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South London double murder flat looked 'like an abattoir'
Felix Allen22 Oct 2009
Detectives were questioning a suspect today after two men were found murdered in a south London flat.
Officers found a scene resembling "an abattoir" when they forced their way into the one-bedroom ground-floor flat in West Norwood, sources said.
The victims, both aged about 60, may have been dead for several days when police were called over concerns for the tenant, named locally as Luciano Schiano. The second victim is believed to be a friend who sometimes stayed at the property near Norwood Park.
Neighbours said two women were with officers who went to the flat at about 10pm on Tuesday. It is believed relatives had been unable to contact Mr Schiano, who lived alone.
Police investigating the murders arrested a 29-year-old man at an address in south London yesterday evening. He was in custody today.
The victims suffered multiple stab wounds and at first detectives thought that one of the men could have killed the other before turning the knife on himself. Further tests convinced them that both were murder victims.
A security camera directed at the front door of Mr Schiano's flat could have filmed the killer.
Forensics teams examined the scene behind tarpaulins yesterday before the two bodies were removed by private ambulance shortly before midnight. One scenes of crime expert said earlier: "It is a quite a nasty place to work in. The bodies are still there and we are examining blood spatter patterns. There's blood everywhere - it looks like an abattoir."
The officer compared it to the New Cross bedsit where French students Laurent Bonomo and Gabriel Ferez were stabbed 244 times by Dano Sonnex and Nigel Farmer in June last year.
Post-mortem examinations were taking place today. Police will not confirm the victims' identities until next of kin have been informed.
Neighbours said Mr Schiano, known as Gianno, was Italian and had a long grey ponytail and moustache. He sold the Big Issue in Streatham. One resident described him as a "harmless" drinker who would invite friends back to the flat for "loud and raucous" parties.
