By David Lohr

(Continued)

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On April 15, Stephanie and Jodie told their parents they were going shopping at Ringwood's Eastland Shopping Center. Both girls left their Belgrave homes at about 9:30 a.m. When neither girl returned home for dinner, their parents notified police. The search ended on April 22, when a man discovered the girls' bodies hanging from tree branches in Dandenong Ranges National Park. The girls had used homemade nooses to end their own lives. Police later determined that they had been dead for several days.

Both girls belonged to several Internet websites. Posts they left behind suggested they had an obvious fascination with death, and they both appeared to have suffered from bouts of depression that apparently went unnoticed by their friends and family members. Last week most of the websites were taken down; however the girls can be found in the form of a video on YouTube.com. In it they are laughing and dancing with two of their friends—a happier time in both their lives. Unfortunately it is not one they can revisit.

Stephanie Gestier

Stephanie's funeral is scheduled for today at the Lilydale Memorial Park Chapel. Jodie's family has not yet announced when and where her funeral will take place.

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Contact David Lohr at   crimewriter74@hughes.net

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