A mother has seemingly died of a "broken heart" three days after tragically finding her deceased son's body.
According to the Coober Pedy Times newspaper, on the morning of November 12, 34-year-old Goran Ilic was found dead at his home by his mother, Elizabeth Ilic.
Goran was a widely loved member of the remote South Australian town, which is 850km north of Adelaide and has a population of around 1,800 people.
The local paper paid tribute to the young man, writing: "Goran Ilich was popular among all age groups. He had a natural charm and was well-mannered and polite."
Three days after his death, Goran's mother passed away from what is believed to have been caused by her intense "grief" after the death of her child. The tragic story has now been dubbed by the community as a "double tragedy".
"In the early hours of Monday morning, a grief-stricken Elizabeth Ilich awoke with chest pains and called friends for assistance," the paper reported. "An ambulance was called but Ms. Ilich passed away in the hospital some hours later."
"Friends have related that Ms. Ilich had a heart condition and believe that the grief from her son's death caused a heart attack," Coober Pedy added.
No official cause of death has been reported as of this writing.
On Facebook, a friend of the family paid tribute to Elizabeth, writing: "Tragic news. Elizabeth Ilich, Goran's mother died last night of a broken heart!"
Although passing away from a "broken heart" may sound like a storyline from a fictional TV show, the British Heart Foundation states that "broken heart syndrome" is real, and also goes by the name Takotsubo cardiomyopathy.
Additionally, Harvard's medical school describes the condition as "a weakening of the left ventricle, the heart's main pumping chamber, usually as the result of severe emotional or physical stress, such as a sudden illness, the loss of a loved one, a serious accident, or a natural disaster".
"Takotsubo symptoms are indistinguishable from those of a heart attack," the university adds.
While Goran's cause of death hasn't been revealed, a GoFundMe was set up for his funeral arrangements by family friend Petar Belosevic.
His friend referred to him as "a beautiful soul taken away too soon," and wrote: "Everyone that interacted with Goran knew he was different, he could talk to anyone and charm them with his charisma and personality."
"Goran has left an impact on all of us in so many different ways and so many other cities," Belosevic added.
Many friends of Goran contributed to the fundraiser, which has exceeded the original $20,000 target and has amassed $43,390 AUD.
"Goran will be forever missed and the world will always be less bright without him," one person commented on the page. "Our most sincere condolences. May God give you all strength," another person said.
On November 18, Belosevic shared on Facebook that he would be updating the GoFundMe soon to "include relevant information about Elizabeth and Goran’s arrangements".
"Unfortunately there is a huge delay in the hospital system and the coroner has still not examined the bodies and as such the funeral date is still unknown," he wrote, per the outlet. "Thank you all for your patience"
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