Murder investigation launched after woman found dead in her London home

A murder investigation is under way after a woman was found dead with a number of stab wounds in her home in west London, the Metropolitan police has said.

Officers were contacted on Sunday by friends of the woman, who were concerned about her welfare.

Police forced entry to the property in Stanhope Place, Bayswater, on Monday and found the woman dead.

Scotland Yard is trying to trace and inform the woman’s next of kin and a postmortem will be held in due course. No arrests have yet been made.

Both the house and its neighbouring property have been cordoned off.

DCI Adam Clifton, from the Met’s specialist crime command, who is leading the investigation, said: “I understand this news will be concerning, and that local women especially may be worried.

“Our inquiries are in the very early stages and we are keeping an open mind as to the motive, however I can assure people that my team are working 24/7 to establish what happened to the woman, and to identify and arrest whoever may be responsible for this attack.

“My officers now need support and information from the public. I want to ask local people to check doorbell cameras, and for drivers in the area to think about whether they’ve seen anything unusual that might have been captured on dashcam. Did you notice any unusual activity at the address? If you did then it is imperative that we hear from you.”

Ch Supt Louise Puddefoot, the lead for policing in Westminster, said: “Our thoughts are with the woman and her family. My officers will do everything we can to support the investigation and they will be stationed in the area to speak to anyone who has any information or concerns they want to share with us.”