19 January 2024 , 13:25
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Police have launched an investigation after the bodies of four people, confirmed to have been a family, were found at a home.
Officers attended an address in Costessey, near Norwich, shortly before 7am on Friday morning following a call from a member of the public. Police had to break into the property and made the tragic discovery inside of four bodies - all of whom were family members, they later confirmed.
A knife was later found in woodland near the house. Police have said they do not currently believe it is connected to the incident but are keeping an open mind. A police cordon is in place and detectives from the Norfolk and Suffolk Major Investigation Team are leading the investigation into the shocking incident.
Neighbours reportedly said that police went door-to-door, asking if anyone had heard anything between 5am and 8am, the Eastern Daily Press said, as it still remains unclear exactly what happened. This afternoon, detectives confirmed that the four people, a man, aged 45, a woman, aged 36, and two young girls were found at the address and all were family members.
Forensic investigations are being carried out at the scene (Newsquest / SWNS)Detective Chief Inspector Chris Burgess, from the Norfolk and Suffolk Major Investigation Team, said: “Our investigation is in the very early stages and this is clearly a very distressing and tragic incident. While we’re following a number of lines of enquiry, at this time we believe this is an isolated incident.
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“I understand that news of this incident will be shocking to the local community and as soon as we can we will release more information.”
It is understood that a family lived at the address (Newsquest / SWNS)Formal identification has not yet taken place and forensic exams are also under way. The father is believed to be an engineer who worked in the property trade, and they were understood to be active members of their community.
Locals told of their shock at the incident on the Queen's Hills housing estate, which is located six miles north-west of Norwich city centre. A 32-year-old man who lives on an adjoining road said: "When I was dog walking this morning I saw the cordon at about 8am. This is a very quiet neighbourhood and I've never seen anything like this before here. This is something like you see on the TV I suppose, so it seems all quite surreal."
Neighbours were left shocked by the incident, which seems to have taken place early this morning (Matt Precey/BBC)Gary Blundell, a local Lib Dem councillor, said there is no danger to the public. He added: "It's shocking - it just proves these sorts of things can happen anywhere. My heart goes out to anybody involved in this." He added: "I live on the estate with my wife. It hasn’t been verified who it is yet, so they haven’t released names, but if it is the family involved that I think it possibly could be, then yes we did know them.
It isn't yet clear exactly what took place (Newsquest / SWNS)“I don’t know if the house had been sold since the family I knew were there, but it was a family home. I don’t know if it was rented. Obviously, they approached me for help on certain things, when the house was being built. They did ask questions. I spoke to them. It’s just a regular normal family home. If they needed help, then it was available. To be honest, it’s a totally shocking experience. I don’t know how this has happened.
“We don’t know the full extent of what happened. We are only going on what we have been told, but from what I understand, this is an isolated incident, with no risk to the public. I don’t wasn’t to speculate, the family who lived there did [have kids]. I wouldn’t want to speculate if any children were involved – at the moment it’s just four bodies."
Neighbours say a man from the house was reported missing just before Christmas and a drone circled the area at the time and also flew over the nearby woods. The man was later found walking along the Fairway near Allan Bedford Crescent.
Queen's Hills is a new-build housing estate on the western edge of Costessey, built in 2006. It is now home to an estimated 5,000 people, living in 2,000 homes.