Cricket clubs will wear black arm bands in memory of daughter of ex Corio player Andrew Spengler

The Corio and Newcomb & District cricket clubs will wear black arm bands in all grades this weekend in a mark of remembrance for the daughter of former Corio player Andrew Spengler.

THE Corio and Newcomb & District cricket clubs will wear black arm bands in all grades this weekend in a mark of remembrance for the daughter of former Corio player Andrew Spengler.

Leah Spengler, 16, died in mysterious circumstances inside a Wyndham Vale home about 10.30pm on Sunday.

Corio CC secretary Kevin Hayes said the clubs would honour Ms Spengler.

“Being a previous coach of Corio and a premiership player at Newcomb we decided to wear black armbands as a mark of respect,” Mr Hayes said.

“Leah was his young daughter (in the days he played with Corio). She was a young girl who came to watch every week.”

Mr Spengler told News Corp on Monday his daughter’s death “really hurt” and came as she was striving to turn her life around.

Leah Spengler, 16, was found dead inside a Wyndham Vale home about 10:30pm on Sunday.

This month, Leah told friends on Facebook that she was working towards a “new start” after a rough period in her life.

She had two sisters and lived with the family in Point Cook until about a year ago.

Her father said she would often disappear and had got involved with drugs.

But she had recently pulled away from that lifestyle and made efforts to reconnect with her family.

“She was a little bit troubled but was a very caring person,” Mr Spengler said.

“She popped into the house about two months ago and saw her three-year-old sister. She broke into tears. She was starting to come good.”

Mr Spengler said he and Leah were once “inseparable” and she was described by loved ones as a “special girl”.

A 19-year-old man believed to be Ms Spengler’s former partner, who was at the Wyndham Vale house at the time paramedics were called was arrested but released on Monday night.

“Police have released a 19-year-old man without charge after receiving the results of a post mortem on a 16-year-old who died in Wyndham Vale,’’ Victoria Police said in a statement.

“At this stage the death is not believed to be suspicious. Local detectives will now take carriage of the investigation.’’

Originally published as Cricket clubs will wear black arm bands in memory of daughter of ex Corio player Andrew Spengler