A grief-stricken mum was found lying next to her dead daughter by a neighbour after nobody had heard from the pair 'in days'.
Nicole Smith is understood to have discovered 11-year-old Sophie unresponsive at their home in Queensland, Australia, and been so overcome with shock that she couldn't leave her side.
Schoolgirl Sophie is believed to have died from natural causes sometime last week in the property.
It was her father, Edward, who raised the alarm after not hearing from the “inseparable” mother and daughter for days while he was working away.
A neighbour rushed to the house on Thursday at 6pm and found Nicole lying injured with Sophie's body nearby.
Nicole was taken to hospital with unspecified injuries which are believed to be self-inflicted.
She is described as being in a "stable condition".
Detectives are treating Sophie's death as “non-suspicious”.
Neighbours of the Smith family have reportedly told detectives a heartbroken Nicole stayed in the family’s home for a “number of days” before they were found, reports News.com.au.
Queensland Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll said the situation was "obviously tragic".
"For that family and for that mother," she said.
A GoFundMe page for the schoolgirl's funeral has raised more than $10,000 in a matter of days.
The page describes Sophie as a “beautiful, gentle, kind soul”.
“Sophie was a beautiful, gentle, kind soul and very much loved,” the page reads.
“At only 11 years old, heaven has gained an angel. She was bright and bubbly, loved her family and adored her dog Daisy.
“Mum is still in hospital, Dad is of course filled with shock and grief. He had been working away to try and get ahead and support his family.
“We are close friends of the family and wanted to do something to help alleviate the financial burden, now is not the time to be worrying about how to pay funeral costs, rent and the general bills that keep on coming.
“With some encouragement, Ed has given us permission to create this fundraiser and all funds will be going to the Smith family.
“Funeral arrangements are yet to be confirmed and we are hoping to reach our goal as quickly as possible, so the funds are on hand for the family when the time comes.”
