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Man arrested in French student murder in which pair 'were tortured and killed for their PIN numbers'
Last updated at 20:48pm on 05.07.08
A man is being questioned by detectives in connection with the murder of two French students, who may have been tortured for their bank details, after being arrested earlier today.
Detectives suspect Laurent Bonomo and Gabriel Ferez, both 23, were killed in a robbery that escalated into the horrific double murder.
The Metropolitan Police said the 21-year-old man was arrested at 3.40am this morning and is in custody at a police station in south-east London.
It is understood that credit and charge cards are missing from the rented flat in New Cross, South-East London, where Mr Bonomo and Mr Ferez were gagged, tied to chairs, stabbed 243 times in the head, chest and back and finally set on fire.
Brutally murdered: Laurent Bonomo (left) and Gabriel Ferez were stabbed almost 250 times before their bodies were covered in an accelerant and set alight
They may have been tortured for hours to make them give up their PIN numbers.
Two new Sony PSP games consoles - worth £160 each - are also missing from Mr Bonomo's flat, fuelling the theory that the men were murdered in a robbery at the hands of crazed drug addicts.
Six days before the murders, Mr Bonomo disturbed an intruder who stole a laptop as he took an early morning shower. That theft and the murders may be connected.
Tribute: Laurent Bonomo's cousin Leo visits the flats today with flowers
The level of violence has led to speculation that the killer or killers were on crack cocaine when the bio-chemistry students were slaughtered on Sunday.
Last night the father of Mr Ferez paid tribute to his 'incredibly gifted son' who was studying with Mr Bonomo at Imperial College, London.
Speaking for the first time about the killings, Olivier Ferez, a nurse, told the Daily Mail: 'We are just in shock and completely devastated.
'Gabriel is, was, the most intelligent, affectionate, wonderful son anyone could ever want. He studied at the best university in France and then the best in England. He had such a bright future and now that has gone.'
Divorced Mr Ferez, who yesterday comforted his daughter Helene, 20, and 12-year-old
younger son at the family home, added: 'It is the worst nightmare for any parent.'
Rejane Ferez, Mr Ferez's grandmother, said he had been 'finding life in London tough'.
She added: 'Gabriel loved travelling and had recently spent time in Mexico, but nothing had prepared him for London.'
She added: 'As well as all the usual problems, life in London could also be very lonely. Both Gabriel and Laurent were greatly looking forward to getting back home.'
Tragic: Mr Bonomo, 23, with his fiancee Mary Bertez. Ms Bertez, also a student, has said their time together was the happiest of her life
The students were in the second year of a three-year master's degree in France and had been selected to take part in a three month research project at Imperial College.
They were due to return home later this month.
Mr Bonomo, from Velaux, near Marseille, and Mr Ferez, from Prouzel, near Amiens, were popular characters at the Polytech Clermont-Ferrand in central France.
Yesterday parents of fellow students in London demanded that their children be brought home.
University director Claude-Gilles Dussap said: 'I have had a number of calls from families saying they are scared about their son or daughter and want them to come home. They think London is dangerous.'
He added: 'I told them the same thing could happen here in France, in Paris or Lyon, it is just a freak terrible thing but it could have happened anywhere.'
Bound: Mr Ferez, 23, had been visiting his friend's flat when he was killed
Manhunt: Forensic teams comb the flat and surrounding area for any clues about the killer. A white man was seen running from the flat after the explosion
Disarray: Inside Mr Bonomo's flat is a scene of chaos
The bodies of the 23-year-olds were found at Mr Bonomo's flat in the cul-de-sac of Sterling Gardens, New Cross, on Sunday night.
A white man was seen running away moments after an explosion.
Detective Chief Inspector Mick Duthie, leading the investigation, said: 'We are keen to hear from anyone who has recently been offered a laptop and two personal game consoles, or knows someone who has unexpectedly come to have them.
'A black Packard Bell laptop was taken during a burglary between 5am and 6am on June 23.'
Detectives have said the burglary in which the laptop was stolen could be linked to the murders as forensic experts have found no evidence of forced entry, suggesting a stolen set of keys may have been used.
Speaking outside the flat, Mr Duthie said the fire was started to destroy forensic evidence.'
He added: 'We are still looking into how many weapons were used. We haven't recovered any from the scene.'
He said 40 detectives were on the case, codenamed Operation Dockery.
Boarded up: Officers block off the windows of the ground-floor flat after they were blown out
Anyone with information should call the incident room on 020 8721 4155 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
The possible motives
Theft:
A burglar broke in to the bedsit six days earlier and stole a laptop. Did he return and torture his pleading victims in a bid to obtain more valuable items? Sources described this as a key line of the inquiry.
Drugs:
The ferocity of the murders has prompted speculation that the killer or killers could have been on crack cocaine - which can cause paranoia and extreme violence. Or, for whatever reason, did the men fall out with a local drug dealer?
Mental illness:
The violence could be the work of a psychopath or person with an acute personality disorder. Police will check on seriously mentally ill individuals in the area.
Sex:
Although neither victim suffered sexual injuries, police cannot rule out completely the possibility of a sexual motive. Did the killer or killers get a sadistic pleasure from inflicting unimaginable pain? Was there a bizarre homosexual motive?
Revenge:
Strong feelings of revenge can sometimes prompt horrific acts of violence. But police see no obvious reason why the men would attract such hostile feelings.
Mistaken identity :
Were the men mistaken for other individuals who were the intended targets?
Reader views (37)
Here's a sample of the latest views published.
It is so sad. We should go back to the old values in society and everybody has to live by the rules of the guest nation.
Rules, strict rules, why can't they fine someone who carries a knife? Or weapon?
Drug addicts? Singapore or Dubai do not have these problems, they have others but not knifes or drugs.
If you carry a knife in Singapore you will go to jail. Drugs? Jail or death penalty...
- Tina T., Germany, Germany
There are far too many parasitic, murderous, sub-human scumbags loose in London, and other towns, terrorizing innocent people.
British society has been on a downward spiral for decades now and has changed for the worst, thanks to a labour government.
I am ashamed to be British. It is not a safe place anymore.
Gabriel and Laurent, you have been a victims of what is wrong with our sick world. I mourn for your tragic loss.
- Kelly, Kent.
Welcome to Labour´s Britain.
I would hope when the police find the murderers the human rights activists will protect them. After all the students provoked them into this act of self defence!
No wonder Canada wants decent Brits to emigrate. There are not many of them left.
- Peter Glazier, Sao Paulo, Brazil
How senseless! These two young men were the cream of the crop.
On another note, thank god the killers did not have guns!
- Ross, annandale va
Whoever did this is sick and clearly has no values or respect for human life. If anyone has any information they should give it straight away to the Police and not protect the scumbag(s) who committed this heinous crime. There should be no mercy shown to the useless creature(s) who murdered these two men.
- Carl Kisicki, Lewisham
Britain has long been the 'canary in the coalmine' for many Americans to observe. A once great empire, Britain turned its back on God and has already advanced toward the long descent into hell. Behold the glory of 'moral relativism." Kind of like Vermont.
- Bupkiss, USA
I can only echo what Mitch says. I am very familiar with New Cross and lived a couple of miles away for a number of years. I finally moved well away 4 years ago after seeing the area get progressively lawless. The police seem to be powerless and from my experience, quite disinterested and unwilling to help. What an awful crime, my heart goes to their families.
- We, Kent
I posted this question yesterday but was censored for some reason... Were these two boys Jews?
- Moriah, sacramento USA
These men are among a huge number of gifted molecular biologists around the world who have been murdered horrifically or met with strange "accidents" during the last few decades, most of them since 9-11. The investigators should take a good look at the research project they were involved in, and find out who might be threatened by their knowledge.
- Geneva, Victoria, BC
Poor guys. With respect to the decent folk who live there, that area is a very dangerous, edgy area and god knows how this incident kicked off. There is a lot of scum lurking in that neck of the woods. The streets need cleaning up asap.
- Mitch, London, UK
What in the world is happening to England? You were the crucible of True Representative Democracy, those that led by example to a better way of government. This multicultural baloney is destroying your own culture---that and the move towards fascist like surveillance.
- Howard, Texas, USA
Horrific and terrible crime - but hello British police, burglars do not stick around and brutally torture people. These young men were either hunted for some insane reason or they were involved in something they should not have been. Based on the info in this piece, the latter seems more likely. If so, the chap who did this will do it again, so the constabulary had better put away their lady fingers and get to work.
May their families find peace and may the UK police find the maniac who did this. When they do, they should send him to Texas where we have some very special accommodates for persons like him.
- Jeffc, Texas, USA
@ Marcus, New Cross
"Islamic fundamentalists are probably the only people in London at this moment capable of this level of violence."
This is a very stupid comment.
- Zobir, London
Society has become rotten to the core. We need to examine our highly socialistic culture and re-balance everything to promote law and order.
- Derek, Tampa
So much for gun control protecting the public. I 'd certainly rather be shot than knifed 197 times in the back.
- Elsie, CA
You all gave up your right to self defence and the use of guns for protection and here you go. You are all sitting and waiting to be the next murdered victim. Good job only the criminals have the right to live, they will be set free and you will still be dead.
Hey when seconds count the cops are only minutes away, well if they even show up that is.
- Chuck, middletown,ohio
How sad that one of the posters here would blame this heinous act on capitalism. At the core of this crime is a lack of conscience, lack of character, morals, and empathy; a heart full of hatred.
- D. Beal, Granada Hills, CA, USA
The only way to resolve knives crisis is to build some cages with the big label - "I'm a killer" in public places and lock those killers in them in order to put them all down.
The problem is that the English Police has very limited privileges caused by human rights. In Poland you couldn't even swear nor smoke in a policeman presence. It's why people in Poland feel more respect to this institution. People just don't carry knives in their pockets. The Police in England should be like Polish one.
Regards
- Jack, East Sussex
Society is rotten to the core. We need to examine our morally relativistic leftward tilt and rebalance everything to promote care and good values.
- Lucas, Washington, DC
Horrible and disgusting. The brutality suggests either an insane person or a racist or personal motive.
- Rick, st louis
Steve Q., you're pathetic.
- Rebecca, Houston/USA
Mark Mealcalff, who are they going to arrest?
You'd think that one of these days all those cameras Britain has would come in handy…
- Gregory Scott, Houston, TX
In a country that loves surveillance cameras, you'd think the police could prevent the crime, or at the very least, solve it.
- Frank, Philadelphia, USA
You see! Tarantino must be stopped.
- Marty, Grandville, MI, USA
Nice way to just assume it must have been Islamic fundamentalists who could have perpetrated such a crime. 70 years ago in Germany you would have been saying that only Jews could have done something like this.
If you don't like multicultural London you're always welcome to leave. Racism has no place in a great city.
- Salaheddin, London
The more I hear of high performing students being killed the more it seems like there is an organized attack on the brightest among us. What better way to bring down Western Civilization than to kill off the future engineers?
- Ping Sonar, Philadelphia, PA
Thank God that Handguns are banned here, or the attack could have been much worse. Sure.
- Bob, Oxford, England
My sincerest condolences to the families.
With the ferocity of the attack, it would seem likely that this was a crime of passion rather than a simple action of burglary gone awry. Someone who was harmed (whether real or imagined) by one or the other of these two, is likely going to be found as the culprit. Given the overwhelming attention focused on the one lad, it would seem prudent to focus on his associations first.
Oh, and if you'll permit me a bit of social commentary from the States...it's a good thing the UK has such strict gun control laws, isn't it? Otherwise this would have been horrible.
See how silly that is?
What if one of those young men had been allowed a gun with which to protect himself?
Yes, we have 30,000 handgun deaths a year here in the US (though a large portion of those are suicides, and defensive actions against intruders, and therefore out of the scope for which they are cited...), but we have 60,000 auto mobile deaths as well. Keeping it all in perspective, maybe we should ban cars too?
- Darin, USA
They seem to both have north African names, this looks like Islamic revenge or punishment. Drug addict gone mad doesn't cut it. They got on the wrong side of someone or some group. What a sad epic in the ongoing growth of violence in Great Britain. Maybe if they were allowed to defend themselves they would be alive, disarming the good citizen really works well what!
- Tzaz, Gilbert, AZ. USA
I was considering coming back to Britain at some stage, but the way things are going, Iraq, Afghanistan or Zimbabwe look equally appealing.
- Richard, Madrid, Spain
Brilliant Bio technology students, torture, extreme violence, fire bomb, laptop computer. Bio terrorist? Islamic fundamentalists are probably the only people in London at this moment capable of this level of violence. I hope the plods are not missing this line of enquiry.
My heart goes out to the friends and relatives of these two latest victims of wonderful multicultural London.
- Marcus, New cross, London
The only way out of this impasse is to arrest, arrest, arrest.
- Mark Mealcalff, London
Society has become rotten to the core. We need to examine our highly capitalist culture and re-balance everything to promote care and selflessness.
- Steve Q, Reading
I only live a couple of streets from Sterling Gardens. This double murder are totally horrific, from what I read - these victims have been stabbed over 100 times! If anyone got any information to capture their killers please forward them to the police.
- Henry, London, UK
Is this a racist attack or simply another New Cross 'difference of opinion'?
- Ross Beef, London
Surprised? No. Shocked? No longer. Londoner? Yes.
Sign of the times.
- John, London
What a welcome to my country.
I am very sad and also filled with bitterness towards those who are responsible for this heinous act.
- Robert Palmer, London
