Sydney family were gassed in murder-suicide, police believe

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2016/oct/19/sydney-family-were-gassed-in-murder-suicide-police-believe

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Police believe a family of four in Sydney’s north were gassed in an apparent-murder suicide.

The bodies of Fernando Manrique, 44, Maria Lutz, 43, and their autistic children, 11-year-old Elisa and 10-year-old Martin, were found in their home in Davidson on Monday. The family did not appear to be injured and, with their dog also killed, police suspect gas was used.

Reports suggest that an elaborate system of pipes carried the gas into the house.

“Whilst the cause of death will be a matter for the coroner to determine, police are looking at the possibility the family members died from the introduction of an airborne gas,” police said.

“It is early days in the investigation and investigators will need to wait for toxicology results and results of the postmortems to determine cause of death.”

Lutz was found in a room with one child, while Manrique and the second child were found in different parts of the house.

Josie Gigliotti, a parent of one of Elisa’s classmates at the specialist school St Lucy’s in Wahroonga, said Lutz had never given a hint that she was finding it difficult to cope.

“We all struggle when you have a special needs child,” Gigliotti said. “She was so strong. She never really let us in to know how hard she was doing it.”

St Lucy’s raised the alarm when Elisa and Martin didn’t turn up for class or their mother for canteen duty.

“We’re absolutely shattered,” the assistant P&C president, Ashlee Boll, said. “Those were beautiful children, absolutely gorgeous little souls. Nobody saw this coming.”

The school held a memorial service on Tuesday after psychologists were called in to comfort distressed staff and students.

“It always shocked me how incredibly happy she was – she was a champion,” a teacher’s aide, Belinda Ings, said, surrounded by photos of the family and Martin and Elisa’s artwork.

On social media Lutz’s sister Ana described her sibling as a “warrior” and an “angel”.“An angel dedicated to your children, life!,” she said. “I love you fighting untiringly for others. Always in my life, in my heart.”

Neighbours said the family, who had lived in the neighbourhood for about 10 years, kept to themselves but seemed like any other.

“I’ve seen them [the children] playing in their front yard … there used to be a lot of play equipment,” a neighbour, Judy Macaulay, said after leaving flowers at the growing memorial outside the home. “I used to go past thinking how nice it was.”Australian Associated Press contributed to this report

• Readers seeking crisis support and information about suicide prevention can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Suicide Call Back Service 1300 659 467.