By The Times of Australia
A quiet stretch of the Parramatta River at Concord has become the centre of a homicide investigation after NSW Police said the deaths of a father and his six-year-old daughter are being treated as a suspected murder-suicide.
The bodies were recovered on Saturday after police were called to Hen and Chicken Bay, near Bayview Park, shortly before 11.45am. A passer-by had spotted a man’s body in the water. What first looked like a grim water rescue quickly turned into something worse when officers learned the man had been out on a hired boat that morning with his young daughter.
The girl was missing for hours. Police divers, marine officers and air support searched the bay until her body was found later that afternoon.
On Monday, senior police said investigators had found a suicide note and unused life jackets on the boat, including a child-sized jacket. Officers are now working through CCTV, witness accounts and the family’s movements before the trip. Police have said domestic violence is a definite line of inquiry.
Marine Area Commander Superintendent Joe McNulty told media the evidence now points police toward a suspected murder-suicide. He said the scene was “horrible and traumatic” for the officers who responded, and that support was being wrapped around the child’s mother.
The man, aged in his 40s, was not known to police. His daughter, only six, has not been publicly named by authorities. Police have described her death as a senseless crime, and a report will be prepared for the coroner.
There is still a lot police have not said. They have not released the full contents of the note. They have not set out exactly how the two entered the water. They have not publicly confirmed whether the life jackets had been worn earlier and later removed. Those details matter, and they will now sit with detectives and the coroner.
But the core of the case is already heavy enough: a child taken onto the river, a boat found empty, life jackets left behind, and a mother left with a loss that police themselves struggled to put into words.
If you or someone you know needs help, call Lifeline on 13 11 14. For family and domestic violence support, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732. In an emergency, call Triple Zero.
Sources: NSW Police comments reported by ABC News and Guardian Australia, with further details from police media briefings on Monday, 15 June 2026.
