Students killed in "frenzied, brutal and horrific" attack
Thursday, 03 Jul 2008 19:39
Laurent Bonomo (left) and Gabriel Ferez were found in a block of flats in Sterling Gardens
Two men found after a fire in a flat in south-east London were stabbed to death in a "frenzied, brutal and horrific" attack, the Metropolitan police have said.
The bodies of Laurent Bonomo, 23, and Gabriel Ferez, 23, were found in a block of flats in Sterling Gardens, New Cross, at 22:10 BST on Sunday.
The pair were French biochemist exchange students studying DNA at Imperial College and had only been in the UK since May.
A post-mortem examination carried out yesterday gave the cause of death in both cases as stab wounds to the head, neck and chest.
Detective Chief Inspector Mick Duthie said at a news conference this morning that the pair had been bound and killed before the fire broke out.
DCI Duthie went on to say the injuries were the worst he or anyone else working on the case had ever seen, describing the extent of the wounds as "horrific".
Laurent is believed to have suffered nearly 200 stab wounds and Gabriel almost 50.
He went on to describe Laurent and Gabriel as "hardworking" and of "good character".
He added that he could not understand why the pair had been targeted.
An eyewitness has described seeing a white male fleeing the scene shortly before the fire broke out in Sterling Gardens.
The flat was being rented by Lauren and Gabriel had been round visiting him on the day they were killed, police confirmed.
The flat had actually been broken into six days earlier when a laptop was taken.
It was also confirmed that Laurent had spoken to his girlfriend on the phone early Sunday morning.
The families of the two students were in London today to identify the bodies and are due to travel back France tonight.
Police have called on anyone with any information relating to the case to contact them on 0208 721 4155 or 0800 555 111.