- Emily Forrest’s sister Abbey was an amazing aunt to her nephew, Arlo, and couldn’t wait to have a baby of her own
- Sisters Emily and Abbey had a close relationship and rode horses together all the time
- When Abbey was 19 she visited Emily with some exciting news: she was pregnant
- Abbey and her partner, Inderpal welcomed a daughter Ivy into the world and were besotted with her
- But only three weeks later, they made the mistake of welcoming their friend Paul into their home
- Paul, who was staying downstairs, brought Jenny Hayes, a sex worker, over for a night of passion
- Jenny Hayes and Paul got into an argument and Paul ran away
- In a rage, Jenny Hayes, set the house on fire with the Abbey and her beautiful family asleep upstairs
- Emily Forrest, 27, Flemington, Vic, shares her devastating story of a family ripped apart…
Lying in my hospital bed, I watched my sister Abbey hold my newborn, Arlo.
“He’s so cute that I forgive you for going into labour on my 16th birthday,” she joked.
“I was just getting you an extra special birthday gift,” I laughed.
“I can’t wait to be a mum someday, too,” she confessed.
“You’re a natural,” I told her, smiling.
Abbey and Arlo were like two peas in a pod as he got older.
She often came over to look after him when I returned to my job as a track rider – where I exercised the racehorses – and my partner Joel, 26, was also at work.
Growing up, Abbey and I rode our ponies on the backroads of Drysdale, Vic, together.
“When are you gonna ride the racehorses with me again?” I asked her one day.
“The last time you convinced me to go for a ride, I was thrown off,” she laughed.
Busy studying her VCE at high school, she kept her horse Mia in our parents’ paddock and planned to get back into it.
When Arlo was three, Abbey, 19, visited with exciting news. She and her partner of nine months, Inderpal, 28, nicknamed Indi, were expecting.
“I’m finally going to be a mum!” she cried to me.
“You’ll both be amazing parents,” I gushed.
Abbey and Indi rented a townhouse in Point Cook, Vic, to prepare for the arrival of their new bub.
They were moving in when Abbey went into labour on November 13, 2020.
That night they welcomed their beautiful daughter, Ivy into the world.
Peering into my niece’s hospital crib two days later, I couldn’t take my eyes off her tiny face and mop of dark hair.
“She’s exactly half you and half Indi,” I said to Abbey, smiling.
“Isn’t she perfect?” Abbey said, tearing up.
A week later, we all met for dinner at our parents’, Alan and Elizabeth’s place.
I loved watching Abbey with the baby she’d always wanted. Indi worshipped his new bub, too.
Two weeks later, I was stuck at the mechanics with Arlo, having my tyres changed, when Dad called.
“You need to come to ours right now, Em,” he demanded. It wasn’t like him to sound so stern.
I asked the mechanics to rush my car through, and soon I was making the half hour drive with Arlo.
My gut was telling me something was very wrong.
At the house, my stomach sank when I saw a police car. Inside, two coppers were in the hall and I could hear Mum wailing.
One officer ushered Arlo away while the other took me into the living room.
“It’s your sister,” he said. “There’s been a fire.”
Dropping to the floor, I started screaming, unable to take in anything else.
When they left, I convinced myself they were wrong.
They didn’t actually say she was dead, I thought.
But watching the news with my parents that night in a haze, images of Abbey’s charred townhouse flooded the television screen.
“The remains of a man, woman and baby have been found in a Melbourne house,” the newsreader said.
It must be the wrong house, I thought.
After a sleepless night, Joel and I drove to Abbey’s home the next morning. My heart broke when I spotted her red car parked in the garage of the burnt home.
“They’re really gone,” I wailed, finally accepting it. It was even more horrifying to think little Ivy was just 19 days old.
We’d assumed it had been a tragic electrical fire, but the next day, police returned to my parents’ house to speak to us again.
“We’ve arrested a woman on suspicion of arson,” he said.
We were shell-shocked. Police gradually shared more information about what had happened on December 2, 2020 – the night of the fire.
Indi had a friend, Paul*, staying downstairs, who brought Jenny Hayes, 46, a sex-worker, over.
Paul and Jenny got into an argument, and Paul ran away, leaving Jenny at Abbey’s house.
Jenny messaged Paul, threatening to call police and accuse him of rape, then he blocked her number.
Enraged, Jenny sent another message.
I’m setting your house on fire right now, she said.
After setting the mattress alight, Jenny left the house, taking pictures of the inferno from her car. Upstairs, Abbey, Indi and Ivy were asleep.
They were unable to escape the blaze and died of carbon monoxide poisoning. I hope they didn’t feel any pain.
Trying to parent my son through the tragedy and explain why his beloved aunt wouldn’t be here anymore was difficult.
“Aunty Abbey’s gone to heaven now,” I told Arlo as he sobbed.
Two years later, in 2022, Jenny Hayes, 48, pleaded guilty to three counts of arson causing death and was sentenced to 13 years in prison, with a minimum of eight years.
Knowing that Jenny could be free within six years, with time served, is terrifying after what she did. Her actions killed an entire beautiful family.
Life is quieter now without Abbey. Every Christmas our family sits at Abbey and Ivy’s grave and has lunch with them.
Mum and Dad spend time with Abbey’s horse Mia each day – she’s a little bit of Abbey for them.
Joel and I are no longer together but working with horses has been like therapy for me, too. It reminds me of my sister.
Abbey’s name is on a keyring on my saddle and her initials are embroidered on my helmet cover, so she’s always by my side.
Now, I’m teaching Arlo to ride and telling him stories of how Aunty Abbey and I trotted around town on our horses.
We only had 19 years with Abbey, and 19 days with Ivy, but we plan on keeping their memory alive forever.
