Murdered father and daughter both found strangled in flat

A father murdered along with his daughter were both found strangled in a flat with no signs of forced entry, police said.

Noel Brown, 69, and Marie Brown, 41, were found dead at his home in New Butt Lane, Deptford, at about 2.45am on Monday.

Metropolitan Police detectives said they have found no evidence that Mr Brown was killed because of a large gambling win, although he had visited his local betting shop Paddy Power on the day he was last seen alive.

A neighbour saw Mr Brown at his home at around 8pm on Thursday November 30, and days later at around midday on Saturday December 2, his daughter went to his flat out of concern for his welfare - she was not seen alive again.

After forensic searches of the area and gathering hours of CCTV, police have appealed for the public's help and urged two men who visited Mr Brown's flat in the days before he was found dead to come forward.

Detective Superintendent Paul Monk said: "At this early stage we are keeping an open mind regarding the motive. However, it was clear to the responding officers that there were no signs of forced entry to the property. One of our key lines of inquiry is to establish if the suspect or suspects were known to Noel and if Marie disturbed them.

"One of the key strands of our investigation is understanding all we can about Noel's life. He was well known and liked locally.

"We know that Noel used to go to his local betting shop, Paddy Power, in Deptford High Street and had in fact been there during the day he was last seen alive on 30 November.

"There has been speculation that his murder was as a result of a large gambling win. However, at this time there is no evidence to suggest this was the case.

"This is a deeply distressing time for Noel and Marie's family as they come to terms with their loss."

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