A post-mortem examination in Auckland today is expected to determine how a Tauranga mother and her 18-month-old daughter died.
Police acting on a tip-off found first the woman's body on Sunday afternoon and 20 hours later her daughter's body in a Tauranga house.
Detectives initially believed the child may have been alive
and there was a chance Anna Sangha may have witnessed the slaying of her mother Ravneet Sangha.
They appealed for any sightings or information about Anna after they found Mrs Sangha's body in the house in the suburb of Otumoetai.
Their hopes were dashed when the child's body was found hidden in the house yesterday afternoon.
Mrs Sangha's husband Dev was today returning from a trip to India to identify the bodies of his wife and daughter.
A 23-year-old man of Indian descent was charged with the murder of Mrs Sangha yesterday and later in the day appeared in Counties Manukau District Court. He was remanded to appear in Tauranga District Court on Thursday
Police said further charges were likely.
The man was granted name suppression until Thursday.
Police refused to give details of how the mother and daughter died.
Police said the man who appeared in court on the murder charge was known to Mr and Mrs Sangha and had an association with the house where the bodies were found.
The couple was reported by neighbours to be quiet and hard working.
Mr Sangha was a driver with Tauranga Mount Taxis and his wife worked in a kiwifruit packhouse in Katikati.
The deaths of the mother and child devastated the local area. Resident Graeme Allen, who lives at the property closest to the couple, was one of the last people to see the mother and daughter alive.
``I saw the little girl running around the back lawn at lunchtime on Saturday. She was just outside with her mum while she was hanging clothes on the line,'' he said. NZPA
