totalgenius
Inactive User
Two French exchange students visiting London were stabbed 243 times, tied up, gagged and burnt in one of the most "frenzied, brutal and horrific" murders ever investigated by Scotland Yard.
Laurent Bonomo and Gabriel Ferez, both 23, were tortured in an attack that may have lasted for several hours at a south-east London flat. They were then doused in an accelerant and the bedsit was firebombed in an attempt to hide the evidence.
The murder has both shocked and mystified Scotland Yard. Detectives are at a loss to explain why anyone would target the young scientists, who were described as "two of the brightest students of their generation" and were due to return home later this month after a three month internship at Imperial College.
The main theory emerging is that the attacker may have been a "crazed" drug addicted burglar. Police are hunting for a white man seen fleeing the scene and sources said: "We hope to make an arrest sooner rather than later".
Laurent Bonomo and Gabriel Ferez, both 23, were tortured in an attack that may have lasted for several hours at a south-east London flat. They were then doused in an accelerant and the bedsit was firebombed in an attempt to hide the evidence.
The murder has both shocked and mystified Scotland Yard. Detectives are at a loss to explain why anyone would target the young scientists, who were described as "two of the brightest students of their generation" and were due to return home later this month after a three month internship at Imperial College.
The main theory emerging is that the attacker may have been a "crazed" drug addicted burglar. Police are hunting for a white man seen fleeing the scene and sources said: "We hope to make an arrest sooner rather than later".
Laurent Bonomo, .....................Gabriel Ferez
Laurent Bonomo with his fiancee Mary Bertez
Mr Bonomo's fiancee, Mary Bertez, a student in France who he was due to marry later this year, paid an emotional tribute to her "darling" who she said gave her "happiness the like of which I have never experienced before". In a message addressed to him she said she would help police in every way possible "so that you will be avenged".
Mr Bonomo was stabbed 196 times, up to 80 of which were wounds to his back after he was already dead.
Mr Ferez, who lived in south London and was visiting his close friend, suffered 47 separate injuries and "bore the brunt of the fire", according to sources.
They were both stabbed in the head, the torso, the back and the neck and suffered other "horrific" injuries which were consistent with torture but not of a sexual nature.
Det Chf Insp Mick Duthie, who is leading the investigation, said he and his officers had "never seen injuries inflicted to bodies like this before".
One line of inquiry that detectives believe may be significant is that the flat in New Cross was broken into six days before and a laptop was stolen. Mr Bonomo was in the shower at the time and went into his living room to discover the front window had been forced open.
Detectives are investigating whether a set of keys was taken, which would explain why there was no forced entry on Sunday. It is thought the burglar could have returned to find the students and attacked them. Other residents said that the residential cul-de-sac had been targeted by burglars before.
Mr Bonomo was engaged to Miss Bertez, who studied French Literature at Université de Valenciennes, Lille. It is believed that she was the last to speak to him, in a phone call to France at 1am on Sunday.
She wrote a moving tribute to on his Facebook social networking profile.
It said: "My love, I wasn't there that night, we who were always together ... I do not stop thinking about you every second.
"I lived 10 months of happiness with you the like of which I never experienced before. Today you are gone, I will try to set a good example as you always wished.
"I will give all the necessary information to the inquiry my darling so that you will be avenged. I love you my darling from the bottom of my heart."
Friends revealed that the exchange students were "full of life and looking forward to getting home" in the days leading up to their killings, it emerged.
Mr Bonomo intended to continue his studies in Lille, northern France, so that he could be closer to his fiancee, while Mr Ferez, was due to begin doctoral studies.
Close friend Antoine Galloux, 23, spoke to them last week, just days before the pair's mutilated bodies were found in a burnt out South London flat.
"I had no idea London was such a barbaric city," said Mr Galloux.
"It is scarcely believable. They were both fantastic guys - really relaxed, and fun to be with, and also excellent students.
"I talked to Gabriel the week before all this happened and he was full of life and in good spirits.
"Both he and Laurent were looking forward to getting back to France at the end of July, and were excited about their projects for the future.
"Laurent was going to continue his studies in bio-engineering in Lille, while Gabriel wanted to start a doctorate back in Clermont-Ferrand."
It is believed Mr Bonomo and Mr Ferez were playing a computer game together on Sunday night when they were set upon sometime before 10pm.
After the prolongued attack, it is believed the killer poured an accelerant over the bodies of the two men and around the flat, then set it alight - possibly to destroy forensic evidence.
Neighbours heard no screams and were first alerted when they heard the "explosion" of the fireball inside the ground-floor flat.
Police said the pair, who had met and studied at Polytech Clermont-Ferrard, were "entirely innocent" and "did not have an enemy in the world".
Members of students' families have flown over from France to identify the bodies. Claude-Gilles Dussap, director of the Polytech, said: "Their grief cannot be described."
Mr Duthie said: "To tell them the extent of the injuries was the hardest think I have had to do as a police officer".
By Richard Edwards, Peter Allen and Murray Waldrop
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ukn...-stabbed-243-times-in-London-flat-murder.html
Laurent Bonomo with his fiancee Mary Bertez
Mr Bonomo's fiancee, Mary Bertez, a student in France who he was due to marry later this year, paid an emotional tribute to her "darling" who she said gave her "happiness the like of which I have never experienced before". In a message addressed to him she said she would help police in every way possible "so that you will be avenged".
Mr Bonomo was stabbed 196 times, up to 80 of which were wounds to his back after he was already dead.
Mr Ferez, who lived in south London and was visiting his close friend, suffered 47 separate injuries and "bore the brunt of the fire", according to sources.
They were both stabbed in the head, the torso, the back and the neck and suffered other "horrific" injuries which were consistent with torture but not of a sexual nature.
Det Chf Insp Mick Duthie, who is leading the investigation, said he and his officers had "never seen injuries inflicted to bodies like this before".
One line of inquiry that detectives believe may be significant is that the flat in New Cross was broken into six days before and a laptop was stolen. Mr Bonomo was in the shower at the time and went into his living room to discover the front window had been forced open.
Detectives are investigating whether a set of keys was taken, which would explain why there was no forced entry on Sunday. It is thought the burglar could have returned to find the students and attacked them. Other residents said that the residential cul-de-sac had been targeted by burglars before.
Mr Bonomo was engaged to Miss Bertez, who studied French Literature at Université de Valenciennes, Lille. It is believed that she was the last to speak to him, in a phone call to France at 1am on Sunday.
She wrote a moving tribute to on his Facebook social networking profile.
It said: "My love, I wasn't there that night, we who were always together ... I do not stop thinking about you every second.
"I lived 10 months of happiness with you the like of which I never experienced before. Today you are gone, I will try to set a good example as you always wished.
"I will give all the necessary information to the inquiry my darling so that you will be avenged. I love you my darling from the bottom of my heart."
Friends revealed that the exchange students were "full of life and looking forward to getting home" in the days leading up to their killings, it emerged.
Mr Bonomo intended to continue his studies in Lille, northern France, so that he could be closer to his fiancee, while Mr Ferez, was due to begin doctoral studies.
Close friend Antoine Galloux, 23, spoke to them last week, just days before the pair's mutilated bodies were found in a burnt out South London flat.
"I had no idea London was such a barbaric city," said Mr Galloux.
"It is scarcely believable. They were both fantastic guys - really relaxed, and fun to be with, and also excellent students.
"I talked to Gabriel the week before all this happened and he was full of life and in good spirits.
"Both he and Laurent were looking forward to getting back to France at the end of July, and were excited about their projects for the future.
"Laurent was going to continue his studies in bio-engineering in Lille, while Gabriel wanted to start a doctorate back in Clermont-Ferrand."
It is believed Mr Bonomo and Mr Ferez were playing a computer game together on Sunday night when they were set upon sometime before 10pm.
After the prolongued attack, it is believed the killer poured an accelerant over the bodies of the two men and around the flat, then set it alight - possibly to destroy forensic evidence.
Neighbours heard no screams and were first alerted when they heard the "explosion" of the fireball inside the ground-floor flat.
Police said the pair, who had met and studied at Polytech Clermont-Ferrard, were "entirely innocent" and "did not have an enemy in the world".
Members of students' families have flown over from France to identify the bodies. Claude-Gilles Dussap, director of the Polytech, said: "Their grief cannot be described."
Mr Duthie said: "To tell them the extent of the injuries was the hardest think I have had to do as a police officer".
By Richard Edwards, Peter Allen and Murray Waldrop
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ukn...-stabbed-243-times-in-London-flat-murder.html
