Julia and Jan Tshabalala had their family meal a day early on Christmas Eve, then sent their two young children to stay with relatives.The next morning they were found dead in an apparent suicide pact.
Neighbours said they had seemed to be a ‘nice happy family’. The couple’s daughter, Serena, had cerebral palsy, although she did not need a wheelchair, while their son, Junior, had learning difficulties.
‘They were very nice people,’ said their next-door neighbour, who asked not to be named. ‘We used to receive Christmas cards from them. They were a very private couple, but we would always speak to them over the fence.
Police visited the rented £150,000 home in Billingshurst, West Sussex, on Christmas Day after a relative went to the house just after 9am. He apparently looked through a window and saw Jan, 33, who worked as a carer, hanging in a room. His wife Julia, in her 30s, was also dead inside.
Yesterday, the couple’s white Kia 4x4 was outside their home, and a police officer was seen feeding the family’s pet rabbits.
Their children, thought to be aged between four and seven, go to a local school specialising in learning difficulties.
Residents said that the situation was ‘absolutely awful’. There were rumours the couple had been in financial trouble, although friends dismissed the idea.
One neighbour said: ‘I’d see the man in his front garden sometimes and he would wave. She was a good mother, I would see her at the swings in the park with her kids. They were completely normal and pleasant.’
Another said: ‘I last saw Julia on Christmas Eve and she seemed happy. Julia didn’t work and just looked after the kids. The little girl has cerebral palsy – she’s a lovely little girl, very quiet. And the boy has learning difficulties too. But she never said she was struggling.’
A third said: ‘I was the one who got in and found them. It’s been a real shock.’
Such a sad news. May their souls resst well
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