Four people have been found dead in a Melbourne home, including a teenage boy.
Victoria police said the bodies of two men, aged 37 and 32, a woman, 42, and a teenage boy, 17, had been found at a Broadmeadows property early on Tuesday.
Emergency services were called to the Bicknell Court home just before 2am. The cause of the deaths was yet to be determined but at this stage it was not believed to be suspicious, police said.
Det Insp Dean Thomas said at least three of the deceased were known to police.
“It is unusual to find four people deceased at the one location,” he said. “It may be from a drug overdose, it may not.”
He said while one of the people lived at the home, the other three were visiting. Thomas said police were “working through” the information and talking to family members to find out if they were related and how they all knew each other.
“There’s nothing at this stage to suggest there’s been any acts of violence,” Thomas said. “There are injuries we need to account for.”
Thomas said police were “mindful” of fentanyl deaths overseas but at this stage he could not say whether the drug was involved. “We [are keeping] an open mind as to what the cause of death is.”
A man named Corey, who described himself as a family member and neighbour, told Nine’s Today show he had discovered the bodies when he visited the home early on Tuesday, knocking on the door but receiving no answer.
He looked through the door and found his nephew on the floor, he told the program, so smashed the window to get inside.
“I’ve come home to find family members in a house, deceased,” he said. “I found them and it’s tortured me.”
Thomas said police were speaking to Corey and “we believe [it] to be the case that there is an uncle of the 17-year-old”.
The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, expressed her sympathy and urged anyone with information to contact authorities.
“I’ve seen the media reports and my thoughts are with the family members who are clearly distressed at what is such a tragic incident,” Allan said.
“I will leave it to Victoria police to comment further on this matter. But if anyone does have information that could assist Victoria police, they should be contacting Crime Stoppers with that information.”
Police said the investigation was ongoing. A report will be prepared for the coroner, and anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers.
