ABOVE: Neil Mitchell speaks to the grandfather of two young boys who died in Mooroopna on Sunday.

Charlie Robinson tells 3AW one of the Facebook pages set up and apparently published comments from people who drew conclusions on what was an ongoing investigation, which eventually cleared the boys' mother, Vanessa Robinson, of any wrongdoing, has 'devastated' the father of Chase, 9, and Tyler, 7.

"My son is absolutely devastated at some of the things that are being said on a Facebook page which has been set up," Charlie said.

"Vanessa and Scott separated but they were never enemies and they were always there for the kids. The media gets hold of something and that makes people make interpretations."

"I wish that anyone else that has one of these tragic things happen don't have to suffer what Vanessa's mum and dad and what our family is going through at the moment."

In a poignant and damning statement in relation to the way new media can damage the lives of people in such a swift and powerful way, Charlie expressed his sadness at the online condemnation of Vanessa in the past few days.

"I come from a time when there was only the paper and the radio ... but with all these different computer things people are just open to judgement with anything that's said nowadays."

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Richard Wilingham and Paul Millar (The Age): Two young boys found dead in a house in northern Victoria on Sunday are now believed to have been killed by leaking fumes from a gas heater — prompting energy authorities to issue fresh warnings about the dangers of faulty heaters.

Victoria Police, having initially treated the boys' deaths as suspicious and taken their mother in for questioning, yesterday cleared her of any wrong-doing, saying they now believed the deaths were an accident.

The announcement came after engineers from Energy Safe Victoria inspected the family's home. "We don't believe it is deliberate," said Detective Inspector Bernie Edwards.

Vanessa Robinson

The mother, Vanessa Robinson, 29, remained in hospital in Melbourne last night in a stable condition after also apparently being overcome by heater fumes. The father, Scott Robinson, had been told of the latest development.

Police were called to the family home in Mooroopna, near Shepparton, on Sunday night. The bodies of Chase, 9, and Tyler, 7, were in a bedroom.

After being taken in for questioning, Ms Robinson became ill and was transferred to St Vincent's Hospital, where she was placed under police guard.

Tyler Robinson

That night police issued a four-sentence statement saying they were investigating "the suspicious death of two boys in Mooroopna this evening" and that "a 29-year-old Mooroopna woman is currently assisting police with their inquiries".

Yesterday, Inspector Edwards said police were now "fairly confident" the deaths were gas-related, and that Ms Robinson had also fallen ill from inhaling fumes. "It is believed, because she is an adult, that it has not affected her as quickly as it has affected the two young boys."

He said the leak would not have been obvious, which meant the family could have been exposed for days.

Chase Robinson

Further tests will be carried out to determine how the boys died. One possibility was that they died from inhaling carbon monoxide, an odourless gas.

Inspector Edwards defended the decision to take Ms Robinson into custody and place her under police guard in the hospital. He said it was normal process for police to take a family member in for questioning after such incidents.

Ms Robinson should make a full physical recovery, he said. "Mentally [she is] fairly devastated, as you would be. Her physical injuries or illness is improving and hopefully she will make a full recovery in relation to the illness."

Inspector Edwards said police wanted to make the announcement yesterday to "quell the court of public opinion" over the mother's involvement. "People do make up their minds without the full facts, so that is why we are trying to inform the public at this stage."

Lyn O'Gorman, who lives two doors from the Robinsons in Mooroopna, said the news would end speculation surrounding a caring mother. "That mother has been through so much already, god almighty, it will ruin her, but it's a blessing that this news has come out," Ms O'Gorman said.

"The poor girl, it's probably a better outcome — if there could be a better outcome in this tragedy."

Experts warned yesterday that with the onset of winter, others could also be at risk of killing themselves by not allowing adequate ventilation for heaters.

Carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxide are the most common forms of poisoning from heaters.

Victims can initially experience headache and flu-like symptoms. If exposure persists, an affected person could fall asleep and never wake up, said Rick Taylor, gas division chairman of the Master Plumbers and Mechanical Services Association of Australia. "The vital issue with gas heaters is ventilation," said Mr Taylor.

He said gas heaters were dangerous because they could consume all the oxygen in a room. He suggested opening a door or a window to allow for ventilation, and having the heater serviced every one or two years.

Energy Safe Victoria warns that gas heaters without flues should never be used in rooms where people sleep.

In 2001, then state coroner Iain West found that a faulty gas heater, with a disconnected flue or outlet pipe, had caused the death of a couple in a Kyneton motel in June 2000.