Girl in suicide home was suffocated, police say

She and her father were found dead in their Dubai apartment on Saturday; the mother survived.

DUBAI // A four-year-old girl found dead with her father in a Dubai flat on Saturday was suffocated by a pillow, a Dubai Police post-mortem examination has revealed.

Brig Khalil Al Mansouri, head of the Criminal Investigation Department, said forensic tests had not determine whether both parents were involved in the killing or just one.

The girl was suffocated shortly before both parents attempted to commit suicide.

The father hanged himself, police say. The mother suffered several cuts to her wrists, but survived.

She is being treated at Rashid Hospital and is recovering, officials said.

The father left two notes behind, sources said. The first was addressed to his family, bidding them farewell and telling them that he would go to another life.

The second was addressed to Dubai Police, explaining the reasons for the suicide.

"He said he was suffering some financial problems and that he had some problems with his former sponsor," Brig Al Mansouri said. "However, he did not specify the types of problems."