'A massive shock': Alleged murder-suicide couple from South Australia identified as six children left orphaned after tragedy

Sky News AU

17 hours ago

A local meat worker, who police say took his wife's life before taking his own, has been identified after the extraordinary murder-suicide rocked a tight-knit South Australian town and left six children orphaned.
The bodies of 47-year-old man Mirza Husseini and his 41-year-old wife, Shafeeqa, were found inside their Melvyn St home in Bordertown, about 270km southast of Adelaide, just after 11pm on Sunday night after a relative called police asking for a welfare check.
The pair shared six children together, who were not at home when the murder unfolded, but have now had their lives thrown into chaos following the loss of both parents.
SA police said Mirza killed his partner and also took his own life.
It has also been revealed he was known to police following a domestic violence incident against his wife earlier this year, but no court orders were initiated for the woman's safety.
Acting assistant commissioner Cath Hilliard on Monday told reporters a relative had been in contact with the couple throughout the day before they requested a welfare check.
'Police discovered the deaths of the individuals after a relative contacted police and requested a welfare check after they couldn't contact them,' she said.
'The man was known to police through a previous domestic violence incident earlier in the year and that involved the deceased woman.
'However there were no current court-imposed restrictions in relation to the individuals preventing any contact between them.'
Neighbours have revealed the family immigrated from Afghanistan around 15 years ago, with some members believed to work at the JBS Meatworks.
The Bordertown Islamic Community Centre is currently mourning the devastating loss of the couple.
Centre manager Adeel Khan said: 'It is really sad news… whatever has happened is not good, it's a massive shock."
'She was a good lady, (always) helping us in our events.
'She was a very good cook so we used to request her and she used to cook food for our community.
'It's a small community, everyone knows each other … so we will be missing these guys.
'It is going to be a tough time for their family.'
A report is understood to be in the process of being prepared for the Coroner after major crime detectives and forensic specialists collected evidence from the house on Monday morning.
Police have confirmed they are not investigating any suspects over the deaths.
Ms Hilliard reaffirmed domestic abuse is taken "very seriously" after the recent tragedy caused a cascading effect across families and society.
'Domestic violence whether its physical, emotional, psychological, financial abuse, is generally not an isolated event,' she said.
'In order to protect the community from harm, we ask people to contact police if they are experiencing domestic abuse.'
Investigations into the incident are continuing.