Costessey deaths – investigations continue and further IOPC referral made

Police have been carrying out additional patrols today in Costessey, near Norwich, after the bodies of four people were found in a house yesterday (19 January 2024).

Uniformed officers will be on the Queen’s Hill estate throughout the day as detectives continue to investigate the circumstances of the incident.

Two children were among the four people found dead at the property on Allan Bedford Crescent.

Yesterday, officers confirmed the incident had been referred to the Independent Office of Police Conduct (IOPC), as per standard procedure, due to police contact at the address on 14 December which related to a missing person enquiry.

A second referral has been made to the IOPC today (20 January) following the identification of a 999 call made yesterday morning at 6am by a man at the address and police resources were not deployed.

Officers had been called to the address shortly before 7am after a member of the public called police to raise concerns for the welfare of people inside.

Police arrived on scene at around 7.15am and forced entry to the address, finding the bodies of two young girls, a 45-year-old man and a 36-year-old woman.

A police cordon remains in place and forensic investigations will continue today inside the property. Detectives have been carrying out house to house enquiries, speaking with witnesses and are continuing to exam local CCTV footage.

Detective Chief Inspector Chris Burgess, from the Norfolk and Suffolk Major Investigation Team, is leading the enquiry and thanked the local community for their support.

He said: “We’ve had a heavy police presence in the area since yesterday morning and there’s understandably concern in the local community. However, their help and support in the investigation has been unwavering and on behalf of everyone involved in this devastating incident, we’re extremely grateful for that.

“Today, the focus of our enquiries remains at the address and we’re examining local CCTV.

“While we’re still piecing together what’s happened, at this stage we remain satisfied that this is an isolated incident.”

All four people were found with injuries and post-mortem examinations will be held in due course to establish cause of death.

DCI Burgess added: “We’re aware of commentary on social media and in news media, however, I would emphasise that formal identification is yet to take place. As I said yesterday, we believe the man and two children lived at the address, and while the woman was staying there, she wasn’t a permanent resident.”

Officers would like to hear from anyone who may have been in the Allan Bedford Crescent area earlier this morning and who may have seen or heard anything that could assist our enquiries.

Anyone with any information is asked to get in touch via the following channels, quoting crime reference NC-19012024-39:

• Website: https://www.norfolk.police.uk/tell-us
• Phone: 101
• Crimestoppers: Contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111, or via their online form: www.crimestoppers-uk.org