say why they came to Australia,or reveal their visa status.

A nearby service station worker,also speaking anonymously,said the younger sister would come in often,mostly for coffee and occasionally for groceries,but never said enough for him to know whether she spoke much English. The elder one occasionally filled up her car.

In mid-March,the building’s manager,noting food in shared spaces – the complex has a courtyard – asked police to do a welfare check. The women “appeared fine”,Detective Inspector Claudia Allcroft,the crime manager of Burwood Local Area Command,told journalists on Wednesday.

Police have renewed their appeal for information as the investigation into two south-western Sydney sisters' "suspicious" deaths intensifies.

In early June police were called again,after reports they had stopped paying rent and mail was piling up outside their apartment. Officers found the women’s bodies in separate bedroom. They believe they died in early May.

There were no obvious signs of injury or forced entry.

Police have not yet received the results of post-mortem examinations or toxicology tests. Allcroft said police were appealing for information “because we don’t know a lot about the girls”,who “seemed to keep to themselves somewhat”.

“We’ve spoken to a number of people in the neighbourhood but we are now seeking further information from the community,” she said. “Any information,no matter how small you think it might be,might help us work out the circumstances leading up to the deaths of Asra and Amaal.”

Strike Force Woolbird has been established by Burwood detectives to investigate the circumstances surrounding the women’s deaths.

Margherita Basile,from nearby Sydney Women’s Counselling Centre,said many people,particularly if they had moved here from overseas,were not aware there was support available if they needed it. “For a lot of people,it’s not a cultural norm,” she said.

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Jordan Baker is Chief Reporter of The Sydney Morning Herald. She was previously Education Editor.

Jenny Noyes is a journalist at the Sydney Morning Herald.

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