Chilling new details have emerged about the “unusual” deaths of four people in a Melbourne home as a second victim was identified.
Michael Hodgkinson, 32, was one of four people discovered in the lounge of the unit in Broadmeadows, 15km north of the CBD, just before 2am on Tuesday.
Abdul El Sayed, 17, a 37-year-old man and a 42-year-old woman were also discovered at the Bicknell Court home by Mr El Sayed’s uncle, Cory Lewis.
When the group did not respond to his knock, Mr Lewis smashed the window to gain entry and then contacted emergency services.
Victoria Police will investigate whether an overdose of fentanyl – an opioid up to 50 times stronger than heroin – caused their deaths.
The synthetic opioid prescribed for chronic pain was the leading cause of overdoses in the United States in 2021, with fears the drug will wreak havoc in Australia.
Detectives will also investigate whether the group overdosed on another synthetic opioid called nitazene or carbon monoxide leaking from a gas stove.
Officers wore full hazmat suits and oxygen tanks as they entered the property on Tuesday, while emotional family members mourned just meters away.
“We don’t know what the cause of death was,” Detective Dean Thomas said.
Michael Hodgkinson, 32, was one of four found dead in the sitting room of the unit in Broadmeadows, 15km north of the CBD, just before 2am on Tuesday.
Mr El Sayed (photo right) is survived by a partner and an 18-month-old daughter
Officers wore hazmat suits and oxygen tanks when they entered the building on Tuesday
‘We have to remain open. It is unusual for us to find four people in one property who have died, possibly from a drug overdose, but we must remain open and until we confirm that this is the case, it may be so. something.
“I can’t say definitively if (fentanyl) is involved.”
Detective Inspector Thomas said that while there was no suggestion that there had been any ‘acts of violence’, some injuries had to be accounted for.
He added that items from the premises would be removed from the scene, but could not confirm whether any drug paraphernalia had been collected.
El Sayed’s devastated mother, Jessica Lewis, visited the scene of the tragedy on Tuesday morning, supported by her siblings.
Cory could be seen rubbing his sister’s back as they shed tears from the front of the unit block, which was taped off by police as a possible crime scene.
Mr El Sayed is survived by a partner and an 18-month-old daughter.
Mr El Sayed’s devastated mother Jessica Lewis (pictured second from left) visited the scene of the tragedy on Tuesday morning, supported by her brother Cory (left)
Family members, detectives and officers are seen outside the home on Tuesday
Cory, who is also the brother-in-law of one of the dead, told 7News he believes the deaths were the result of a drug overdose.
“I came home to find relatives dead in the house and it tortured and shocked me,” he told the media.
“I think it was an overdose, but I’m not exactly sure.”
Cory said the tragedy was the latest of many to strike his family.
“We haven’t had a break. We just lost mom and dad too. My mother in November last year and my father on his own birthday,” he said.
Cory, who is also the brother-in-law of one of the dead men, told media he believed the deaths were caused by a drug overdose.
Aside from the drug speculation, Cory said his family remained in the dark about the exact cause of the deaths.
‘We have as little idea as you do. “We don’t know what, but it looks like an overdose,” he said.
Cory’s brother Brendan said El Sayed “doesn’t even do drugs.”
“A little choof (marijuana) here and there, but that’s it,” he said.
Cory agreed that while the teen may have fallen under bad influences, he maintained that Mr. El Sayed “didn’t use meth” and “wasn’t a junkie.”