Articles | French murder victims named

French students in horror attack

Published: Thursday, 3 July 2008, 10:04AM

Two French students were tied up before being subjected to an horrific attack in a flat that was then set on fire, police said.

A senior detective described their injuries as the worst he had seen in his policing career.

Laurent Bonomo and his friend Gabriel Ferez, both 23, were just weeks into a three-month placement at Imperial College London. They were found dead with multiple stab wounds after a flat fire in New Cross, southeast London, on Sunday night.

Detective Chief Inspector Mick Duthie told said: "I have never seen injuries inflicted to bodies like this before."

A post-mortem examination revealed they died from stab wounds to the neck, head and chest. Some reports claim they may have been tortured.

Det Chief Insp Duthie said: "I am appealing for anyone who was in the area of Sterling Gardens at any time over the weekend, and who may have seen or heard anything suspicious near the address, to get in touch.

"I am particularly keen to hear from anyone who may have seen anyone near the premises around 9.30pm on Sunday."

Mr Duthie said police are hunting a white man seen running from the flats shortly after the explosion. But they have not ruled out that others may have been involved.

He said there was no evidence of forced entry and a set of keys may have been used, enabling an attacker to surprise his victims. He added he did not yet know if anything was missing but a break-in took place six days earlier in which a laptop was taken.

Asked if it was a case of mistaken identity, Mr Duthie said: "That is one line of inquiry.

We cannot find anything in these two young men's background to suggest they were involved in any criminality, that they had done anything wrong. They were here as students."