EMERGENCY services received a 000 call about a woman lying motionless on the floor of her home 31 hours before she was found dead with her distraught toddler by her side.

Police found the body after conducting a welfare check about 9pm last night at an apartment in Tongue St, near Somerville Rd, Yarraville, in Melbourne's inner west, where they also found the toddler.

But it has now been revealed that a passer-by called triple-0 about 2pm on Monday, the same day she is believed to have died.

Police said today that the 15-month-old just wanted to be held by officers after being left alone with his mother's body for at least two days.

Ambulance Victoria has now revealed it received reports of a woman lying on the floor of the property at 2pm on Monday – but paramedics left the scene after finding the curtains closed.

media_camera The little boy's toys outside the Yarraville flat where a woman was found dead. Picture: Mike Keating

“Paramedics attended the home on Monday, just before 2pm, after a 000 call from a passerby stating there was a woman lying on the floor,” Ambulance Victoria Acting MICA Group Manager Greg Gibson said.

“When paramedics arrived they found the curtains were drawn, so there was no visibility into the unit. They confirmed that they were at the correct address and unit but were unable to see a patient.

“They spent considerable time knocking on the door and windows to establish whether there was a patient, however there was no response. Our control room called back the original caller who was unable to provide any further information.

“Given the conflicting description of the scene and the lack of evidence suggesting that anyone was inside, the crew then cleared the scene.”

media_camera Yarraville death

He added: “The thoughts and condolences of Ambulance Victoria are with the family and friends at this time.”

Toddler clung to rescuers



This afternoon, police said they were now treating the death of the 25-year-old woman as non-suspicious, and homicide squad detectives were no longer investigating.

They said the toddler just wanted to be held by officers at the tragic scene.

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Earlier forensic police and the homicide squad spent the night examining the apartment, and established a crime scene, before later declaring the case non-suspicious.

“The investigation has been referred to local detectives,” Victoria Police spokeswoman Kelly Yates said this afternoon.

“Police will prepare a report for the Coroner,” she added.

An autopsy will be undertaken to determine the cause of death.

media_camera Brenton Dohse says a Yarraville mum found dead in her flat had doted on her young son. Picture: Mike Keating

As neighbours of the 25-year-old single mum expressed sadness that the toddler had been alone "in his nappy" for days before being rescued, police revealed the boy had been found close to his mother on the lounge room floor wearing pyjamas.

When picked up by officers, he was reported to be clingy and didn’t want to let go.

His mum, found by police around 9pm last night, was fully clothed and there were no signs of injury.

The unit was said to be in neat condition.

Authorities said the little boy was suffering from severe dehydration and was taken to the Royal Children Hospital for treatment including immediate fluid replacement and a suspected severe nappy rash.

Royal Children’s Hospital spokeswoman Justine Nancarrow confirmed by late morning today that the toddler had been discharged “in a satisfactory condition”.

Neighbours tell of a doting mother



Tongue St resident Brenton Dohse said he was sad to hear his neighbour had died leaving her son who "she doted on".

"If she died Monday and he was in there alone... probably in his nappy... that's really sad," he said this morning.

"She absolutely doted on her little boy. She loved him."

He said he believed the woman had lived in the house for 12 months after moving from Tasmania and had expressed future plans of relocating back to the state

"She didn't have many visitors. She often walked past while I was out doing some gardening and we'd have a quick chat, mostly about kids. She was nice to talk to," he said.

Mr Dohse said the woman "was looking OK" last time he saw her.

"It (her death) will come as a big shock to the community. This kind of thing doesn't really happen in Yarraville."

He said he first became wary that something was amiss next door when he heard two women knocking on the woman's door at midday yesterday, calling her name.

"They knocked for quite a long time. They knocked forever," he said.

He said paramedics had arrived at the scene 15 minutes later and police had attended the scene throughout the night.

- with Annika Smethurst and Julie Tullberg



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Originally published as Woman's body found, baby alive