Sanaya Sahib's father 'had no concerns' about Sofina Nikat, toddler days before her death.

The father of 14-month-old Sanaya Sahib, who was allegedly murdered by her mother, says the pair appeared “bubbly” three days before his daughter was killed.

Sofina Nikat, 22, has been charged with murdering her daughter and police said she confessed to the crime during an interview on Tuesday.

Sanaya’s body was found in Darebin Creek on Sunday morning after she was reported missing by her mother, who told police she had been snatched by a stranger while they were walking in a Heidelberg West park.

Sameer Sahib said he had not seen his daughter since November, but on Wednesday last week Nikat called him “out of the blue” for him to come and visit.

When he saw them the next day, the pair looked “bubbly”, Sanaya seemed “all right” and he had no concerns.

Nikat was excused from appearing in court by a magistrate due to concerns about her mental health.

Mr Sahib described the toddler as a “beautiful, cute girl”.

“She was just such a bubbly girl. I didn’t have much time to play with her, just a life cut so short,” he said.

“She always used to wait for me to come back from work. I can’t explain it [the heartbreak].

“We will miss out on all the fun things in life, taking her down to the park. Buying her a car, getting her married.”

Father ‘froze’ when told of Sanaya’s death

Mr Sahib said he was on his way to the search scene on Sunday morning when police called him with the news they had found his daughter’s body.

“When they told me I was devastated. The worst day of my life. [I went] into a state of shock,” he said.

“I couldn’t believe it, I just froze.”

He said he found it “really tough” to identify her body.

“I never thought I’d do that in my whole life, not to my own daughter,” he said.

Mr Sahib said he had recently bought gifts for his daughter after travelling overseas, including a pink children’s couch, but never got the chance to give them to her.

Community support ‘keeping family going’

Sanaya’s grandfather said Nikat and her daughter were very close, and Sanaya was her “mother’s girl”.

He said the family was struggling to cope with the girl’s death but thanked the public for their support.

“The support is from the community and the family, which keeps us going at the moment,” he said.

“It’s very hard to make sense [of it].”

Mr Sahib thanked the police, SES and the wider public for their help in the investigation into his daughter’s death.

This post originally appeared on ABC News.

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