WATCH: Two little girls, who were the victims of a shocking double homicide on Christmas Day, are remembered by loved ones as vibrant and full of life. Luisa Alvarez reports.
New details are starting to emerge about the tragic murder of six-year-old Chloe Berry and her four-year-old sister Aubrey. A memorial is growing outside the crime scene where many people have dropped off flowers and stuffed animals.
The girls are being described by loved ones as full of energy with contagious smiles, like their mother Sarah Cotton.
READ MORE: Two sisters identified as victims of double homicide in Oak Bay
“The thing about those girls is that they had Sarah?s spirit if you know Sarah she has a big smile and has a big laugh and she really draws people to her and those little girls were the same,? said a friend of the family Trisha Lees.
Another family friend describes the girls as loving and kind.
“They were bright and they were bright and they were funny and they were full of life,” adds Sandra Hudson.
The girls’ bodies were found in their father Andrew Berry?s ground floor apartment Christmas Day when police entered looking for the girls after Berry failed to return them to their mother as planned. Friends of Cotton are staying by her side during this devastating time.
?Sarah is in the most difficult of situations lots of people around us are just trying to take care of her the best we can at this time it?s just sort of unthinkable,? said Lees.
Cotton was in a bitter custody battle with Berry, her ex-partner. The pair has been estranged since 2013.
Berry was found with self-inflicted wounds in the apartment which has been behind police tape since Tuesday morning and he remains in hospital.
Berry is not in police custody and police won’t say if Berry is facing charges. Neighbors often saw Berry around the building with his girls and said everything seemed fine.
” Dad and kids they seemed happy, the kids I saw them the other day they were playing and happy,? said Cath-Ann Lake.
Few details about Berry himself have surfaced but court documents suggest he was in financial distress. Berry was facing eviction in August and his bank was suing to recover over $12,000 in credit card debt. Family friends also confirmed Cotton was suing Berry for unpaid child support.
The Vancouver Island Integrated Major Crime Unit (VIIMCU) who is heading the investigation have not released a cause of death or any other information.
Luisa Alvarez
