A ‘devoted’ mother and her eight-year-old daughter who were found dead at home in a possible ‘murder suicide’ have been pictured for the first time.
Martina Karos, 40, and her disabled daughter, Eleni Edwards, were tragically discovered at the house on South Radford Street, Salford, shortly after 10.30am yesterday after emergency services were called over a ‘concern for welfare’.
Police say they are not actively looking for anyone else in the investigation and there are ‘no suspicious circumstances’. It’s understood they are probing a murder suicide.
The victims have now been formally identified by Greater Manchester Police (GMP), with a neighbour revealing they were a mother and daughter who lived alone at the address.
She said the mother was half-Polish and half-Italian and had lived at the address for around two years. The neighbour, who did not want to give her name, said the mother did not work and spent most of her time at home looking after her daughter.
‘I didn’t see that much of her, I was at work all day,’ the neighbour said. All I could say was she was a loving and devoted mother to the little girl.
Martina, 40, and her disabled daughter Eleni (pictured together) were tragically discovered at the house on South Radford Street, Salford, shortly after 10.30am yesterday
A police officers stands guard outside a house where a woman and eight-year-old girl were found dead on Monday
Touching tributes have been placed against a fence outside the same home, including a number of bouquets of flowers and a toy teddy bear
‘Eleni was severely disabled and hugely dependant on her mum. She had a walking frame and she would walk with her mum up and down the street outside their house.
‘A bus would come to take the girl to a special school each day.
‘Martina was quite a closed person.
‘A police van arrived outside the house with lights flashing. I came downstairs to have a look then a policewoman knocked on the door and asked if I had seen my neighbour.
‘Then the fire brigade came and got in at the back of the house, breaking the glass.
‘After that the police came and asked us to go back inside.
‘I last saw her last Friday, putting rubbish in the bin and mowing the lawn.
‘She would talk to most people, but she was very up and down in her moods. Sometimes she would smile and say hello and other times blank you.’
Another neighbour said she had once asked Martina about her child’s father but was told they had ‘nothing to do with him’.
Two more neighbours went door-to-door on the housing estate, a mix of council houses and private rented properties, collecting donations to buy flowers.
Police and floral tributes at the scene in South Radford Street, in Salford, where a woman and a girl have been found dead
A cordon was put in place on the street in Salford yesterday afternoon following the tragic discovery
An aerial view of the street where a woman and a girl were found dead on Monday
One of the women said: ‘I’ve never spoke to the mother or seen the little girl but it is such a shame.
‘People are saying she had no family in England so we are just going round, doing the decent thing to put some flowers down outside the house.’
Others said they woman and her daughter had lived at the house for around six years and several floral tributes and teddy bear have been left outside the property.
Another said: ‘It’s so sad. The mother really doted on her daughter, who was severely disabled. But I spoke to the mother about a month a go and she seemed to have the world on her shoulders.
‘I said to her, ‘You look really tired’. And she replied: ‘Yes, I am.’
‘She’d had her garden done but she was saying there were other things that needed doing with the house and it was getting on her nerves.
‘I noticed the blinds on her house were down all weekend from Friday to Sunday but I saw a light had been left on downstairs Sunday night.
‘I said something my husband because it seemed unusual. And when I saw all the police cars outside on Monday morning I feared the worst.’
The woman added that the daughter used both a walking frame and wheelchair to get around, as well as a lift inside the home, and was ‘partially blind’ and had to be fed through her stomach.
Emergency services responded to a concern of welfare call at the address on Monday morning
Emergency services attending the property in Salford, Greater Manchester, where a schoolgirl and a woman were discovered dead on Monday
Another neighbour also described the woman as a ‘doting mother’ and someone who was ‘friendly and chatty’.
Milana Kleina, 37, said: ‘She was very tidy and looked after the house and I’d see her cleaning it all the time. You could tell she really cared for her daughter.
‘I used to see the mum in the morning seeing the daughter off to school. A bus used to come and collect her.’
Milana added: ‘I just can’t understand what’s happened.
‘I have a son, aged 9, myself. It’s affected us all because this is usually such a quiet street – it’s tragic really.’
Other neighbours said the mother was a ‘lovely person’ and ‘very friendly’, although they’d noticed she’d become less sociable in recent months.
They also pointed out that she had only recently purchased a blue Citroen mobility car that was parked on the driveway of the house.
The Manchester Evening News reports that detectives at are predominantly investigating the deaths as a murder-suicide.
GMP said all known next of kin have been informed and are being supported by specialist officers.
The force appealed for information on what they described as a ‘tragic incident’.
Detective Chief Inspector Charlotte Whalley of Greater Manchester Police said: ‘My thoughts, and the thoughts of the entire investigation team remain with the family of the Martina and Eleni.
‘It is such a tragic loss of life, and our main priority is keeping their loved ones updated throughout the investigation.
‘A cordon remains in place on Radford Street and will remain in place whilst officers work in the area.
‘We know there will be some disruption to the local community as a result of our scene, but it is so important that we do this, we need to be able to provide their loved ones with the information they need to process this news.
‘We thank the public for their patience whilst we investigate and their compassion as flowers can be seen outside the property, showing the amount of support the family have from members of the community.
‘We continue to conduct a full and thorough investigation, and at this time we are not actively looking for anyone else in relation to this case.
‘We believe that there are no suspicious circumstances and we are working to conclude our investigation and pass a file to the coroner.’
A Salford City Council spokesperson said: ‘We are aware of the terribly sad news this morning and our thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of those who have tragically lost their lives.
‘We’re working closely with GMP and assisting them with their ongoing investigation and our teams will be supporting both local residents and council staff who have no doubt been greatly affected by the events today.’
Anyone with information on the incident has been asked to call 101, quoting log 998 of September 23.
• For confidential support, call Samaritans on 116 123, visit samaritans.org or visit https://www.thecalmzone.net/get-support