EXCLUSIVE
The heartbroken father of a high achieving HSC student who was found dead near a train station believes she may have been murdered – as he demands for police to show him footage of her final moments to rule out that anyone else was involved.
Mamun Syeda’s 18-year-old daughter Samia vanished from their Merrylands apartment, in Sydney‘s west, just after 1am on Sunday December 29.
She was found dead near Merrylands train station a short time later at 1:35am, with police treating her death as a suicide.
But Mr Syeda believes his only child may have been a victim of foul play due to the mysterious circumstances surrounding her disappearance.
Speaking to Daily Mail Australia at his two bedroom unit on Wednesday, Mr Syeda does not understand how his daughter could have left the home because both doors were locked with keys that he keeps under his pillow while he sleeps.
Strangely, when he awoke in the early morning hours to discover his daughter missing, the main entrance and sliding balcony door – were still locked shut and her bedroom window, which sits six metres above a cement driveway, showed no signs of tampering.
‘The police need to get nearby footage ASAP and explain how my daughter was able to get out of the apartment with locked doors and windows,’ Mr Syeda told Daily Mail Australia.
‘For me, she did not suicide, she was murdered.
Samia Syeda, 18, (pictured) was found dead at Merrylands train station last month. Police are treating her death as a suicide
Mamun Syeda (pictured) believes something sinister happened to his teenage daughter and he wants her death further investigated
Samia was found dead near Merrylands train station (pictured) in the early hours of December 29
‘This is a horror story. But I don’t have proof.
‘Police need to find it. I [alone] can not prove or disprove it.’
Mr Syeda said the night of his daughter’s disappearance was just like any other.
For safety reasons, he locks both doors and pushes a draft stopper along the interior base of the main entrance every night.
Around 1am, his daughter said goodnight and closed her bedroom door to change into her pyjamas.
He went to bed at the same time and fell asleep 10 minutes later.
When Mr Syeda, a Muslim originally from Bangladesh, woke up at 3am to perform his morning prayers, his daughter’s bedroom door was ajar and she appeared to still be asleep.
However, when he finished praying an hour and walked back past her room, he noticed something didn’t seem quite right.
He went into her room, pulled back her doona and discovered she was gone – and in her place was a mound of clothes.
He immediately called police, who upon their arrival told him there had been an incident at the local train station that may have involved his daughter.
Pictured is Samia’s bedroom. A mound of clothes remained under her doona when Daily Mail Australia visited the home on Wednesday
Mr Syeda said the sliding door leading out to the balcony (pictured) was locked shut with a key when he went to bed and remained so even after he discovered his daughter was missing
The balcony, which is on the second floor, is a difficult climb down to the ground
The officers showed Mr Syeda photos of the female – who he was able to identify as his daughter based on the clothes she was wearing.
However, Mr Syeda said he immediately checked the doors straight after discovering she had vanished – and the draft stopper was still in the same position, indicating no one had left through the main entrance.
He added that Samia didn’t have any keys for the house, so she could not have exited then re-locked the doors, and her window was not a viable exit option as it was too high above the ground.
Mr Syeda is baffled as to how she could of left unless someone had snuck her out – and he wants police to collect and show him the footage of her journey from their home to the railway station – which takes about eight minutes on foot.
‘I fell asleep at 1:10am and I didn’t hear any unusual noise. They found her dead at 1:35am. In those 25 minutes, she packed up here and walked there? It’s unbelievable,’ he said.
‘Something supernatural happened.’
Mr Syeda said his daughter, who graduated from Macarthur Girls High School with an ATAR of 93 just weeks before her death, did not seem suicidal.
She had just been admitted to study IT at University of NSW on a scholarship and just hours before she died, wrote a list of activities she had planned for the upcoming week, including getting a tax file number so she could work, visiting friends, and picking up new hobbies.
Pictured is a to-do list that Samia wrote on Saturday December 28. She was found dead hours later at 1:35am on Sunday December 29
Samia’s bedroom window metres above the ground, making it very difficult to exit without sustaining significant injuries
When Samia left the house, she took a few items of clothing but left her phone behind.
Her name was found written on her arm when officers discovered her body.
Mr Syeda said his daughter’s most recent diary is also missing from her room.
He said he will only be satisfied that she acted on her own volition if the CCTV shows her carrying her diary – but so far, detectives have only shown him a grainy photograph taken near the station.
When contacted by Daily Mail Australia about Mr Syeda’s claims that officers have not conducted a thorough investigation, a NSW Police spokesperson said the matter was now before the Coroner’s office.
‘A report is being prepared for the information of the Coroner and the circumstances surrounding the death are determined by the Coroner,’ the spokesperson said.
Samia’s death rocked the local Muslim community, with rumours circulating that she was heavily controlled and under a lot of pressure at home.
One of Samia’s friends commented online earlier this week that she was ‘not allowed to see friends outside of school’ – but Mr Syeda vehemently denied those claims.
‘She went outside with her friend for five hours on the day she vanished. She visited her friend’s house for six hours three days before she vanished,’ he said.
Mr Syeda said Samia’s bedroom window was normally locked at night, however, the key stayed permanently in the lock
Mr Syeda said his daughter’s window showed no signs of tampering when he discovered her missing
Mr Syeda said a draft stopper at the base of the front door remained unmoved and the door was still locked with the key kept under his pillow when he discovered Samia had vanished
Samia, a high-performing student, had excelled in her HSC and was due to start studying IT this year
‘Of course, she needed to give the name of who she is visiting and get it approved by me [first].
‘But she was free in a controlled way.’
Islamic undertaker Ahmad Hraichie, who prepared her funeral service this week, said Samia had confided to a friend that she was feeling suicidal in the hours before her death – but then quickly back-pedalled and insisted she was fine.
‘She said to her friend, ‘Don’t worry, I will see you later’,’ Mr Hraichie told Daily Mail Australia.
‘She said she would go to a psychologist on the Tuesday.
‘She didn’t make it until Tuesday.’
Mr Hraichie said it was heartbreaking to think that a teenager could have felt so alone in Australia where there are so many organisations that can give social and psychological support.
He urged others who feel depressed or are grappling with mental health issues to make use of such groups, and to reach out for help.
‘She was 18 years old. This shouldn’t have happened,’ he said.
‘I keep reliving those moments – when she felt so rock bottom to go do that.
‘You lose one, we lose all. In the future, let’s be proactive, not reactive.
‘If you need help, if you want a coffee, I am happy to [be there to] vent.’
Muslim community group leader Nafsun Mutma’innah said that the teen had been struggling with ‘loneliness’.
Samia’s belongings remained neatly packed in tubs inside her room when Daily Mail visited on Wednesday
High school text books and work books remained on her desk, alongside a to-do list with her goals for the upcoming week
‘It seems that the suicide was indicative of underlying personal issues and feelings of isolation,’ he wrote online.
‘This loss highlights a growing concern about suicide and suicidal ideation, especially among our youth. Adolescence can be a time of intense emotional and social pressures, especially in the harmful age of social media, especially for girls.
‘If you notice friends or family members – especially young people – showing signs of despair or talking about losing hope, do not hesitate to reach out to them and offer them a space to talk to you or just sit in silence with them, being present with them.’
A longtime friend said she would have ‘never guessed’ Samia would take her own life.
‘My brothers and sisters, I beg, if you know someone that’s struggling, regardless of proximity, please ask them if they’re ok,’ she said.
‘You will never know what’s happening behind closed doors, people need a shoulder to lean on.
‘A simple question can change someone’s life.’
For confidential support 24/7, call Lifeline 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue 1300 22 4636
