Police sirens and yelling first alerted neighbours that something was amiss in their usually quiet neighbourhood.
Kate Walker, who has lived in Pascoe Vale for 14 years, had returned home from a weekend away about 4.30pm on Sunday.
"My son and I were sitting in the backyard. We heard police cars around the neighbourhood," Ms Walker said.
"I thought that was a bit unusual."
Yelling and other noises from the Ashkanasy Avenue home behind her property quickly followed.
"I never heard raised voices from the house," Ms Walker told Fairfax Media.
An hour later, police found a woman and child dead inside the home.
The exact cause of the deaths have not yet been determined, but police said they were not looking for anyone else in connection to the incident.
The bodies are yet to be formally identified and Fairfax Media understands they are still at the house.
On Sunday evening, the house remained a crime scene. Ashkanasy Avenue remained blocked at both ends, with police stopping anyone but residents going in or out.
A man holding a young child could be seen in their front yard in a nearby house, watching as the forensic experts carried out their investigations late into the night.
Shirley, who runs a milk bar in the Sussex Street shopping strip, described the lady as Nepalese, aged in her 40s.
Shirley said the woman had come to the shop "not very often", but was sometimes accompanied by her daughter, aged three or four.
"She seemed happy."
Shirley said she believed the family had lived in the area for about five years.