The price isn’t the only terrifying thing about this Sydney rental unit. But you won’t find any mention of it in the real estate listing
If the price hike on this apartment promising ‘a life of seamless and luxurious comfort’ doesn’t scare away potential tenants, perhaps the property’s gruesome history will.
Apartment 115 in Block B at 314 Canterbury Road, Canterbury, is up for rent – but it has a dark past.
The property boasts ‘nearly brand new open-plan living with spacious balconies (that) enhances light and airflow’, and perhaps in Sydney’s supercharged rental market two bedrooms for $680 a week isn’t bad.
But that’s 37 per cent more than when it was last rented, for $495 in 2022, and there’s a detail missing in the real estate agent’s breathless blurb under the ‘Now Leasing!!!’ list.
Just two years ago during a public inspection of the western Sydney property, the stench of human decay was still evident inside the flat despite its admirable ‘airflow’.
Industrial cleaning and a slew of chemicals had failed to disguise the fact that the bodies of two young women – known as the ‘Saudi sisters’ – had lain for at least a month decomposing within its walls.
Apartment 115 in Block B at 314 Canterbury Road, Canterbury now freshly up for rent before Christmas , has a dark past
The naked bodies of Asra Abdullah Alsehli, 24, and 23-year-old Amaal Abdullah Alsehli, each in separate bedrooms were found on June 7, 2022
It boasts ‘nearly brand new open-plan living with spacious balconies enhances light and airflow’, but has the stench of death gone?
The naked bodies of Asra Abdullah Alsehli, 24, and 23-year-old Amaal Abdullah Alsehli, in separate bedrooms were found on June 7, 2022.
They are believed to have died up to six weeks prior to their discovery, although their bodies bore no signs of injury.
Their remains were only uncovered because of a police welfare check, conducted because the sisters owed the landlord about $5,000 worth of unpaid rent after having failed to hand over their weekly $480 since mid-March.
The sisters had sought asylum in Australia, worked as traffic controllers and studied at TAFE. Their remains were flown home to Saudi Arabia in August that year.
At the same time, an ad marketing the property for rent carried a two-sentence disclaimer notice.
‘This property has found two deceased person on 07/06/2022, a crime scene has been established and it is still under police investigation,’ the notice read.
‘According to police this is not a random crime and will not be a potential risk for the community.’
When Daily Mail Australia inspected the property back then, the smell of death was still apparent and the realtor gave out a verbal warning, ‘some people died in there but it’s all been cleaned and it’s all OK’.
When Daily Mail Australia inspected the property at its last open for inspection it still smelt one of death and decay
The property’s current rental ad does not mention it was a ‘death flat’ for two occupants, the ‘Saudi sisters’ in the last five years
The Mail’s assessment of the property was that, ‘even with fresh air streaming into the unit via the large balcony doors on Saturday morning, the aroma was present – particularly in the two small bedrooms – and it didn’t smell like bleach or cleaning products.
‘In fact, the acrid smell that had initially been difficult to pinpoint was suddenly, unmistakably, one of death and decay.’
The asking rental price was dropped from $540 to $495. Now back on the market for $185 a week more, perhaps the smell of human putrefaction has dissipated enough to truly appreciate its ‘contemporary architecture and gorgeous landscaping’.
The property’s current rental ad does not mention it was a ‘death flat’, however the property manager at The Property Investors Alliance who manages the address told Daily Mail Australia he was waiting to hear from NSW Police whether the flat needed a material fact disclaimer statement.
Although New South Wales has laws governing disclosure of a property’s traumatic history, the The Real Estate Institute of NSW concedes there is confusion about rentals and a lack of uniformity.
NSW real estate agents must disclose if a property for sale has been the site of an alleged murder, manslaughter or serious event within the past five years.
Now back on the market for $185 a week more, perhaps the smell of human putrefaction has dissipated enough to truly appreciate its ‘contemporary architecture and gorgeous landscaping’
So-called ‘stigmatised’ homes where a traumatic or violent incident is said to have occurred have legally required disclosure since 2004.
State laws were rushed through NSW Parliament after a family had contracted to buy 6 Collins Street, North Ryde, without being told Sef Gonzales had killed his family there.
Agent LJ Hooker was forced to return an $80,000 deposit to unknowing buyers who had paid for the home where the 20-year-old murdered his father, mother and sister in 2001.
Gonzales is serving three concurrent life sentences without parole for the murders.
The REINSW said that under section 52 of the 2002 Property, Stock and Business Agents Act, the obligation to disclose a material fact – such as a death, asbestos or zoning issues – lies with the agent.
But it said ‘the issue of what is and what is not a material fact’ remains problematic for agents.
Agent LJ Hooker was forced to return an $80,000 deposit to unknowing buyers who had paid for the North Ryde home (above) where 20-year-old Gonzales murdered his father, mother and sister in 2001
‘It’s easy to forget that the issue of material fact also arises in connection with residential tenancies. But it definitely does,’ Tiana Mueller, Director at MMJ Real Estate, said on the REINSW website.
‘It’s fair to say that a lot of people don’t want to live in a home were something unpleasant has occurred.
‘For example, if a violent crime has been committed at the property or a previous tenant has passed away, there are many people who would object to making it their home.
‘If in doubt, always disclose. If you feel something may alter a tenant’s decision to rent the property, you should let them know. If the tenant finds out later, they can walk away with only 14 days’ notice.’
Here are some other addresses where violent crimes have allegedly occurred.
60 Brown Street, Paddington, NSW 2021
This smart three-bedroom Victorian terrace in upmarket Paddington, Sydney is where an alleged double murder took place and two corpses lay overnight in the back courtyard.
Despite the fact the violent incidents were widely-publicised just a few months ago, the property spent just 21 days on the market before it was snapped up for a higher rental.
Ray White real estate’s Woollahra agency placed 60 Brown Street back on the rental market in June this year, four months after occupant Jesse Baird was shot dead there with his boyfriend.
Mr Baird and and Luke Davies were allegedly murdered by Beau Lamarre-Condon on February 19.
Jesse Baird and and Luke Davies were allegedly murdered by Beau Lamarre-Condon on February 19 in the Brown Street house (above) in Sydney’s upscale Paddington
The two men, who were in a new relationship, were allegedly shot dead in the living room of the Victorian era terrace in Sydney’s east
The bodies of Jesse, 26, and Luke, 29, were allegedly placed under a tarpaulin in the Paddington terrace’s backyard (above) overnight
The ex-cop allegedly used his police-issued Glock pistol to shoot former Channel Ten presenter Baird and his new boyfriend, a flight attendant, three times inside the Paddington terrace.
The men’s blood, initially mistaken for beetroot by Baird’s housemates, had allegedly penetrated the living room’s polished wooden floors.
When Mr Baird’s female housemates arrived home that evening to find the place in disarray, they were unaware the couple lay dead in the courtyard.
The two young women went to bed and left for work the next morning without noticing that the men’s bodies were under a tarpaulin in the property’s self-contained courtyard.
Mr Baird and the housemates had rented the three-bedroom terrace in April last year for $1,200 a week.
Photographed repeatedly by media and swamped by a shrine of flowers and mementos from mourners and wellwishers, the house was eventually vacated in March and its furniture dumped in the street
The women may have ended the lease earlier than anticipated due to the tragedy.
Sifted through by forensic officers, photographed repeatedly by media and swamped by a shrine of flowers and mementos from mourners and wellwishers, the house was eventually vacated in March and its furniture dumped in the street.
Listed on June 7 at the slightly increased weekly rental of $1,250, its lease was signed within three weeks and it remains occupied.
Ray White Woollahra told Daily Mail Australia it disclosed to potential renters the property’s traumatic history under the laws which require agents to disclose any information considered a ‘material fact’.
128 Saint Clair Avenue, Saint Clair, NSW 2759
On July 20, 2019 Jessica Camilleri was both hungry and angry and inside the comfortable three bedroom family home in Saint Clair, in western Sydney, where she lived with her mother, things were escalating.
Rita Camilleri and Jessica’s father were separated, in part because of her devotion to caring for Jessica, who suffered from multiple complex mental disorders and was ‘prone to rage attacks’.
Jessica could be provoked by something as simple as a stranger looking at her the wrong way, and if anyone touched her or did anything physical, she would ‘lose all control’.
On the night in question, 57-year-old Rita was at her wit’s end.
The house where Jessica beheaded her mother and then emerged with the head to place it near a neighbour on the footpath is a desirable rental property
After beheading her mother, Jessica asked police at the house ‘there’s nothing you can do, she’s a goner? They can’t restart her heart? ‘Cos I know doctors can do miracles they can’t resew her head’
Mother and daughter had already dined on Red Rooster, before Jessica demanded a second delivery from the food outlet.
Then she turned on Rita who, seeking some respite, was planning to have her daughter taken into mental health care.
Around 8.30pm, Jessica dragged her mother down the house’s vinyl-tiled hallway into the kitchen by the hair.
She began attacking her with what would end up being seven different kitchen knives.
Jessica stabbed her mother again and again, up to 200 times, eventually beheading her and then removing Rita’s tongue, eyeballs and nose.
The then 25-year-old took her mum’s head and dropped it on a footpath outside a neighbour’s house.
Camilleri then phoned police and said, ‘Mum’s head is on the path’ and asked if it could be sewn back on.
She told officers how she ‘chopped her (mother’s) head off with a knife’ and then asked them repeatedly if the head can be sewn back on, or some miracle worked to bring her mother back to life.
‘Can you bring someone back to life if they don’t have a head? Can you bring her back to life?
Jessica dragged her mother by the hair down the vinyl tiles into the kitchen where she cut off her mothers head and the removed her eyeballs and nose
Jessica asked if her mother Rita (above) could not have her decapitated head resewn back on
‘It was like from the neck and the back of my neck … are you sure you won’t be able to bring her back to life?’
She continued: ‘Can I ask you, did they find the head? Has she gone, you just can’t bring her back?
‘There’s nothing you can do, she’s a goner? They can’t restart her heart? ‘Cos I know doctors can do miracles they can’t resew her head?’
The police officer replied: ‘That’s a bit of a stretch.’
Jessica was arrested, covered in blood and standing near her mother’s decapitated head as horrified neighbours on the normally tranqu street watched on.
Forensic officers searched bushes and gardens along the normally tranquil treelined St Clair street for hours the next day
Forensic officers searched bushes and gardens along the street for hours the next day.
Camilleri’s house was transferred to a family member and then, Jessica awaited trial after pleading not guilty to her mother’s murder, the house was sold in June 2020 for $680,000.
Jessica was convicted of her mother’s manslaughter and was sentenced to 21 years and seven months, but has since copped a further 20 months’ jail for attacking prison officers.
The site of the brutal decapitation killing, described by agents as a ‘truly superb are a and rare find’ with ‘a show stopping pergola’, was snapped up as a rental in May last year for $530 a week.
The property blurb warned: ‘There is a material fact relevant to the home, which will be disclosed when attending a viewing in accordance with relevant legislation.’
49 Borrowdale Way, Cranebrook
About 2.30pm on Sunday, December 18, 2022, flatmates in the four bedroom house at 49 Borrowdale Way, Cranebrook in the foothills of the Blue Mountains called emergency services to their home.
Their friend, a 31-year-old woman who had stayed the night after a first date with a man she had met on the dating app Bumble, had been located with serious head injuries inside one of the home’s bedrooms.
Dannielle Finlay-Jones had spent Saturday night with Ashley Gaddie at The Marsden Brewhouse, in Marsden Park, in Sydney’s north-west, and then gone back to Cranebrook.
The 31-year-old woman stayed the night with a man she had met on the dating app Bumble, and was located with serious head injuries inside one of the home’s (above) bedrooms
Dannielle Finlay-Jones was murdered at a friend’s Cranebrook house in December 2022
Ashley Gaddie was a violent psychopath who battered Dannielle to death inside the bedroom of the Cranebrook home
Paramedics could not revive Ms Finlay-Jones, and Ashley Gaddie was nowhere to be seen.
Police later located him at a clifftop lookout in the Blue Mountains where a 12-hour standoff ensued until he was grabbed by officers and arrested.
Charged with murder, Gaddie had a history of violence against women who branded him a controlling psychopath.
In April this year, Gaddie was found dead in his cell at Clarence Correctional Centre.
The property where Dannielle Finlay-Jones had believed she could stay safe with friends has since sold twice for minimal price increases, and is currently owner-occupied after being bought for $855,000 in August last year.
Flat 43, 14-20 Parkes Avenue, Werrington NSW 2747
On April 21, 2013, mother-of-two Noleen Hayson Pal paid a visit to the Werrington flat in western Sydney that her controlling and hostile ex-partner was renting.
The estranged couple were in dispute over custody of their two young sons, whose father, Man Haron Monis claimed he didn’t see often enough.
Monis had been living on his own for several months at the Werrington flats after Ms Pal reportedly threw him out of the granny flat at her parents’ house.
Iranian-born Monis and Fijian-Indian Pal were both Muslim, but she had grown concerned at his increasing aggression and paranoia as he descended into Islamic fundamentalism.
Scenes of horror unfolded inside this unit block at Werrington where mum-of-two Nolene Hayson Pal was lured to Number 43, then stabbed and set alight by the lover of Lindt Cafe siege gunman Man Monis
Nolene Pal was murdered by her deranged ex’s lover Amirah Droudis on a Sunday afternoon in suburban Werrington where she was repeatedly stabbed an set on fire
Ms Pal, who lived with their sons and her parents 30km away, was due to collect them that Sunday afternoon at about 4.30pm, as arranged via a phone call from Monis.
After knocking on the door, instead of it opening to him, a female appeared, dressed in black Middle Eastern dress, her face obscured.
The woman repeatedly stabbed Ms Pal in the hallway outside apartment 43, a neighbour who opened his door after hearing a commotion and a woman’s screams, said he observed.
He said the woman doing the ‘downward stabbing motions’ was standing over the body and that he ‘saw at least three or four stabs, and the lady on the ground went quiet’.
Ms Pal at one of her two weddings to Monis who she later threw out of home, concerned at his increasing aggression and paranoia as he descended into Islamic fundamentalism.
Then ‘all of a sudden there was a plastic bottle in her hand and she was pouring it over the body’ and he yelled out to the attacker, ‘no, don’t’.
The woman screamed back ‘no, you go in there’, and set the woman on the ground alight before fleeing the scene.
Police and paramedics arrived but the woman could not be saved and was pronounced dead.
Nolene Pal was identified, but it wasn’t until seven months later that police arrested Monis, 49, and his girlfriend, 34-year-old hairdresser Amirah Droudis.
They charged Droudis with murder and Monis with accessory before and after the fact of murder.
Horrified neighbours saw Amirah Droudis stab Ms Pal until she fell, then pour petrol from a plastic bottle over her and set her alight
Amirah Droudis is now serving 30 plus years for murdering the ex-wife of Man Monis on his behalf
Both were granted bail the following month by Sydney magistrate William Pierce, who said the Crown’s case against them was weak.
In 2014 he was again granted bail after being charged with multiple sexual and indecent assault charges.
On December 15, 2014, Man Monis entered the Lindt Cafe in Martin Place with a sawn-off shotgun.
He died 17 hours later when police shot him to end the Lindt Cafe siege, in which hostage Tori Johnson was killed by Monis and Katrina Dawson a police bullet fragment.
Amira Droudis was found guilty of murder in late 2016 and sentenced to 44 years’ prison which was reduced on appeal, with her earliest release date now in 2041.
The Werrington flat where Nolene Pal was lured to her death was back on the market in June 2013 and rented within 22 days for $310 a week.
It has been rented, sold and bought several times since. It was most recently sold in October for $490,000 and is currently owner-occupied.
