UPDATE: A 35-year-old man has been charged with the murder of his two young daughters in an Easter Sunday tragedy in Watsonia.
The girls, both aged under five, were found dead at a house in Watsonia, and a man known to them was arrested at the scene on Sunday afternoon.
Police issued a statement early on Monday saying Charles Mihayo, of Watsonia, had been charged with the murder of both girls and remanded in custody to appear at the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Tuesday.
Police have yet to reveal how the children died or give details of any injuries.
A number of family members were at the home at the time the incident unfolded.
Assistant Commissioner Andrew Crisp said the tragedy had touched many.
He said what was supposed to have been a long weekend filled with family get-togethers had ended in tragedy.
‘‘It’s a time for families to get together and enjoy each other’s company, and this will have a significant impact on friends, on family,’’ he said.
‘‘A number of our police members have been in tears. This is a tragic set of circumstances.
“There were a number of family members here at the time,” Assistant Commissioner Crisp said at the scene.
“It’s naturally impacted on friends, neighbours and also on members of the fire brigade, the ambulance services and members of Victoria Police who have attended the scene.”
Police were called to the Longmuir Road home about 2.40pm. Paramedics arrived soon after and treated the girls for some time.
As shocked neighbours looked at the house behind crime scene tape, friends of the family, who knew the girls’ mother, began gathering at the scene.
Some of them embraced each other while others cried.
A neighbour said the incident was hard to comprehend.
“[I feel] sick to the stomach,” he said.
“It’s really hard to believe this could happen in a quiet little suburban street.”
One neighbour recalled hearing screams in the early afternoon.
‘‘There were a couple of screams, a woman, that’s all I heard. And then the police were there,’’ said the neighbour, who declined to be named.
Ben Cameron, who lives five doors down from the home, said he often saw the two girls playing in the area.
‘‘I’m a bit scared, to be honest. I just don’t know how I feel about it,’’ he said.
‘‘I’ve seen those kids before. I know the family. I’ve just seen them around. It’s pretty frightening and scary.’’
The girls’ deaths have shocked the neighbourhood, which Rachel Fish, a resident who lives a few doors away from the house, said had ‘‘always been a quiet area for families’’.
‘‘The wildest thing that’s happened around here is the occasional teenage party.’’
