Murder investigation as three found dead

Police are hunting for a man with a distinctive spider tattoo after a man, woman and young girl were found dead.

The bodies of a 44-year-old man, a 46-year-old woman and a six-year-old girl were discovered in a house in Vicarage Road, Didcot, Oxfordshire, after officers were called by a member of the public last night.

Thames Valley Police have appealed for help to trace Jed Allen, 21, who was known to the family, who has a distinctive spider tattoo on his left hand.

Speaking at a press conference, Detective Superintendent Chris Ward from Thames Valley Police's Major Crime Unit said that it was important to find Allen as soon as possible.

He said: "He is described as being 6ft tall, he is of large build. But distinctively, he has a tattoo on his left hand of a spider.

"It is very important that we locate him as quickly as we can."

Mr Ward added that although Allen was not considered a danger to the wider community, the public should not approach him and instead contact police.

Post mortems expected

The cause of deaths have yet to be established, and post-mortem examinations are expected to take place later today, Thames Valley Police said. No arrests have been made.

Mr Ward revealed that all three victims - who had only been living at the address for around two months - were "related" to each other and to Allen, who is a suspect in the investigation.

He is known to police and local to the area, Mr Ward said.

At this stage it is not believed that any firearms were involved in the incident.

"At this stage the families of the victims have been informed and they are being looked after by specialist, trained officers," the detective said.

Officers received the tip-off at around 8.23pm and detectives are keen to hear from witnesses who may have been in the area of Vicarage Road at the time.

As a result of the hunt for Allen, police will be carrying out a number of overt searches in the Didcot area.

Anyone with any information about the incident is asked to contact police immediately via 101 quoting reference number 1370 (23/5).

Sheila Welch, who lives on Vicarage Road, said that although she did not know the family, they always looked "happy".

The first that she knew that anything had happened was when police descended on the quiet residential road.

Ms Welch said: "They are new neighbours and had only been here a couple of months - I don't know their names.

"I used to see them - a lovely mother and a little girl. They always looked so happy."

She continued: "It was about half past eight last night, and then there were just sirens and police cars.

"All I can say is that I am very upset, it is all very traumatic."

University parks closed

Oxford University Parks have been closed at the request of Thames Valley Police, a spokeswoman for the university confirmed.

It is believed that Allen, who police are hunting as part of their murder investigation, used to be a groundskeeper at the university.