A mother who was found dead in the same house where her teenage children were murdered by their father fell into a deep depression and was dreading spending Christmas alone.
Olga Edwards, 37, was found dead at her home in West Pennant Hills, Sydney’s north-west, on Wednesday morning – less than six months after her estranged husband murdered their children in a bedroom at the same property.
Olga refused to leave the property where her children Jack, 15, and Jennifer, 13, were repeatedly shot by their father John Edwards, 68, in a murder-suicide that rocked Australia on July 5.
The Russian-born mother, a solicitor with a Sydney-based legal firm, was unable to return to work and became withdrawn from life.
Olga Edwards (left) was found dead at her West Pennant Hills home on Wednesday morning, less than six months after her husband John Edwards (right) murdered their teenage children
Olga collapsed in shock when she arrived home to find her children dead on July 5
The torment of her children’s deaths consumed her and she attended counselling sessions three times a week and spent a number of weeks in hospital.
According to friends and neighbours, Olga couldn’t come to terms with her loss and ultimately decided she had nothing to live for, the Daily Telegraph reported.
‘She was dreading Christmas without the kids and planned to leave Australia for good. She had organised to spend Christmas Day at the house to be close to Jack and Jennifer,’ one friend said.
Domestic violence campaigner Rosie Betty, whose 11-year-old son Luke was stabbed to death by her estranged husband in 2014, revealed she had bonded with Olga in the months before her tragic death.
The former Australian of the Year said the pair had vented together about their frustrations with the family court system and police.
Speaking to the Sydney Morning Herald, Ms Betty said she could sense Olga had a deep ‘sense of hopelessness’ after losing her two children.
‘I felt that it would not surprise me if she made that decision…I don’t blame her and I understand. I deeply understand,’ she told the publication.
Domestic violence campaigner Rosie Betty revealed she had bonded with Olga in the months before her tragic death
The former Australian of the Year’s 11-year-old son Luke was stabbed to death by her estranged husband in 2014 (pictured together)
Police were in constant contact with Olga and neighbours would often bring her meals.
‘Every day she would sit inside the house with the blinds down. We’d take her food but sometimes she wouldn’t answer the door,’ one neighbour told the Daily Telegraph.
‘She would sometimes fall asleep in Jack’s or Jen’s bed at night. She couldn’t get over never seeing them again.’
Daily Mail Australia understands Olga’s body was found by police at about 10am, after officers responded to a concern for welfare report.
Her death is not being treated as suspicious.
A senior police officer claimed the horrific incident was a ‘slow murder’.
Police said at the time Edwards may have been planning the killings for as long as a year.
Pictured: Jack (left), 15, and Jennifer Edwards (right), 13, who were shot dead by their father
Police and forensic services attend the scene of the June double murder-suicide at West Pennant Hills in Sydney
Edwards murdered his children at about 5.20pm, knowing their mother would not yet be home from work.
Olga collapsed in shock when she arrived home to find her children had been shot dead, their bodies riddled with bullets.
Edwards shot himself about 12 hours later at his home in the nearby suburb of Normanhurst.
Two powerful handguns registered in the father’s name sometime this year and used to kill the children, were found at his home.
Before he killed himself Edwards laid out a shirt with ‘world’s best dad’ printed on it, the Daily Telegraph reported.
Edwards killed himself shortly after the shooting at his nearby home in Normanhurst (pictured)
He also got his neighbour’s son to walk his dog before his suicide.
Olga moved to Australia when she was 20 and met Edwards, who had already been married four times.
She had both children before the age of 25 but their relationship became tainted by his violent outbursts, The Australian reported.
Olga took legal action and after a two-year custody battle the pair found a compromise.
Jack and Jen would live with Olga and Edwards was not to know where they lived and was not able to harass them.
Olga was found dead at her home in West Pennant Hills, Sydney’s north-west, on Wednesday morning – months after her husband murdered their children at the same property
But through social media he was able to track them down and stalk them before executing the meticulously planned murder-suicide.
Edwards was described as the ‘most shocking person I have ever come across’ by Olga’s boss at her lower north shore law firm.
Edwards, described as a ‘recluse’ by his neighbours, was a financial planner and volunteered with the NSW Rural Fire Service, according to his LinkedIn page.
Edwards’ sister Dianne said she had nothing good to say about him and that her whole family were horrified by the murders.
The community has begun taking to social media to post heartfelt tributes to Olga.
‘Olga, I hope you’re finally at peace with your babies back in your arms,’ one woman posted on the Hornsby Advocate’s Facebook page.
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NSW Police stand outside the entrance to a property in Harris Road in Normanhurst, where the father turned the gun on himself after murdering his children
The siblings were executed in a bedroom at the West Pennant Hills property (pictured) by their estranged father on July 5