More arrests over student murders

Police investigating the murders of Gabriel Ferez and Laurent Bonomo have made two more arrests.

A 35-year-old man and a 25-year-old woman are now in custody in connection with the double killing of the French students after being seized at an address in Streatham, south London.

Nigel Farmer, 33, of no fixed address, was earlier charged with their murder and will appear at Greenwich Magistrates' Court in southeast London on Thursday.

He was also charged with arson and attempting to pervert the course of justice, a Met Police spokeswoman said.

Detectives arrested Farmer after he walked into Lewisham police station in the early hours of Monday morning.

He was taken to hospital under guard for treatment to serious burns to his hands and arms, then questioned over the killings.

The badly-burned bodies of the two 23-year-old students were found after an explosion at a rented bedsit in New Cross.

Investigators found they had been bound, gagged and tortured before petrol or a similar inflammable liquid was splashed on and around their bodies.

Police said a strong smell of accelerant remained at the property hours after the blaze had been put out by firefighters.

Officers said forensic work at the ground-floor flat in Sterling Gardens could continue for several more weeks.

Detectives have renewed their appeal for witnesses who may have seen anyone at the property on Sunday June 29.

Mr Bonomo was stabbed nearly 200 times, up to 80 of the wounds inflicted after he was dead, while Mr Ferez suffered nearly 50 knife wounds.

Six days earlier, Mr Bonomo disturbed an intruder stealing a laptop computer.

Experts found no evidence of forced entry after the murders, suggesting keys might also have been stolen.

Two Sony handheld games consoles were also taken and credit cards are believed to be missing.

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