The bodies of a grief-stricken couple were found beside their dead nine-year-old son after he died of cancer.

Nicu Arava and his wife Vali were so devastated when Cristian Dimitris Arava passed away that they took their own lives.

Neighbours found the couple, both aged 46, next to the child's body at their family apartment in Constanta, Romania.

Prosecutor Sadic Zafer said it appears Vangheli hanged herself and her body was laid next to her
son's and covered with a blanket while Nicholas was found hanged in the kitchen.

Investigators found a 13-page farewell letter from the parents in which they told of their heartbreak, which began several years ago when their son was diagnosed with a brain tumour. On a computer blog written seven years ago, the boy's mother said:

"I felt like I was dying myself when I heard the diagnosis.

"I can't express the pain that two parents feel when finding such terrible news about their child. He was only two years old."

There was little hope for him as the tumour was growing continuously and doctors said surgery would be impossible.

The last words posted on the blog by his mother were:

"Our only hope that Cristian is a lucky child and the tumour will stop growing is now shattered. The thought that every moment could be fatal, it drives me crazy."