Heartbroken parents 'haunted' by death of newborn twins in co-sleeping tragedy
Twin baby girls are being mourned after they died just six weeks after their birth in what appears to have been a devastating sleeping accident.
Violet and Indiana died after being found unconscious at their Sunnybank Hills home, in Brisbane’s south last Wednesday.
Close family friend Kieran Garratt told Yahoo News Australia their parents had become “ghostly” with grief since the loss of their formerly “perfectly healthy and extremely beautiful” twins.
“I’ve spoken to the parents and spent a lot of time with them as well. They’re not coping at all, as you can imagine,” Mr Garratt said.
“I don’t even have a set of adjectives for it. They’re just ghostly. Haunted.”
The babies left behind an older sister who is almost five, and a three-year-old brother who has autism.
“I spent some time with them on Friday. The oldest was pretty upset but she’s been fairly resilient,” Mr Garratt said.
“The younger boy - his behaviour is different the poor lad. He was really gentle with the girls when they were alive.”
Mr Garratt established a GoFundMe page to support the family, and wrote how the girls had left behind a “big sister, big brother and two heartbroken parents”.
“These Angels graced us for only six beautiful weeks but have created such a hole since their passing. It is hard to see where the next smile will come from for their beloved parents,” the page read.
He said money raised would be used to cover funeral costs.
Emergency services were called to the family home about 6am last Wednesday where paramedics administered first aid to both of the baby girls, police said.
One could not be saved and died at home, while the other was taken to hospital but died days later.
Police said their deaths were not being treated as suspicious, with preliminary investigations suggesting the babies were “sleeping together throughout the night and were discovered unresponsive in the morning”.
The funeral has not yet been set as the coroner is still working to determine the exact causes of the deaths.
Tributes have been posted to the fundraising page, which has accumulated more than $7,800 in donations in just four days.
“The GoFundMe has blown me away. It’s brought me to tears with how generous people are,” Mr Garratt said.
Many offered their condolences to the parents and siblings of the twins.
“I am so very sorry for the tragic loss of your precious daughters,” one person wrote.
“So sorry for the passing of your beautiful girls. No parent should have to bury a child, let alone two at once. Sending all the family and friends of these beautiful babies much love and strength for what must be an absolutely horrific time,” another wrote.
“So, so sorry for your loss. My heart aches for you. Hope you have so much love and support around you right now,” a third wrote.
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