A mother has reportedly been stabbed to death by her daughter in an apparent murder-suicide that ended with their house being set on fire.
Sally Davis, 41, is understood by The Advertiser to have fatally stabbed her mum Trish Lambourne, 61, before setting the property in Adelaide’s south west alight at about 5am on Monday.
The Emerald St property in Edwardstown was already “well alight” when firefighters arrived on scene and, after extinguishing the flames, the two bodies were found.
A knife was also reportedly discovered at the scene.
The mother and daughter lived at the home together. The home was provided by YourPlace Housing, a community housing organisation for people with disabilities or people who are vulnerable.
Pictures posted on social media show Ms Davis and Ms Lambourne wearing shirts saying: “It is against my religion to wear a mask or get a jab against my will.”
On the back, they read: “I believe in God not government.”
Ms Davis wrote on social media that she had been “my mother’s full time carer for the last 22 years”.
A gardener, called Chris, said he mowed the lawn at the property around every three weeks.
“They were pleasant, not big conversationalists, but around Christmas time they cleared out their cupboards or something and gave me a bit of a show bag,” Chris told The Advertiser.
He said they both had bad backs and that Ms Lambourne had an “issue with the sun”.
Police confirmed the fire is believed to have been deliberately lit.
Addressing the media on Monday, Detective Chief Inspector Kieran Baggoley said the cause and circumstances of the fire were under investigation.
Chief Inspector Baggoley said while investigators remained solely focussed on the two deceased occupants of the home, they were not ruling out a third party due to the early stage of the investigation.
He said he believed the occupants had been at the property at least two years, and neither had any history of a criminal record.
“We’re at the very early stages of the investigation,” Chief Inspector Baggoley said.
Major Crime Investigation branch members, Forensic Response and Fire Cause Investigators were also called to the scene on Monday.
Chief Inspector Baggoley said a neighbour called Triple-Zero (000) when they noticed a fire inside.
He said the fire was isolated to a single room in the middle of the house, with the damage estimated to be in the range of $100,000.
“It appears to be a spare room.”
Chief Inspector Baggoley said the incident was a “tragedy”.
“There’s no sugarcoating that.”
Chief Inspector Baggoley said police would have a clearer picture of the incident when the results of a post-mortem are known, which is understood will be completed on Monday.
Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers.
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