Friday, October 01, 2010
The bodies of two women, both believed to be aged in their 20s, were found at a rented flat in Putney, south west London.
Investigators believe they gassed themselves using a toxic combination of household chemicals after sealing doors and windows with tape.
One neighbour claimed they even dialled 999 to warn police of the danger before killing themselves in the second-floor flat.
Retired typist Catherine McGrath, whose flat overlooks the property, said a young woman had moved in within the last few months.
She said: "She was a very quiet and private girl. She always seemed very scared and had her windows shut and curtains closed.
"She had moved from Roehampton so I thought I should try and talk to her, but she was always very scared, almost frightened of something.
"On Wednesday night, about 2am or 3am, I heard a lot of noise, like somebody doing DIY, drilling and banging.
"It might be a coincidence but it is not the sort of thing you expect at that time of night."
Last week the bodies of Joanne Lee, 34, of Essex, and Stephen Lumb, 35, of West Yorkshire, were found in a car in Braintree, Essex.
Police feared the incident could be one of the first chemical suicides of its type after they released a deadly gas and left warning posters.
The pair met on a suicide chatroom, sparking condemnation of sites that often encourage vulnerable people to take their lives and advise on how to do so.
News of the Putney deaths was posted on one leading suicide site today, provoking a user to comment: "Good for them."
Police were called to the three-storey red brick block of flats at Norman Court, Lower Richmond Road, shortly before 11am yesterday.
They called in paramedics and firefighters with breathing apparatus and warned residents to stay indoors over fears others could be affected by the gas.
The block is owned by Women's Pioneer Housing, a not-for-profit organisation that provides affordable one-bedroom and bedsit properties for single women.
Chief Executive Janet Davies said the deaths are "completely unprecedented" and she is waiting for police to confirm if one of the dead women is a tenant.
She said: "We do not know the identities of the two women involved and are waiting to hear from the police.
"It is a quiet residential street, a small block and something like this is completely unprecedented in our experience.
"As soon as we are allowed some access we will be able to speak to our tenants and reassure them as far as we can."
Officers continued to examine the flat today after erecting two forensic tents on a driveway off Pentlow Street, which runs off Lower Richmond Road.
A meeting of senior investigators, other emergency services and local authority representatives known as a "gold group", took place earlier.
Neighbour Suzanne Viggers said one of the dead women was a loner who was obsessed with suicide.
She said: "One of the women rented the flat. She moved in about five months ago.
"She was Somali, I think, in her late 20s. She kept herself to herself and was very private. I don't know who the other girl was. I believe she was a friend.
"We've been told by someone that knew her very well that she had become interested in suicide ideas and had been collecting chemicals to kill herself.
"Apparently she was supposed to be meeting a friend this morning, but when she didn't turn up the friend became worried and called the police.
"It's all very sad. I always thought something wasn't quite right about her as she covered up her window with cloth material and you never saw any light from inside the flat."
Nicola Peckett, head of communications at Samaritans, said the deaths appeared to have some parallels with last week's incident.
"I would say it bears some of the characteristics (of last week's deaths) and it could possibly be a copycat suicide," she said.
"It could be that they've stayed inside for days and got all these ideas themselves. It could be a complete coincidence - but what is the chance?"
Terming the copycat effect "always a worry", she added: "We do know that young people are more vulnerable to it - being young and emotionally less mature, they are more likely to do something spontaneous and unplanned."
And she said that while such deaths were not necessarily responsible for planting suicidal thoughts in the minds of others, they could "move some vulnerable people from thought to action".
Paul Kelly, a trustee at suicide prevention charity PAPYRUS, said: "One of the major factors in suicide is having knowledge and access to methods.
"People who are young and vulnerable, they are at a very impressionable stage of their lives.
"They're likely to seek out specific ways (to commit suicide) and having access and knowledge is a great help to them, especially for young people who act on impulse."
A neighbour who lives in the block of flats said the woman had blacked out her front window as soon as she moved in.
She said: "A curtain was hung over the window on the very first day she moved in.
"I did think this was pretty strange behaviour, why would she be wanting to do that.
"She was always quiet, you never heard any noises coming from the flat at all.
"Her friend would come around every now and again.
"I last saw her on Tuesday, nothing seemed out of the ordinary then."
A steady stream of police investigators, some wearing protective boiler suits, entered the property throughout the day.
Three ambulances were parked next to the flats waiting to take the bodies away once tests are completed.