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British police arrest suspect for murder of French students

58 minutes ago

LONDON (AFP) — British police arrested a man on Saturday in connection with the murder of two French students found brutally stabbed to death in a burnt out London flat.

The 21-year-old suspect was arrested in the street at 3:40 am (0240 GMT) and was being held in custody at a police station in southeast London. He is the first suspect to be arrested in the investigation.

"Our appeals for witnesses and information after the double murder still apply and we continue to urge people who may be able to assist to come forward," London's Metropolitan Police added in a statement.

The bound and battered bodies of Laurent Bonomo and Gabriel Ferez, both 23, were found in the ground-floor flat in New Cross, southeast London, last Sunday when emergency services were called to the fire.

Bonomo had been stabbed nearly 200 times while Ferez suffered around 50 wounds in a prolonged ordeal, unidentified police sources quoted by the domestic Press Association news agency said.

The detective leading the investigation has said the pair were dead before the fire took hold, adding that they were knifed in the head, neck, torso and back.

Detective Chief Inspector Mick Duthie called it a "frenzied, brutal and horrific attack".

Olivier Ferez, the father of one of the victims, said his family were "in shock and completely devastated".

"Gabriel is, was, the most intelligent, affectionate, wonderful son anyone could ever want," the nurse told Britain's Daily Mail newspaper, describing his son as "incredibly gifted".

"He studied at the best university in France and then the best in England. He had such a bright future and now that has gone."

Ferez, comforting his daughter Helene, 20, and his 12-year-old son at the family's home, added: "It is the worst nightmare for any parent."

Rejane Ferez, the victim's grandmother, said her grandson had been "finding life in London tough".

"Gabriel loved travelling and had recently spent time in Mexico, but nothing had prepared him for London," she said.

"As well as all the usual problems, life in London could also be very lonely. Both Gabriel and Laurent were greatly looking forward to getting back home."

The two students -- both biochemists from a university in Clermont-Ferrand, central France -- were on a short exchange programme at London's prestigious Imperial College.

They were due to return home at the end of July.

Students in Clermont-Ferrand were to hold a silent march through the city on Monday.

"The student world has lost two of its own in a horrible fashion. It's now that we have to join together to show that we never want to see anything like this again," one of the organisers said.

A forensic search of the scene was still going on at the rented 1980s flat, located in a leafy cul-de-sac.

Police revealed that the flat had been burgled in the days leading up to the men's deaths, and a computer was stolen.

The deaths coincided with growing concern about knife crime and gang culture in London, which newly-elected Conservative mayor Boris Johnson and Metropolitan Police chief Ian Blair have vowed to tackle.