Saudi sisters 'died in suicide pact after being cut off by family'

How tragic Saudi sisters ‘died in a suicide pact in their unit’ after they were cut off from their father’s money – as grim new details emerge

• Saudi sisters believed to have died in suicide pact
• Asra and Amaal Abdullah Alsehli died in Sydney unit
• Police believe they were cut off by family in Saudi Arabia 

Two Saudi Arabian sisters found dead inside their Sydney unit died in a suspected suicide pact after they were cut off from their family months earlier, police have claimed. 

Asra Abdullah Alsehli, 24, and Amaal Abdullah Alsehli, 23, were found dead inside their Canterbury unit in the city’s south-west on June 7, 2022 – some five years after they fled their homeland and arrived in Australia with $5,000 in savings. 

NSW Police believe the pair remained holed up inside the apartment from late February – shortly after they stopped receiving money – until early April when they died, the Daily Telegraph reported. 

Toxicology reports – which were ultimately inconclusive – found unusual levels of sodium, nitrate and fluoride in the apartment, with a report claiming police ‘strongly’ believe the sisters died as a result of a suicide pact.

‘There was a stream of money coming to them from their (family) that stopped in February,’ one source told the Daily Telegraph. ‘Now, we don’t know why it stopped, but it seems there had been some sort of a fall out with their family overseas.

‘After that, they cut off communications with everybody.’

The new claims are contained in a police report to the coroner.

Asra Abdullah Alsehli, 24, (left) and Amaal Abdullah Alsehli, 23, (right) were found dead inside their Canterbury unit in the city’s south-west on June 7, 2022

Unusual levels of sodium, nitrate and fluoride were detected in ultimately inconclusive toxicology reports (pictured, the Canterbury apartment block where the girls were found)

The sisters received a final payment of more than $4,400 from family in Saudi Arabia on February 3, 2022.

Amaal, who was in charge of the funds, put $960 towards their fortnightly rent and then transferred $2,000 to her sister. 

The girls also drove a black BMW coupe, which usually costs upwards of $38,000. 

Their rental agent Jay Hu revealed the women were originally ‘good’ tenants when they first moved in two years earlier and had proof of ‘ample’ savings before falling behind on rent in early 2022. 

Building manager Michael Baird asked police to conduct a welfare check on the two women, who refused to unlock the door when officers arrived. 

‘Eventually the door was opened and the police stood at the door, asking the girls a series of questions,’ he told the ABC. 

‘They said they were OK. They didn’t want any police involvement. And the police left it at that.’

While it remains unclear what ultimately caused their deaths, multiple sources believe the girls had a falling out with their ‘well-connected’ family. 

They remained inside their apartment from late February to early April, speaking to their father only once more and receiving a visit from a NSW Sheriff. 

While it remains unclear what ultimately caused their deaths, multiple sources believe the girls had a falling out with their ‘well-connected’ family back in Saudi Arabia and were cut off

The sheriff told the young women they would be ‘kicked out or evicted’ from the Canterbury unit after they fell behind about $5,000 on their rent.

There were also three welfare checks carried out by police in the months before the girls were finally discovered, as mail piled up outside their door. 

When the sheriff’s office returned to evict them in June, they found the bodies of the two girls in separate bedrooms of the first-floor unit. 

Police found no evidence that the girls were being followed by a private investigator as they had suggested to several of their friends. 

Instead, sources with knowledge of the investigation believe the girls were aware of the dangers of returning to Saudi Arabia and decided to take their own lives. 

Another source said the combination of chemicals found in the sisters’ bodies could no longer be detected two months later. 

‘It looks like it is probably a suicide pact. They have taken a pill or something and just had enough for themselves, because there were no traces of chemicals or anything found in the unit, or anyone else entering,’ they told the Daily Telegraph.   

Police are not looking to charge anyone over the deaths. 

After coming to Australia in 2017 the sisters lived for a period in the western Sydney suburb of Fairfield, which has a large Arabic-speaking community.

In 2022, they applied for subclass 866 protection visas which requires applicants to have legally arrived in Australia and have valid reasons for seeking asylum.

The sisters drove a black BMW coupe (pictured) which normally costs upwards of $38,000

In their applications, Asra claimed to have been an atheist while Amaal said she was a lesbian, The Australian newspapers reported. 

Police were told the sisters attended a girls-only queer event in January, 2022. 

Both same-sex relationships and atheism is strictly forbidden in Saudi Arabia, where the legal system is based on a strict interpretation of sharia law.

Reports published in Middle Eastern newspapers at the time of the shock discovery said the sisters had renounced Islam. 

The bodies of Amaal and Asra were returned to the Saudi kingdom last August. 

A coroner will now be tasked with determining the official cause of death. 

SYDNEY SAUDI SISTERS TIMELINE:

2017: Asra Abdullah Alsehli, 24, and Amaal Abdullah Alsehli, 23, are believed to have fled Saudi Arabia during a family holiday – with $5000.

They flew to Sydney, via Hong Kong, and made contact with a refugee centre.

2019: Asra took an AVO out against a man, but it was later dismissed.

2020: They frequently visited a service station around their flat, with locals describing them as ‘friendly’.

2022: Police conducted two welfare checks early in the year.

In one of the checks, the pair were described as ‘timid’ and refused to let anyone enter the apartment.

They eventually allowed officers to enter, but stayed huddled together in the far corner of the unit.

May, 2022: The owner of their Canterbury unit filed a civil case against Asra on May 13.

That action was taken four weeks after sheriff’s officers went to the apartment to serve the women with an eviction notice.

June 7, 2022: Officers conducting a welfare check made the grisly discovery.

There was no sign of forced entry.

Police believe the sisters died in May, but have not been able to determine a cause of death.

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