Melody Southon, 17, of Laverton has died in her home

A Laverton family is coming to grips with the sudden death of its 17-year-old daughter who died in her sleep.

Melody Southon, 17, died in her sleep leaving her family heartbroken. Picture: GoFundMe

A Laverton family is grappling with the loss of a healthy 17-year-old daughter who died in her sleep two days ago.

Melody Southon’s heartbroken mother Ellen said there was nothing to explain why her daughter could not be roused after going to sleep in her bed the night before.

Ms Southon said she hoped to learn more from an investigation by the Victorian Coroner.

The tragic loss of Melody follows the death of a 14-year-old Adelaide boy William Pfeiffer who died in his sleep last month.

He fell asleep at his grandparents’ house and didn’t wake up.

His family is awaiting autopsy results to learn more about what happened to William.

A spokeswoman for the Victorian Coroner’s office confirmed that Melody’s case had been referred to the court and was currently under investigation.

The community has rallied around the Southon family, raising nearly $7000 in the past two days to cover funeral costs.

Melody was one of 14 children who lived together with their mother at Laverton.

One of her sisters posted online that Melody had been the third eldest child.

Many contributors to the fundraiser have sent condolence messages to the family, including blessings in the words of an old New Zealand folk song.

The prevalence of sudden and unexplained deaths in Australia has been hard to measure but the Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute has begun a registry and genetic database to attempt to track the losses.