‘Bodies of son and mum consistent with murder and suicide’
Seven-year-old and mother found inside house
CRIME SCENE: THE discovery of the bodies of a 37-year-old woman and her sevenyear-old son in South Ruislip on Wednesday December 14 are consistent with a murder and a suicide, police say.
Officers were called to The Fairway, near South Ruislip station, at around 10.50am when they found the bodies, believed to be Sinead Higgins and her son Oisin O’Driscoll.
Post-mortem examinations were held at Uxbridge Mortuary on Friday December 16, but were unable to determine the cause of death, and police say they are waiting for further toxicology tests. However, following the examinations, detectives say they are satisfied that the deaths are ‘consistent with a murder and a suicide’.
A neighbour of the mother and son found dead in South Ruislip said it is a ‘shocking’ incident and that she had not seen anything like it.
The Metropolitan Police were called to the scene after concerns were raised for welfare of the people in the house.
The neighbour, who lives in The Fairway and asked not to be named, said: “It’s very shocking.
“There’s never trouble here. I’ve been living here for 30 years.
“This is the first time anything like this has happened.”
On Thursday afternoon, a man and a woman left flowers on the doorstep of the house with a message that read: “My best friend. I’ll miss you.”
Forensic teams and the London Ambulance Service were spotted at the house on December 14 and detectives from the Metropolitan Police questioned neighbours in the evening.
The neighbour added: “At about 11am one police car came. I thought it might be a burglary, then lots more police cars came.
“My grandson said he saw the forensic people when he came home from school.”
The next of kin have been informed of the deaths and police say the causes are being treated as unexplained.
Detective Inspector Dave Bolton, from the Homicide and Major Crime Command, said: “The investigation is at a very early stage, but enquiries so far lead us to believe there is a likelihood that the tragic events that led to the deaths do not involve a third party.” STOP SMOKING, LOOSE WEIGHT, SLEEP WELL, GAIN CONFIDENCE & HELP RELATIONSHIP PROBLEMS HIS stories are read by millions of children across the world and now one of David Walliams’ creations is coming to your doorstep as part of a world tour.
Get ready to blast off to the moon with Sheila the Hippo at the Beck Theatre, in Hayes.
It is one of more than 40 locations across the country showing the stage adaptation of David Walliams’ The First Hippo on the Moon, which is currently running at the Hippodrome Theatre, in Eastbourne.
The story is a space adventure which follows Sheila the Hippo as she competes with the incredibly rich Hercules Waldorf-Franklin III to become the first hippo to set foot on the moon.
“I have always been fascinated with the space race of the 1960s and wanted to do a spoof on that.” says author David Walliams.
“I like the idea of hippos going to the moon as they are the animals least likely to.
“It’s a very visual book, with amazing illustrations by Tony Ross, so it should be a very colourful stage production.”
The production has been adapted for the stage by Les Enfants Terribles and Les Petits artistic director Oliver Lansley, who has experience with children’s theatre.
Artistic director Oliver Lansley says there was something about the book which caught his eye: “A cracking, pompous female hippo as our lead, ADAPTATION: a jungle full of animals and a race to the moon – it just seemed so full of opportunity that we had to adapt it for the stage!”
The animals on stage are depicted by puppets, designed by Nick Barnes and Finn Calwell, just some of the minds behind the iconic War Horse puppets.
“The puppets are all voiced live on stage by the puppeteers manipulating them,” says puppet maker and director Mr Calwell.
He adds: “Our central hippo (Sheila) wears a hippo suit and mask. All of the other characters of various sizes and shapes and are what you might call contact puppets, in that the performers are in direct connection with them.”
Comedian and author Walliams began his publishing career in 2008 and has often been compared to Roald Dahl and it is not hard to see why.
He has sold more than 9.5 million books in the UK and his work has been translated into 45 different languages.
The children’s author says he has many inspirations: “There are so many great writers for children right now.”
“My personal favourites right now are JK Rowling, Julia Donaldson, Dame Jacqueline Wilson and Michael Morpurgo. As a young child I loved Richard Scarry and Dr Seuss.
“My absolute hero is Roald Dahl. He is the greatest children’s writer of all time as he wrote so many brilliant books.”
If you are planning to head along to the show, the number one bestselling children’s author has this message for families: “Whoever you are you should dream big, just like Sheila the hippo.
“Plus, if you work together as a team then you can achieve so much more.”
The play is showing at the Beck Theatre in Hayes on Saturday January 21 and Sunday January 22.