Police get more time to question man held after deaths of pensioners

Murder squad detectives have been given more time to question a suspect over the killing of a pensioner couple.

Michael and Marjorie Cawdery, both 83, are understood to have been stabbed in their home in Portadown, Northern Ireland on Friday in what a senior officer described as a brutal attack.

A 40-year-old man was arrested after the killings after being found close to a vehicle stolen from the couple's house.

Detectives in the Police Service of Northern Ireland's serious crime branch secured more time to detain and question the man after applying to the courts.

"The extension was approved by a court today. Police inquiries are ongoing," the PSNI said.

Police and emergency services were called to the pensioners' house in Upper Ramone Park in Portadown at around 3.40pm on Friday after the couple were found dead by a relative.

Mr Geddes said a grey Kangoo van with the registration NJZ 6101, stolen from the couple's home, was found around 5pm in the nearby Edenderry area.

Relatives described the murders as incomprehensible.

In a statement the family said: "The awful and incomprehensible events of Friday 26 May have deprived our family of two wonderful people, Michael and Marjorie, who were our father, mother, brother, sister and grandparents."