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Police swoop on two brothers after launching manhunt over brutal killings of French students
Last updated at 09:47am on 11.07.08
Two brothers have been arrested over the horrific murders of two French students.
Daniel 'Dano' Sonnex, 23, was tracked down last night, only minutes after police made an appeal to the public to help find him.
His brother Bernard, 35, had been arrested on Wednesday, along with a 25-year-old woman.
The brothers live a ten-minute walk from the rented bedsit where students Laurent Bonomo and Gabriel Ferez were stabbed to death and set ablaze in a bloodbath that one detective said looked like a scene from a Quentin Tarantino film.
Murdered: Gabriel Ferez (left) and Laurent Bonomo
Armed officers searching for Daniel raided the brothers' council house in Deptford, South East London, at 10pm on Wednesday, hours after arresting Bernard Sonnex and the woman in Streatham, south London.
But when they still could not trace him yesterday, they publicly urged anyone who could help to call 999.
He was arrested at 6.30pm when officers swooped at an address in Peckham, South East London.
Nigel Farmer, a homeless 33-year-old man, has already been charged with double murder.
He handed himself in at Lewisham police station in south east London on Monday morning, suffering burns to his hand and face.
He appeared at Greenwich magistrates' court yesterday and was remanded in custody to appear at the Old Bailey in October.
He faces two further charges - one that he destroyed a crime scene with intent to pervert the course of justice and another that he damaged property while being reckless with regard to the safety of others.
The French students, who were studying at Imperial College, London, were gagged, bound and repeatedly stabbed before being doused in petrol and set alight.
Their bodies were found on Sunday, June 30, after neighbours reported hearing an explosion.
Mr Bonomo had 196 stab wounds, while Mr Ferez suffered 47 wounds.
The men, both 23, were due to return home to France.
At 1am on Sunday, Mr Bonomo spoke to his fiancée Mary Bertez on the phone. It is the last time anyone heard from or saw the pair.
At 10pm on Saturday, neighbours heard an explosion at the flat and called the emergency services who found the men's badly-burned bodies.
It is possible they were tortured and that their killer or killers returned later to set fire to the flat. One theory is that they were tortured for the PINs to their credit cards.
Six days earlier, Mr Bonomo's laptop was stolen by a burglar who forced open a window.
After the murders, police could find no evidence of a forced entry and it is thought the killer may have stolen a set of keys.
Two Sony handheld games consoles were also taken and credit cards are believed to be missing.
Police continued their appeals for information and witnesses last night.
No comments are permitted on this story as legal proceedings are underway.
Reader views (14)
Trevor Oakley, why do you think that having capital punishment automatically means using it on a whim and for any petty crime? Do you seriously believe that Victorian Britain would have been safer with our modern, soft approach?
You say go to another country, wish I could but it's not easy to relocate. And the whole EU enforces this nonsense. Meanwhile we have to put up with repeat offenders slapped on the wrist on a regular basis and getting away with sadistic murder.
- Peter, UK
I think we should consider chemical castration and spading of these scumbags. This will prevent them going on to have runts of their own who'll no doubt would go on to carry the torch of their amoral parents.
IT would also help with population control as the planet cannot sustain population growth. Lets start with breeding out the most violent people in our society - let's face giving them a hug will not make them into the greatest parents in the world.
- Jack, london
Keith, in response to your comment about the photofit, there has always been a firm argument against photofit being used and this is a good example. Photofits can actually deter people from reporting suspects and apparently on reflection, when crimes are solved, the perpetrators turn out to very rarely (never?) look like the image. Photofit is therefore unhelpful as opposed to a useful tool IMO.
- Real, London
So the sick killing of two innocents has turned into a death sentence debate?
How the judges hearts must bleed having to gaol what are no doubt victims of society, to life, out in 8 if they are good, whilst the parents of the two innocents remain thankful they have been duly punished. I wonder if they get PS3's to play with on their colour TV's in Gaol? Which side of the debate do you think I am on?
- Les, Essex, UK
Mr. Shah, I fail to see where and how your comments are relevant in any at all to this crime.
- Tina, co, dk
In your community, the honour of the family with respect to the whole community is affected when girl marries someone out of community or arranged marriage. The community has no comment when some turn to terrorism willing to kill innocent people. It still regards those who did not report the possibility of bombings etc as part of their community. No honour lost in killing innocents?
- Ashwin Shah, Sanderstead
So many people want to kill in the name of justice! So where do you stop with the killing? In Iran a man was executed for drinking whiskey. I wonder is Phil Jones of London would step into death row for drinking in a local pub. In many countries you can be killed for committing adultery, so should we execute John Major or Prince Charles?
People like Phil Jones, Peter Fairlough, want designer justice, modelled to their own views. If they ever saw a society enforcing mass executions, like in Victorian Britain, they would run a mile and cry for their rights. In London you could be executed for stealing fruit, in fact so many were executed they did batch executions (24 a time). The same is done in Iraq today.
In Victorian Britain, violence was very common. People were routinely attacked, injured and killed. Queen Victoria herself had countless attempts on her life.
I can only say to the blood thirsty crowd, go and live in Saudi Arabria or Iraq where you ideals about executions will be endorsed. The funny thing is the same crowd who want to kill criminals, cry loudly when Britons are executed in other countries, eg the Sun Newspaper.
- Trevor Oakley, Southend, UK
Phil Jones, I think you need some help.
- Simon Richardson, London
Richard - that may be the case. But to me, part of the point of capital punishment is not that it acts as a deterrent, but that in many cases death is the only option that is good enough for people who do things like this. Sure, we could just lock them up for the rest of their lives, but the taxpayer will be paying for this and quite frankly I'd like to see my taxes spent on better things. Plus, prisons are already overcrowded, so why not keep them for people who partake in lesser crimes and reinstate the death penalty for people like this. Provided, of course, that there is no doubt that he is the culprit.
- Caroline, London, England
He looks nothing like the photo fit they released, so someone's made a mess up somewhere.
- Keith, King's Cross, UK
There's capital punishment in the US but it does nothing to stop murders so that arguement is a non starter.
- Richard, LONDON
A replacement for Albert (Pierrepoint) is more and more needed every day. I have volunteered my services free-of-charge, but not enough politicians' sons and daughters have yet been murdered to convince them of need for a new Albert. But it's just a matter of time! At current rates of ever-more sadistic murdering, it shouldn't be too long.
- Phil Jones, London UK
Anthony, I totally agree with your comments. If we have to go back to enforcing law and order as they did in the middle ages, then so be it! We may all laugh at the recent story of a couple facing prison for having sex on a beach in Dubai, but I bet you not many people will be behaving like that in future over there. We're too soft handed with criminals. I'd be quite happy to lock them up and throw away the key and any rights they may have! Gordon Brown, I hope you're reading this.
- Peter Fairlough, London, UK
Get this guy - bound him, gag him and burn him! I am so sad to continually discover more and more sick, horrific people sharing our world.
- Anthony, N.Ireland
