Part 2 of 2
Now for the conjecture and speculation.
Cause of death: to take a person's life and no leave some signs (presuming there is a body left) is quite difficult, especially these days with modern forensic techniques. Police have not released a cause of death and are giving the impression they do not really know. The bodies had suffered to degree of decomposition - how much has not been revealed; and decomposition can mask some poisons, particularly the more exotic ones. Bodies can preserve signs of injection for some time, depending on the conditions in which the body is kept. I've read of corpses revealing injection marks years after burial because the body was embalmed. Similarly, signs of throttling or suffocation can persist for weeks or months, and in the case of strangulation, the fracture of the hyoid bone can suggest strangulation. See: "
Fracture of the hyoid bone in strangulation: comparison of fractured and unfractured hyoids from victims of strangulation".
However, two people being found dead and having died at more or less the same time, is highly unusual, particularly, given both the deceased in this case were young. It is a reasonable conclusion that the cause of death was not natural, but involved some external cause.
Moreover, gaining control of two people to ensure compliance, and not leaving any signs of having restrained them, is also difficult. Threats can work, of course.
The Alsehli sisters were found in early June and are believed to have died a month before,
in the first few days of May. Cell phone usage would provide an indication, as would internet usage and usage of a PC or lap top. This leads to another observation: if they were employed, why did their workmates or employer not raise the alarm? It took the non-payment of rent to bring police to the unit.
Early May is early autumn.
Looking at the weather for May, the maximum was about 79F (26.1C) at the beginning of the month and trending down to about 65F (18.3C) by the end. Overnight, the peak was about 66F (18.8C) on the 13th and trending down to about 50F (10C) by the end of the month.
Given the temperature in the first week of May, many folks would have their heater on. We do not know if the heater was turned on in the unit when the police entered.
There has been no detail given as to the mode of heating in the unit where the Alsehli sisters were found or whether windows were open, permitting fresh air to enter. So we do not know if carbon monoxide could have killed the sisters in their sleep. [Of course, someone may have introduced that into the unit, but how?] Unflued gas heaters are dangerous and have killed people in Australia in very
recent times.
We will need to wait for the Coroner's inquest and hopefully a cause of death will be given there.
Motivation: An honour killing? Although this remains a possibility, I tend to think it was on the balance of probably not an honour killing. The police have said the family are not suspects, though not only the immediate family would perform such a deed. Uncles and aunts get in on the act. However, honour killings are usually very public, in the sense they involve usually quite gruesome methods (stabbing, mutilation, strangulation, burning, dismemberment) and not what appears to have occurred here. The Alsehli sisters were found dead in (we presume their respective) bed, with no obvious signs of trauma on their bodies. the point of an honour killing is to "reclaim" the honour that has been lost or defiled. Typically, the loss is within one's own community. And that can only be done publicly. It is a type of public denunciation as well as a deterrent.
The Alsehli sisters lived very quiet and almost anonymous lives. They were not, according to the Guardian article, cited above, not part of any Saudi dissident group. Their interaction with the Saudi community in Australia is not known, but, given the elder sister, Asra had a relationship with a man, described as an "Iraqi with a beard", it seems they had some interaction with the middle eastern community in Sydney.
The Alsehli's mother had visited them, but it is not clear whether this was when they lived at a different address or at the address where they died. Their behaviour suggests that they may have lived in fear, as some news reports suggest. Equally, it is not uncommon for people who flee Saudi Arabia and seek asylum in the west to live quietly and to not become activists. They seek to lessen the shame their family may feel and not provoke them. Additionally, the Alsehli sisters travelled to Australia in 2017, when just 18 and 19 respectively, when Saudi females typically required a mahram or guardian. Saudi females have travel to the West for study for over a decade. This may suggest a more liberal and progressive family who were willing to let their daughters live in a Western country, without close supervision. It seems the Alsehli's were not trying to cause dishonour to their family.
For all these reasons, I think it unlikely an honour killing perpetrated or authored by the family or tribe. On the information available, it seems to me the deaths of the Alsehli sisters was likely misadventure, where they came into contact with some substance that led to their incapacitation and death at the same time. Suicide is a possibility but no note has been mentioned nor the presence of the usual methods (ligatures, drugs). Less likely is human involvement but it is possible, though to produce such a scene, leaving few clues, suggests either luck. Or good planning and experience. And that opens quite awful possibilities.
The inquest will be very interesting. This is a tragedy, which ever way you look at it and very sad indeed. The Alsehli sisters just seem like to young people, with a great life ahead and just trying to lead their best lives.
Thanks for reading.
