/ CBS/AP
The first-floor Canterbury Road apartment was open for inspection on Monday with rent set at 520 Australian dollars a week. That is AU$40 more than the sisters were charged. "Detectives are interested in speaking with anyone who may have seen or who may have information about the women's movements in the days and weeks prior to their deaths – which we believe occurred in early May," Detective Insp AllcroftMultiple sources with knowledge of the case said the sisters had been seeking asylum in Australia, The Sydney Morning Herald reported. They had worked for a time as traffic controllers, a common job for backpackers and new immigrants.
There was no evidence of forced entry to the apartment, where the sisters kept to themselves, Allcroft said."The girls were 23 and 24 years old and they have died together in their home. We don't know the cause of death, it's unusual because of their age and the nature of the matter," Allcroft added.
The sisters were able to show"significant savings" in a bank account when they applied to lease their apartment, property manager Jay Hu told the newspaper, but they had stopped paying rent early this year.The overseas-based landlord had begun legal action to recoup the unpaid rent before the sisters' bodies were found, Hu said.Lina al-Hathloul