Horrified neighbours heard screams of “I can’t breathe” as two women died in a horror double Christmas Day stabbing.
At a home in a block of apartments in Santa Cruz Avenue, Bletchley, Milton Keynes, around 6.36pm yesterday, the women, aged 24 and 38, were found dead – with forensic teams spotted near the address after Thames Valley police cordoned off the quiet residential street.
A man and a teenage boy who were also injured are in a stable condition in hospital, the Mirror reports. A dog was stabbed in the incident and was taken to vets but did not survive. A large cordon remains in place around the property, and tributes can be seen placed outside. A man, 49, has been arrested on suspicion of murder and attempted murder after the horror incident, police said.
Thames Valley Police said officers were called to to the block of apartments at around 6.36pm after reports of a stabbing. Residents said they heard a commotion at the home before police were called, with one saying they initially believed people at the home were “messing about”.
But they later heard “screaming and shouting at the flat” with one woman complaining she couldn’t breathe. They told The Sun: “At around 6pm a lady has come out of the balcony – she’s screaming ‘I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe.’
“They’ve been stabbed in the chest and the head. Suddenly someone has come out and the other person has run into our neighbour’s house. The dog ran out – it was a little white dog but you couldn’t tell – it was covered in blood. Within minutes there were about 12 ambulances.”
Photos taken at the scene show forensic officers combing the area for clues. A forensics team could be seen entering and walking up the stairs in a block of flats on Santa Cruz Avenue.
A bloodied hand print could be seen on a metal rail, and specks of blood were still visible on window panes of the second floor flat. Two bunches of flowers were left tied to a fence near the flat. They were attached to two cuddly toys – a teddy bear and a pink flamingo.
Numbered yellow evidence markers and first aid kits could be seen on the road and pavement outside the address, and on the boot of a car parked on the adjoining Trinidad Grove. Neighbours had described what they believed to be blood splattered on the front door of the Milton Keynes home.
Forensic officers could be seen carefully examining evidence in the area around the flat, with numbered yellow tags placed next to the various evidence sites. Two doors up a house continued with a Boxing Day party with a reindeer with flashing lights and an inflatable Santa Claus.
Stunned neighbours watched in disbelief as police officers sealed off the area. Kevin Hughes, 35, said: “no-one really knows what’s gone on. I was away at relatives yesterday. But this morning the area was swarming with police. I didn’t know the people involved. It’s a right mixture around here. There’s some social housing mixed in with some quite nice townhouses.”
Meanwhile another neighbour said emergency workers were treating someone in the street following the horror incident, explaining: “[Paramedics] were working on him in the street. And the other [victims] were covered in a white tarp.”
Senior investigating officer Detective Chief Inspector Stuart Brangwin, of the Major Crime Unit, said in a statement that the force was not looking for anyone else in connection with the incident and the victims were known to the suspect. He added that locals can expect an enhanced police presence in the area while investigations are carried out.
He said: “We have launched a double murder investigation, which may be concerning to the wider public. However, we have made an arrest and are not looking for anyone else in connection with this incident and the parties are known to each other.
“Members of the public will see a large police presence in the area while our investigation takes place. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to approach our officers and they will do their best to help.”
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