Fiancee vows to avenge killing
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The fiancee of a French student who was bound, gagged, and stabbed along with his friend in a frenzied attack at his London bedsit has vowed to avenge his killing.
High-flyers Laurent Bonomo and Gabriel Ferez, both 23, were killed with such brutality their murders have shocked hardened detectives.
A white man was seen running from the rented bedsit moments after it exploded. Police hope to make an arrest "sooner rather than later".
Mr Bonomo's fiancee, Mary Bertez, was the last person to speak to him in the early hours of Sunday morning.
She wrote on a social networking site on Thursday: "My love, we were always together but unfortunately I wasn't there that evening.
"I will never stop thinking about you for a second. I had 10 months of a happiness I had never experienced until then.
"Today you are gone. I will try to be as good as you always wanted.
"I will give all the required information to the investigation, my dear, so you can be avenged."
Firefighters discovered the men's bodies after smashing their way into the burning ground-floor flat in Sterling Gardens, New Cross, south east London.
A pathologist later documented 243 separate injuries to their badly-burned bodies. Mr Bonomo suffered 80 wounds after he had died.
One source said officers were still unsure if one or more people were involved. But he added: "We expect to make an arrest sooner rather than later."
The detective responsible for the inquiry said the injuries were the worst he had ever seen and left everyone involved in the investigation "deeply shocked".
It is believed the two Frenchmen may have been tortured for several hours after being surprised by an intruder as they played a computer game.
Police said Mr Bonomo, of Velaux, and Mr Ferez, of Prouzel, were "entirely innocent", with no criminal background in France or the UK.
Detectives said a burglary at the flat six days earlier in which a laptop was stolen could be linked to the double murder.
Forensic experts have found no evidence of forced entry and one line of inquiry is that a stolen set of keys may have been used.
Neighbours dialled 999 after an explosion blew the windows out and ignited a fierce blaze shortly after 10pm on Sunday.
Mr Ferez, who lived in South Norwood, had travelled to spend the evening at his close friend's flat.
Investigators believe a petrol-like accelerant was poured on or near their bodies, possibly in a bid to destroy evidence.
Det Chief Insp Mick Duthie told a press conference at New Scotland Yard on Thursday he had "never seen injuries inflicted to bodies like this before".
He said: "The extent of the injuries is horrific. Everyone working on this case, including myself, has been deeply shocked by what we have seen.
"I have never seen injuries like this throughout my career. We are here today because I don't know why these boys were killed or who killed them.
"I do believe, however, that those responsible must have been blood-stained when they left."
Asked to describe the attack, he said: "I would not say this was a professional attack. I would say it was a frenzied, horrible, horrific attack.
"I imagine it would take some considerable amount of time to inflict the nature of the injuries."
The successful bio-chemistry students were in the second year of a three-year Master's degree in France.
They had been selected to take part in a three-month research project and were due to return home later this month.
Mr Bonomo, from Velaux, near Marseille, and Mr Ferez, from Prouzel, near Amiens, were popular characters at the Polytech Clermont-Ferrand in central France.
Imperial Rector Sir Roy Anderson said the University had been left in shock by the loss of two young members.
He said: "Our immediate thoughts are with their families. Laurent and Gabriel had bright futures ahead of them and it is dreadful that their lives should end so soon."
Professor Steve Matthews, who worked closely with Mr Bonomo, said he was an intelligent young man with a bright future.
He said: "They were both very likeable chaps. Laurent was particularly mature and well-rounded. He was a keen tennis fan and looking forward to following the French players at Wimbledon."
Dr David Leak, a senior lecturer at Imperial College, said Mr Ferez was "an enthusiastic and capable student".
He added: "Indeed, he was clearly a bit of a polymath as he also had a strong interest in organic chemistry and had just been accepted on to a chemistry Masters course in France, which would have enabled him to go on to take a PhD in this area."
A 34-year-old woman, who did not want to be named, who lived in the same block of flats as the victims, said: "I was taking out my recycling when I heard what sounded like a crack, it didn't sound like an explosion.
"I thought it was gunshots so I ran back inside my flat and I didn't come out again until the firemen asked us to leave."
She said the residents were evacuated to a Holiday Inn in Greenwich and she was not allowed back to her flat until Wednesday.
She added that two men tried to break into her own flat about two months ago whilst she was in bed.
"They had a big knife with them which they left embedded in the window," she said.
"I saw a silhouette through the blinds and they ran off as soon as I shouted."
She said the men first tried to break in using a screwdriver which broke and then attempted to get in with the 12in kitchen knife.