Smiling faces of the three young children found ‘ killed’ at home
GIVING a thumbs up to a photographer, this is the little boy found dead in a house with his sister and baby brother.
Seven-year-old Fares Alfil Bash was discovered alongside sister Joury, three, and nine-month-old Mohammed in the Sea Mills district of Bristol on Sunday after a member of the public became concerned for the family’s welfare.
A 42-year-old woman who was arrested at the scene was taken to hospital with non- life- threatening injuries and remained in police custody last night.
Neighbour Dave Richards said he had heard loud banging noises but was unable to see anything when he went out to check. He added: ‘We have never had this sort of thing down here before, it’s usually a very quiet area. It’s unusual.’
Friends told how the children’s parents were well-known and popular members of the local Sudanese community. They said the children’s father, a postal worker, had recently been remanded in custody on domestic violence charges. Salwa Bashar, a friend of the Bash family, said: ‘They were beautiful children. Fares was very intelligent and bubbly. He had a curious attitude – he was like an adult.’ She said the children’s parents were ‘a very big part of our community, they were just lovely people and always smiling’.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct has been notified over Avon and Somerset Police’s prior contact with the family.
Members of the Sudanese community gathered at the Sea Mills Methodist Church, around the corner from the property where the children were found, to pay their respects.
Another friend of the family, Sadiq Issak, said the news left him feeling ‘like the sky has fallen down’.
Chief Inspector Vicks Hayward-Melen said: ‘Officers arrived at about 12.40am on Sunday and found three children whose lives could not be saved.
‘Post-mortem examinations will now be carried out to establish the cause of death. A 42- year- old woman was arrested at the scene.’