Pictured: Tragic parents who 'killed themselves on Christmas Day over money worries'

The parents of two young children tragically killed themselves on Christmas Day over money worries, neighbours said today.

The bodies of Jan and Julia Tshabalala were seen through a window by a worried relative who went round to their home.

Both in their 30s, the mum and dad were believed to have been “in deep financial trouble” and had sent their children aged between five and seven, to stay elsewhere.

They are thought to have been with a relative while the parents prepared for Christmas Day.

A suicide pact was the likeliest explanation facing detectives probing the tragedy tonight.

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Death pact: Julia Tshabalala, 30, was found dead at her home in Billingshurst, West Sussex

But police refused to say if notes had been found, only that they were not looking for anyone else connected with the deaths.

One neighbour, who did not want to be named, said: “They were a private couple but we would always speak to them over the fence and sometimes washed our cars together. They had two young children.

“They were nice. We used to receive Christmas cards from them and my wife spoke to Julia on Christmas Eve. She said the kids were with a relative.”

He added: “They always seemed like a happy couple. There were various rumours going around here about them being in financial trouble.”

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Troubles: Jan Tshabalala, 33, was also found dead

The couple’s white Kia 4x4 stood on the drive outside their £280,000 home in Billingshurst, West Sussex, and a police officer was said to be looking after the family’s pet rabbits.

Dad Jan, 33, is believed to have hanged himself, but police could not say how 30-year-old mum Julia had died.

It was not clear whether she had suffered injuries or was suffocated.

But the case was being treated as a double-suicide rather than a murder-suicide, according to sources.

Another neighbour said: “I’d see Jan in his front garden and he would wave. Julia was a good mother, I’d see her at the swings in the park with her kids.

Daily Mirror/Adam Gerrard

Christmas tragedy: Police at the scene of the deaths in Billingshurst, West Sussex.

"They were completely normal and very pleasant people.”

Police said: “Emergency services were called just after 9am on Christmas Day.

“A 33-year-old man and a woman were sadly found dead. Officers are working to establish the circumstances of the death but are not looking for anyone else in connection with this incident.”

A report will be prepared for the West Sussex coroner who will hold inquests.

Details on Mirror