An elderly Sri Lankan couple who died together outside their home may have been overcome by Melbourne’s blistering heatwave, Australian media reported.
The bodies of Doyne Caspersz and his wife Marlene were found outside their home on Antigoni Court, Warrandyte about 9.30am on Tuesday.
Daily Mail Australia has been told CCTV captured their sad demise on Sunday, when temperatures soared in Warrandyte to 38C.
It remains unknown why the beloved couple decided to leave their home, which is located in a wealthy Melbourne neighbourhood.
Melbourne had been within the grips of a shocking heatwave, which saw temperatures climb to 36C on Monday as the couple remained undiscovered outside their property.
A detective at the scene on Tuesday told Daily Mail Australia the couple’s death had been nothing more than a tragic accident.
‘It was misadventure,’ the policeman said.
Shocked residents described the pair, both aged in their eighties, as friendly people who kept to themselves but would wave to neighbours when passing by in the street.
They believed Mrs Caspersz had struggled with Alzheimer’s disease and was cared for by both her husband and her children.
On Tuesday, the couple’s devastated son, who Daily Mail Australia has chosen not to name, said his parents had parked their car on a steep embankment on the driveway instead of directly outside the front door, and had fallen on the short walk to the front door.
He hit out at suggestions his parents had died of ‘misadventure’, describing what happened as a tragic accident.
News teams from across Melbourne converged on the street on Tuesday amid a wave of unrelated violence across the city.
‘There is no murder. The police have gone through the footage. For some reason... they went down the stairs,’ the couple’s son said.
It is understood on the rare occasion the couple did venture out in the car they would park either in the garage or directly beside the home’s front door.
‘From what we’ve been told from the police this happened on Sunday,’ the son said.
Police on Wednesday confirmed the couple’s the deaths were not being treated as suspicious.
‘Police will prepare a report for the coroner after the bodies of a woman and man were located in Warrandyte on 12 March,’ a police spokesperson said via a statement.
‘Police are awaiting the results of a postmortem.’
Neighbour Don Savoria described Mr Caspersz as an avid gardener and someone who was always willing to help.
Mr Caspersz was also heavily involved in Melbourne’s Sri Lankan community and was the vice president of the Burgher Association, a club that represents the Sri Lankan ethnic group in Australia.
‘If he couldn’t start his ride-on mower, I’d go over and help him out, that’s what neighbours do,’ Mr Savoria said.
‘To me, your neighbours are better than friends or relatives, because they’re there. In an instant you need something, they’re here right away.
‘I know that his son didn’t want him to do any gardening because of his age, but mainly because he wanted (Mr Caspersz) to look after his mum (Marlene) because she wasn’t well.’
Source: Daily Mail
--Agencies
