Australia- Two sisters in their 20s found dead inside Sydney unit had been there lengthy time, Suspicious deaths, June 2022

[Observe_dont_Absorb]

Pure speculation on my part, but I wonder if the girls had developed a mild dependency on the energy drinks? I know it’s a recognised problem which brings its own health issues. I don’t think this would have caused their deaths at all, but it may explain the frequent visits to the service station and night time hours.

Maybe they were feeling tired all the time? Also buying into my theory they may be getting slightly gassed at home. If so, when they went out and breathed clean air they'd feel perked up then they'd drink energy drinks and feel a bit more perked up. So they'd have developed the idea that going out for an energy drink makes them feel good. Also if they were awake at nights, maybe they were using the drinks to keep them going into the small hours to make online calls or socialising? If there is any chance they were being poisoned by fumes from the premises below, also if that premises closed at nights, at home they would have felt better in the night time and poorly during the daytimes / evenings. Most restaurants are fully up and running afternoons and evenings then shut down by midnight.

 

[SouthAussie]

Do we know they rejected Islam? I've met Muslims who show absolutely not visible signs of being Muslim.
But the demographic of the two suburbs is IMHO, a really important observation. The landlord of the first apartment has not said why they moved.

I suspect there may be two stories going on here.

The Australian one, which is that the girls came here to study.
The Yemen one, which is that the girls renounced Islam, became atheists.

As it has been stated that the girls came from a high profile family, the Yemen story may be a way of the family disassociating themselves from perceived shame.

imo

 

[SouthAussie]

You might be right about a heater.
Coming from a hot weather country, they probably were freezing and used additional source of heat.

I have a friend from Tunisia and she is always shivering with cold while the rest of us are wearing tshirts.

When I look at the temperatures (for Yemen, as an example) they appear to have very similar temperatures to Australia.
Very hot summers, mild winters (compared to other places). The temperature ranges seem very similar to ours.

Which, of course, doesn't mean that they were not using an alternate heat source. Though I can't imagine what that heat source would be. As the police should be able to determine if their apartment stank of gas - because if no-one had been into the apartment to shut off the alternate heat source surely it would still be pumping out its heat (and leaky gas) when the girls were found.

 

[vls12345]

Maybe they were feeling tired all the time? Also buying into my theory they may be getting slightly gassed at home. If so, when they went out and breathed clean air they'd feel perked up then they'd drink energy drinks and feel a bit more perked up. So they'd have developed the idea that going out for an energy drink makes them feel good. Also if they were awake at nights, maybe they were using the drinks to keep them going into the small hours to make online calls or socialising? If there is any chance they were being poisoned by fumes from the premises below, also if that premises closed at nights, at home they would have felt better in the night time and poorly during the daytimes / evenings. Most restaurants are fully up and running afternoons and evenings then shut down by midnight.

This is exactly the type of scenario I am thinking of.

MOO.

 

[Dotta]

When I look at the temperatures (for Yemen, as an example) they appear to have very similar temperatures to Australia.
Very hot summers, mild winters (compared to other places). The temperature ranges seem very similar to ours.

Which, of course, doesn't mean that they were not using an alternate heat source. Though I can't imagine what that heat source would be. As the police should be able to determine if their apartment stank of gas - because if no-one had been into the apartment to shut off the alternate heat source surely it would still be pumping out its heat (and leaky gas) when the girls were found.

As I understand April/May is autumn in Australia - with temperature about 15 or below degrees Celsius at night.

 

[Observe_dont_Absorb]

They might have even been using a portable heater with a gas canister and no venting?

Why were they ordering food and not buying or preparing their own I wonder?

 

[SouthAussie]

As I understand April is autumn in Australia - with temperature below 10 degrees Celsius.

Only at nightime in winter (June-August) would temps drop below 10C. Autumn is extremely mild here.

These are the autumn averages for their location(s). If we are talking April, it would have been even warmer than these May temps.

Sydney, Weather for May, Australia

May Weather Averages for Sydney, Australia, Australia

www.holiday-weather.com

 

[Dotta]

Why were they ordering food and not buying or preparing their own I wonder?

I wonder about it too.
In the pics you can see nicely furnished kitchen.

But, as it was reported, as they come from a wealthy family, maybe the meals at home are prepared by servants.
After all, girls usually learn to cook by helping Mums in the kitchen.

 

[ClaireNC]

Hmmm, I can't make the timing work:

Australian sisters: arrived in 2017..
Hong Kong sisters: arrived in Sept. 2018, on their way to Australia. Still in HK in Feb. 2019.

I think these are different sisters.

JMO

I agree. Two different sets of sisters, similar stories. I think it’s a case of lazy reporting by media sources like the Daily Mail that fail to fact check. It sounds like some reporters in Yemen picked up on the story of the two girls stuck in Hong Kong who had ”renounced Islam and became atheists” and assumed it was the same sisters who were found in June in Sydney. The Daily Mail ran with the story and people here just took it for fact. I’m choosing to believe the version of the story that is being reported by more reputable media sources.

 

[ClaireNC]

They might have been working at night and taking classes during the day. I believe it was reported that they spoke decent English. Could they have been doing help desk/call center type work from their apartment at night while attending classes during the day? Then came Covid lockdowns and classes were probably moved to virtual as well. Which led to further isolation.

I‘m leaning towards the dominant sister having mental health problems which resulted in murder-suicide. Or, something along the lines of shared delusions leading to some kind of accidental suicide.

 

[dotr]

Re post. rbbm.

Saudi sisters found dead in Sydney had active claims for asylum with Department of Home Affairs

Asra Abdullah Alsehli, 24, and Amaal Abdullah Alsehli, 23, were quiet and ‘would keep to themselves’, former landlord says

www.theguardian.com

''Guardian Australia has confirmed Asra Abdullah Alsehli, 24, and Amaal Abdullah Alsehli, 23, were asylum seekers: each had an active claim for asylum ongoing with the Department of Home Affairs and had engaged with settlement services providers in Sydney. The nature of their claim for asylum – their basis for seeking protection – is not known.


But the women do not appear to have been a part of any Saudi dissident networks. They had almost no social media profile, online presence or photographs in the public domain.''

 

[whiterhino]

If A/C is air conditioner, then, yes, them and cooling towers. Legionnaires' disease - Wikipedia

Yes, apologies I should have spelled both words! I was thinking more along the lines of poisoning via Freon which is the coolant used in air conditioning:

Refrigerant Poisoning

The chemicals used to cool appliances like air conditioners are known as refrigerant. Refrigerant can be poisonous if you’re exposed to it for too long.

www.healthline.com

"Refrigerant poisoning happens when someone is exposed to the chemicals used to cool appliances. Refrigerant contains chemicals called fluorinated hydrocarbons (often referred to by a common brand name, “Freon”).

Freon is a tasteless, mostly odorless gas. When it is deeply inhaled, it can cut off vital oxygen to your cells and lungs. "

Also found this article which has some strange similarities: Poisoned British father and son had 'blue and brown liquids in nose'

"The hospitalised wife also had injuries on her forehead, and only she and her daughter had eaten on Monday night, further puzzling police.

The flat also had no air conditioning.

Sylhet district superintendent of police Farid Uddin said: 'How were they poisoned? How did they die? We will be able to confirm after an investigation.'

'But, at first glance, it looks like murder using poison.' "

**Just ETA the similarity is not the air conditioning but the "mysterious" nature of their deaths and mention of food.

 

[Charlot123]

Hmmm...

Can a normal, mentally healthy person suddenly develop paranoia/mental illness?
And 2 people at the same time?

Granted, if the illness is "hidden", it can manifest itself in special circumstances, like attacks of schizophrenia.

But to suddenly develop severe mental illness leading to suicide?

I really don't know.

What about high-potency THC? Quaran doesn't explicitly prohibit weed (unlike alcohol), so I see it as a possibility, especially in Australia, in two very young adults whose teenage years were traumatic so they want to catch up. The reason I mention it, THC can cause paranoia in some people.

Another possibility, one of the sisters, the more intense one, could have been paranoid from the start, or it intensified with age. Paranoia might be a symptom of many conditions.

Folie a deux could be induced by the sisters always being together, first, when growing, then, living by necessity in that tiny apartment. It is a psychotic/delusional disorder, but only one person is the origin of it. On the other hand, I am trying to determine if the sister had delusions at all. If Asme and Amaal were the “Hongkong sisters”, I think, their behavior was not paranoia, but realistic fear.

I suspect there may be two stories going on here.

The Australian one, which is that the girls came here to study.
The Yemen one, which is that the girls renounced Islam, became atheists.

As it has been stated that the girls came from a high profile family, the Yemen story may be a way of the family disassociating themselves from perceived shame.

imo

Well, the two stories have different time-lines.

The Australian one: the girls came to study in 2017. Moved, had a visit from their mom.

The Yemeni one: they escaped from the family trip and came via HK.

The HK one: they came in 2017, escaping on a Sri Lanka trip, when the younger sister turned 18 and could apply to AU visa indefinitely. They were tricked into submitting their passports with AU visa to the representative of Sri Lankan company mr. Shah who (the company?) established a connection with their uncle working for the Interior Ministry. They became displaced persons in HK, lived under names Reena and Rhem, working with Mr. Vidler on AU visa (a bridge visa) and finally got it. In HK, per Mr. Vidler’s statement, they renounced Islam and were facing death if returned to SA.

Are these the same sisters? Probably, if their time in AU in 2017-18 is more of a “legend”. If no one saw them in AU, only heard of them.

 

[Arboreal]

I suspect there may be two stories going on here.

The Australian one, which is that the girls came here to study.
The Yemen one, which is that the girls renounced Islam, became atheists.

As it has been stated that the girls came from a high profile family, the Yemen story may be a way of the family disassociating themselves from perceived shame.

imo

In the reporting I've seen in Australia, from reputable outlets, such as the ABC (like the BBC), Sydney Morning Herald, The Age (a little like the New York times or time of London) and The Guardian, the Hong Kong connection is only that they transited Hong Kong on their journey to Australia as there are no direct flights.
It appears they travelled together, on the same flight.
The Sri Lanka connection does not appear in the articles I've read from the sources mentioned. I have not seen them all, but a google search <<Amaal Alsehli Sri lanka>> yields no results.
The Yemen connection is only that news outlets based in Yemen reported that the women fled their homeland with $5,000 in cash in 2017 due to a tumultuous relationship with their parents. This has not been confirmed by police or by Australia-based news outlets, as far as I can tell.
Having a bad relationship with your parents is not enough to be granted asylum. There must be a genuine, founded fear of harm or persecution. The Alsehli sisters, according to The Guardian, each had an asylum claim that was being assessed. According to the Guardian, the Alsehli sisters "had engaged with settlement services providers in Sydney. The nature of their claim for asylum – their basis for seeking protection – is not known". I have also not seen any reporting stating when they applied for asylum. Applications can drag on for years. And years.

 

[Arboreal]

Only my opinion, but it seems to me that the chronology as known so far is something like:
- 2017: We can infer that both sisters applied for and were granted visas to enter Australia to study. This means they had exit visas from Saudi Arabia, permission to travel from a male guardian and sufficient funds and acceptance into a course of study from a registered educational provider to convince the Australian authorities to grant them a visa. The type of visa they were given and the period of its validity has not been disclosed.
Although they were reported to have been studying at TAFE, Fairfield campus, over the past few years - a little like a US community college - I have not seen any reporting providing details the educational course they intended to pursue when they applied for a visa in 2017. It may be the TAFE course, but needs to be confirmed.
- 2017: The sisters travel from Saudi Arabia to Australia, via Hong Kong. After arrival, the sisters make contact with a refugee centre. The date when they made contact is not known publicly. Media state the origin of their journey was Saudi Arabia (as given here), but many women who flee Saudi Arabia do so from a third country often during a family holiday. The sisters itinerary remains to be confirmed.
- 2017 - ??: the sisters live at a property in Fairfield before they moved to their unit in Canterbury where they died. No public information on when or why the sisters moved from their initial place of residence (Fairfield) to the unit when their bodied were discovered (Canterbury). Where they stayed before taking up residence in the Fairfield property has not been revealed.
- 2017 - ??: The landlord of the sisters' Fairfield property said the sisters had been attending TAFE and that their mother had visited previously and that she had not liked Australia, leaving after only a brief stay. The landlord had never heard the sisters discuss their father.
- 2018?? - ??: The older sister, Asra, had a boyfriend when the sisters were living in Fairfield, with the landlord saying he was “Iraqi” and had a beard. How she met this man is not known publicly.
- 2018, October, 11: Amaal applied for and was granted an Australian Business Number (ABN). The nature of her business is not provided in the public record. On this same say Asra Alsehli applied for an ABN but the nature of her business is not provided in the public record.
- 2018?? - ??: At some point both sisters obtained employment, working in traffic control for a construction company. It is not clear they how long they worked at this company or on what basis: permanent, part time, casual and so on.
- 2019: January: Asra applied for an apprehended violence order against a man (identity not given), although that application was withdrawn.
- 2022, March (mid): The sisters' building’s manager - at their Canterbury home, where their bodies were discovered - noting food in shared spaces asked police to do a welfare check. Police attended and spoke to the women who “appeared fine”. Detail of the extent and nature of the police interaction or if there was bodycam footage (as they may well be), has not been disclosed publicly. The Daily Mail says the police did two welfare checks in 2022, prior to the discovery of the sisters' bodies and another in an earlier year, but no date was given. In one of the checks, according to the Daily Mail, 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.
- 2022, April, 13 [approx]: Sheriff's officers went to the Canterbury apartment to serve the women with an eviction notice. The reason for eviction has not been provided. It may be non-payment of rent.
- 2022, early May: the sisters die in bed. No one raises an alarm; no one misses them. This suggests a disconnection from the Sydney community, including TAFE and their workplace as well as estrangement from their family in Saudi Arabia.
- 2022, May, 13: The owner of their Canterbury unit filed a civil case against Asra. The nature of the case has not been given, but it may be non-payment of rent.
- 2022, June 7: Rent had not been paid and mail was building up. Building supervisors called police to conduct a welfare check. The Amaal and Asra Alsehli's bodies were discovered, some reports say, in bed, while other reports say in bedrooms. It is not clear if they are in separate beds or separate bedrooms - though news.com says separate bedrooms. Nor has information been released stating how they were dressed. Police did say there was no/no sign of a forced entry or a struggle. Additionally, police said there were no/no signs of violence on the bodies. Police establish Strike Force Woolbird to investigate the circumstances surrounding the women’s deaths.
A a general comment, the police say publicly they have no idea the cause of the Alsehli sisters' deaths and are awaiting the pathology report. However, and this is just conjecture, if their visa was about to expire and they believed their application for asylum had been rejected, and the feared returning to Saudi Arabia, then they may have taken their own lives. This has happened before, in the US in 2018, reported 2019: "Two Saudi Sisters Found Dead in Hudson River Killed Themselves: Medical Examiner". However, this needs to be confirmed. No suicide note has been mentioned.

 

[whiterhino]

Only my opinion, but it seems to me that the chronology as known so far is something like:
- 2017: We can infer that both sisters applied for and were granted visas to enter Australia to study. This means they had exit visas from Saudi Arabia, permission to travel from a male guardian and sufficient funds and acceptance into a course of study from a registered educational provider to convince the Australian authorities to grant them a visa. The type of visa they were given and the period of its validity has not been disclosed.
Although they were reported to have been studying at TAFE, Fairfield campus, over the past few years - a little like a US community college - I have not seen any reporting providing details the educational course they intended to pursue when they applied for a visa in 2017. It may be the TAFE course, but needs to be confirmed.
- 2017: The sisters travel from Saudi Arabia to Australia, via Hong Kong. After arrival, the sisters make contact with a refugee centre. The date when they made contact is not known publicly. Media state the origin of their journey was Saudi Arabia (as given here), but many women who flee Saudi Arabia do so from a third country often during a family holiday. The sisters itinerary remains to be confirmed.
- 2017 - ??: the sisters live at a property in Fairfield before they moved to their unit in Canterbury where they died. No public information on when or why the sisters moved from their initial place of residence (Fairfield) to the unit when their bodied were discovered (Canterbury). Where they stayed before taking up residence in the Fairfield property has not been revealed.
- 2017 - ??: The landlord of the sisters' Fairfield property said the sisters had been attending TAFE and that their mother had visited previously and that she had not liked Australia, leaving after only a brief stay. The landlord had never heard the sisters discuss their father.
- 2018?? - ??: The older sister, Asra, had a boyfriend when the sisters were living in Fairfield, with the landlord saying he was “Iraqi” and had a beard. How she met this man is not known publicly.
- 2018, October, 11: Amaal applied for and was granted an Australian Business Number (ABN). The nature of her business is not provided in the public record. On this same say Asra Alsehli applied for an ABN but the nature of her business is not provided in the public record.
- 2018?? - ??: At some point both sisters obtained employment, working in traffic control for a construction company. It is not clear they how long they worked at this company or on what basis: permanent, part time, casual and so on.
- 2019: January: Asra applied for an apprehended violence order against a man (identity not given), although that application was withdrawn.
- 2022, March (mid): The sisters' building’s manager - at their Canterbury home, where their bodies were discovered - noting food in shared spaces asked police to do a welfare check. Police attended and spoke to the women who “appeared fine”. Detail of the extent and nature of the police interaction or if there was bodycam footage (as they may well be), has not been disclosed publicly. The Daily Mail says the police did two welfare checks in 2022, prior to the discovery of the sisters' bodies and another in an earlier year, but no date was given. In one of the checks, according to the Daily Mail, 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.
- 2022, April, 13 [approx]: Sheriff's officers went to the Canterbury apartment to serve the women with an eviction notice. The reason for eviction has not been provided. It may be non-payment of rent.
- 2022, early May: the sisters die in bed. No one raises an alarm; no one misses them. This suggests a disconnection from the Sydney community, including TAFE and their workplace as well as estrangement from their family in Saudi Arabia.
- 2022, May, 13: The owner of their Canterbury unit filed a civil case against Asra. The nature of the case has not been given, but it may be non-payment of rent.
- 2022, June 7: Rent had not been paid and mail was building up. Building supervisors called police to conduct a welfare check. The Amaal and Asra Alsehli's bodies were discovered, some reports say, in bed, while other reports say in bedrooms. It is not clear if they are in separate beds or separate bedrooms - though news.com says separate bedrooms. Nor has information been released stating how they were dressed. Police did say there was no/no sign of a forced entry or a struggle. Additionally, police said there were no/no signs of violence on the bodies. Police establish Strike Force Woolbird to investigate the circumstances surrounding the women’s deaths.
A a general comment, the police say publicly they have no idea the cause of the Alsehli sisters' deaths and are awaiting the pathology report. However, and this is just conjecture, if their visa was about to expire and they believed their application for asylum had been rejected, and the feared returning to Saudi Arabia, then they may have taken their own lives. This has happened before, in the US in 2018, reported 2019: "Two Saudi Sisters Found Dead in Hudson River Killed Themselves: Medical Examiner". However, this needs to be confirmed. No suicide note has been mentioned.

Excellent summary!

RBBM I find it a bit odd that both sisters applied for ABNs' and then both started working at a construction company in traffic control. Seems a strange choice for 2 young sisters trying to make a new life for themselves. JMO.

What about the boyfriend? Here is a story of a woman whom it's assumed was abducted after making a new life for herself: CANADA - Canada - Elnaz Hajtamiri, 37, Abducted following home invasion, Wasaga Beach, Ontario, 12 Jan 2022

Of note: Elnaz is also Iranian and the ex bf is looking suspicious. He is also bearded FWIW, just saying it's an odd coincidence.

 

[bfew]

Why were they ordering food and not buying or preparing their own I wonder?

A big Woolworths supermarket is only 500m from their apartment, east up Canterbury Road.
With an ALDI supermarket only 800m from their home.
There's a Priceline's Pharmacy above the Woolworths.

The BP Service Station with the Wild Bean Cafe located in it, is only about 65m from their apartment.
Little wonder the 2 sisters spent a lot of time there, with it being so close!

I've shopped at all of the above from time to time (although never had any thing from the Wild Bean Cafe yet).

 

[Waverider]

Only my opinion, but it seems to me that the chronology as known so far is something like:
- 2017: We can infer that both sisters applied for and were granted visas to enter Australia to study. This means they had exit visas from Saudi Arabia, permission to travel from a male guardian and sufficient funds and acceptance into a course of study from a registered educational provider to convince the Australian authorities to grant them a visa. The type of visa they were given and the period of its validity has not been disclosed.
Although they were reported to have been studying at TAFE, Fairfield campus, over the past few years - a little like a US community college - I have not seen any reporting providing details the educational course they intended to pursue when they applied for a visa in 2017. It may be the TAFE course, but needs to be confirmed.
- 2017: The sisters travel from Saudi Arabia to Australia, via Hong Kong. After arrival, the sisters make contact with a refugee centre. The date when they made contact is not known publicly. Media state the origin of their journey was Saudi Arabia (as given here), but many women who flee Saudi Arabia do so from a third country often during a family holiday. The sisters itinerary remains to be confirmed.
- 2017 - ??: the sisters live at a property in Fairfield before they moved to their unit in Canterbury where they died. No public information on when or why the sisters moved from their initial place of residence (Fairfield) to the unit when their bodied were discovered (Canterbury). Where they stayed before taking up residence in the Fairfield property has not been revealed.
- 2017 - ??: The landlord of the sisters' Fairfield property said the sisters had been attending TAFE and that their mother had visited previously and that she had not liked Australia, leaving after only a brief stay. The landlord had never heard the sisters discuss their father.
- 2018?? - ??: The older sister, Asra, had a boyfriend when the sisters were living in Fairfield, with the landlord saying he was “Iraqi” and had a beard. How she met this man is not known publicly.
- 2018, October, 11: Amaal applied for and was granted an Australian Business Number (ABN). The nature of her business is not provided in the public record. On this same say Asra Alsehli applied for an ABN but the nature of her business is not provided in the public record.
- 2018?? - ??: At some point both sisters obtained employment, working in traffic control for a construction company. It is not clear they how long they worked at this company or on what basis: permanent, part time, casual and so on.
- 2019: January: Asra applied for an apprehended violence order against a man (identity not given), although that application was withdrawn.
- 2022, March (mid): The sisters' building’s manager - at their Canterbury home, where their bodies were discovered - noting food in shared spaces asked police to do a welfare check. Police attended and spoke to the women who “appeared fine”. Detail of the extent and nature of the police interaction or if there was bodycam footage (as they may well be), has not been disclosed publicly. The Daily Mail says the police did two welfare checks in 2022, prior to the discovery of the sisters' bodies and another in an earlier year, but no date was given. In one of the checks, according to the Daily Mail, 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.
- 2022, April, 13 [approx]: Sheriff's officers went to the Canterbury apartment to serve the women with an eviction notice. The reason for eviction has not been provided. It may be non-payment of rent.
- 2022, early May: the sisters die in bed. No one raises an alarm; no one misses them. This suggests a disconnection from the Sydney community, including TAFE and their workplace as well as estrangement from their family in Saudi Arabia.
- 2022, May, 13: The owner of their Canterbury unit filed a civil case against Asra. The nature of the case has not been given, but it may be non-payment of rent.
- 2022, June 7: Rent had not been paid and mail was building up. Building supervisors called police to conduct a welfare check. The Amaal and Asra Alsehli's bodies were discovered, some reports say, in bed, while other reports say in bedrooms. It is not clear if they are in separate beds or separate bedrooms - though news.com says separate bedrooms. Nor has information been released stating how they were dressed. Police did say there was no/no sign of a forced entry or a struggle. Additionally, police said there were no/no signs of violence on the bodies. Police establish Strike Force Woolbird to investigate the circumstances surrounding the women’s deaths.
A a general comment, the police say publicly they have no idea the cause of the Alsehli sisters' deaths and are awaiting the pathology report. However, and this is just conjecture, if their visa was about to expire and they believed their application for asylum had been rejected, and the feared returning to Saudi Arabia, then they may have taken their own lives. This has happened before, in the US in 2018, reported 2019: "Two Saudi Sisters Found Dead in Hudson River Killed Themselves: Medical Examiner". However, this needs to be confirmed. No suicide note has been mentioned.

I believe that it has been confirmed that the girls had been in contact with a refugee service and were living in Australia on bridging visas. Women from Saudi seeking refuge in Australia can apply for a holiday visa or refugee status on arrival, and start the process immediately. Women from Saudi will generally be granted asylum easily and quickly, and will be able to work or study soon after arriving. (This was my friend’s experience when she escaped Saudi to live in Australia.)

I think it’s fairly reasonable to assume that they fled Saudi. Based on my friend’s experience having grown up in Saudi, it’s extremely unlikely if not impossible that they would have been allowed to travel to Australia alone to study. Women must be accompanied at all times and the punishments for not doing so are apparently severe, often at the hands of their families.

Saudi sisters found dead in Sydney had active claims for asylum with Department of Home Affairs

Asra Abdullah Alsehli, 24, and Amaal Abdullah Alsehli, 23, were quiet and ‘would keep to themselves’, former landlord says

amp.theguardian.com

 

[Waverider]

Excellent summary!

RBBM I find it a bit odd that both sisters applied for ABNs' and then both started working at a construction company in traffic control. Seems a strange choice for 2 young sisters trying to make a new life for themselves. JMO.

What about the boyfriend? Here is a story of a woman whom it's assumed was abducted after making a new life for herself: CANADA - Canada - Elnaz Hajtamiri, 37, Abducted following home invasion, Wasaga Beach, Ontario, 12 Jan 2022

Of note: Elnaz is also Iranian and the ex bf is looking suspicious. He is also bearded FWIW, just saying it's an odd coincidence.

As for working in construction in traffic control, this is a very common job for young women to take when travelling in Australia from overseas. The hours are flexible, which would be very handy if studying, and very little English is required to perform the job. It would likely be a casual job so they are potentially employed as contractors, hence the ABN.

 

[bfew]

As for working in construction in traffic control, this is a very common job for young women to take when travelling in Australia from overseas. The hours are flexible, which would be very handy if studying, and very little English is required to perform the job. It would likely be a casual job so they are potentially employed as contractors, hence the ABN.

I've seen a few young women on road works traffic control about 10 minutes drive from Canterbury NSW.

With all the COVID related job disruption since 2020, more than a few Sydney living women (and men) have switched industries to construction and road related ones.