Kingston teen found dead in freezer of £1.5m London home

Kingston teen found dead in freezer of £1.5m London home

A teenage girl was stabbed to death and stuffed in a freezer in a suspected honour killing after she and her cousin were kidnapped and taken to a £1.5million home by a man they knew, it is alleged.

The 19-year-old's body was found 'stuffed in an American-style fridge freezer' at a detached property in Kingston-on-Thames, west London, on Wednesday evening.

A second woman, 21 - understood to be the dead victim's cousin - managed to escape the property after being slashed across the throat.

She banged on doors in the neighbourhood for help, before she arrived at a hospital with stab wounds and cuts, where staff alerted police. She remains in a serious condition. 

A 33-year-old man, who was believed to have been fl eeing the country, was later arrested in Dover, Kent, on suspicion of murder and attempted murder. Another man, 28, has been arrested in New Malden on the same allegations.

Neighbours indicated the crime is an honour killing and the police said they were 'keeping an open mind' on the motive, but the relationship between the women and the suspects has not been confirmed.

Officers said the two women knew the man who took them to the property and that they are not looking for anyone else in connection with the incident.  

Forensics have been at the scene in Kingston today, after discovering the body of a woman who had been reported missing hours earlier

The 19-year-old was found dead but 'in tact' inside the house, allegedly inside a freezer 

A Renault Clio with a smashed drivers side window outside of the home where teenage girl's body was found stuffed in a fridge

A second woman managed to escape and made it to hospital arrived with a stab wound to her throat and is in a serious but stable condition

The case has now been referred to the IPCC after officers took three hours to find the teenager despite the pair being reported missing.

A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police also added that the dead woman was discovered 'intact' amid reports her body had been cut up. 

Today, forensic officers were today seen combing the Kingston home for evidence.

A large silver fridge freezer, believed to be where the woman was found, could be seen in the hallway while a Renault Clio with smashed windows was parked in the driveway.

It is not clear who lives at the home - which is owned by a landlord who lives next door - but the six-bedroom property is curren tly undergoing renovation and the owners are believed to have given the keys to a building firm.  

A 29-year-old woman has also been arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender. She has been released pending further investigation.

Detective Chief Inspector Samantha Price, who is leading the investigation, said officers were keeping an 'open mind' but that kidnapping was one line of inquiry.

She added: 'Our investigation is at an early stage, and we are doing everything we can to fully understand the circumstances of this terrible attack on two young women.

'At this stage one line of enquiry is that the two women were taken against their will to the address in Kingston, by a man who they both knew. They were last seen safe and well at an address in Merton, prior to being police being contacted about concerns for their safety and welfare.'

She said both women had been subject to a 'violent attack'.  

'Fortunately one of the women managed to get away from the address and seek help, how this happened will form part of this investigation,' she said. 

'I am keeping an open mind as to the motive, but we are not currently looking for anyone else in connection with this case.'   

The house is owned by a landlord who lives next door and it is believed to be being renovated, with the landlord having plans to convert it into two homes

Police have said it is believed the two victims were taken to the address before being attacked and the man who took them was known to them

A car parked in the driveway of the home, in Kingston, has smashed front windows this morning

Forensics team members are looking through the property to establish what happened over the course of Wednesday afternoon

Police were first alerted over concerns for the welfare of the two women at around 5pm on Wednesday. 

The Met said officers searched two addresses - one in Sutton and another in Merton, both in south London - but that neither woman was at either address.

They understood the women had been seen 'safe and well' earlier at the Merton address.  

Inquiries continued until they were alerted by hospital staff at 7.18pm, who treated the 21-year-old.

Officers then carried out a detailed search of the detached property where they made the grim discovery.

A neighbour, who refused to be named, said: 'Relatives told me that the man was Asi an and was caught at Dover trying to leave the country.

'I heard he kidnapped them both and chopped one of them up and put her in the freezer.

'I heard he slit the other one's throat.

Three people have been arrested, two men and one woman. One of the men was arrested in Kent, allegedly trying to flee

Police forensics at the Kingston home. Police admitted they have had to refer the case to the IPCC as the women were reported missing hours before one was found dead

An officer holds her post outside the house as forensics inspectors go in and out of the Kingston home. Searches are also taking place in Sutton and Merton

Police said they know who the victim was and have informed the woman's next of kin. Police are keeping the 'honour killing' inquiry open

'When the relative told me earlier I thought "oh my God that is awful".

'There was at least six or seven cars maybe more and at least ten relatives here.

'I spoke to the neighbours earlier and they said that the person who rented the house out had only done so at the weekend.' 

The home is owned by a landlord who lives next door, and applied to Kingston Council earlier this year for permission to create two homes.

On May 19, planning permission was denied, but a new application was submitted just 11 days later. It is currently at the consultation stage of the process.  

A family friend of the owners told The Sun: 'The girls had got mixed up with a gang of guys. One wanted to marry one of the boys and her family couldn't take that.'  

An officer receives an update from the forensics investigators in Kingston. The leafy borough has homes that sell for millions of pounds

Bernett Thrones, 39, a neighbour, said: 'I could hear running on the gravel drive and then a loud knock.

'It was very sudden and very loud. I had a facemask on, but I jumped up and went downstairs.

'By the time I opened the door the person was gone. I could hear them running away on the stones.

'It was strange but I didn't realise how serious it was until the police came later.

'It's a horrible shock.

'You can't believe something like this could happen across the road.'

A neighbour said she believed a family had been living there for a couple of years, with two small children

The home where the murder took place is owned by the same landlord as the home next door

Another neighbour said: 'The police came round and told me they were looking at a window of 1:30pm and 3pm when they went into the house.

'I wasn't at home then, but all the relatives looked south Asian I think.'

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