A 19-year-old girl in Kingston, south-east London was found dead, her body stuffed into a large freezer, in what some suspect as having been an honour killing.
The girl was kidnapped along with her cousin and taken to a large London home by the alleged murderer, a man whom they both knew. The 19-year-old was stabbed to death and then her body was put in a large freezer while her 21-year-old cousin was able to escape the property after having her throat slashed at the Daily Mail reports.
Two men have been arrested in connection with the murder, a 33-year-old attempting to flee the country in Dover and a 28-year-old in New Malden. Neighbours in the area where the woman’s body was found say they suspect the killing may have been motivated by so-called honour culture.
One neighbour, who refused to be named, said, “relatives told me that the man was Asian and was caught at Dover trying to leave the country.”
Police have so far not given a statement regarding the motive for the crime with Detective Chief Inspector Samantha Price saying, “Our investigation is at an early stage, and we are doing everything we can to fully understand the circumstances of this terrible attack on two young women.”
“At this stage, one line of enquiry is that the two women were taken against their will to the address in Kingston, by a man who they both knew. They were last seen safe and well at an address in Merton, prior to being police being contacted about concerns for their safety and welfare,” DCI Price added.
Price said that it was the woman who managed to escape the property who alerted them to the murder.
“Fortunately one of the women managed to get away from the address and seek help, how this happened will form part of this investigation. I am keeping an open mind as to the motive, but we are not currently looking for anyone else in connection with this case,” she said.
The number of honour-crimes in the UK over the past decade has been significant. According to the BBC, there were 11,744 honour crimes between 2010 and 2014 alone. Other organisations like the Halo Project believe there are as many as 12-15 honour killings every year in the UK.
The UK is not the only country seeing a rise in honour-crimes as a recently published report in Sweden alleges that there could be up to 240,000 young people in the country who are at risk due to so-called “honour culture.”
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