Children's cries alerted neighbour to suspected murder-suicide

A suspected murder-suicide was discovered after cries of children including a baby were heard coming from a property, police said.

A 26-year-old woman is thought to have been violently attacked and killed by her 30-year-old husband before he took his own life at the family home in the West Midlands.

A neighbour called police on Saturday afternoon after becoming concerned by the cries of three children, all aged under eight, at the address in Pel Crescent, Oldbury.

West Midlands Police Detective Inspector Jim Munro said police are not looking for anyone else in connection with the deaths.

He said: "This is a truly tragic incident: it's understood the woman was violently attacked before the offender took his own life.

"The timeline of exactly what happened is unclear but we believe the two people died during the morning.

"There were three children, including a small baby, present at the address when officers made the discovery - they are being looked after by loved ones and will receive specialist support."

Post-mortem examinations will take place later on Monday, police said.