Eight months pregnant woman knifed to death but 999 crew save baby
A HEAVILY pregnant woman was stabbed to death in her home, but her baby was miraculously delivered by paramedics at the scene yesterday morning.
The victim – named by shocked neighbours as Kelly-Mary Fauvrelle – was murdered in what police called a ‘horrific’ attack.
Police and paramedics were called to a house over reports that the 26-year-old woman had suffered a cardiac arrest.
They found the woman had in fact suffered multiple stab wounds and was heavily pregnant at the address in Croydon, South London, shortly after 3.30am yesterday.
Despite the efforts of paramedics, she died at the scene.
The baby was taken to hospital where it remained in a critical condition last night.
Police said they were not confirming the gender of the infant and next-of-kin had been informed of the woman’s death. A 37-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of murder and taken into custody.
One neighbour said he had heard the sound of police dogs searching the property in the early hours of the morning.
He added: ‘It was pretty loud, it woke us up. We heard screaming, and then we saw police and paramedics. Later on I saw another woman come out and just collapse on the street.’
Miss Fauvrelle, a motorbike enthusiast who owned several superbikes, posted an ultrasound image of her unborn child to her Facebook page on Valentine’s Day and wrote: ‘Happy Valentine’s sweetpea. We can’t wait to meet you.’
On another picture of her cradling her newborn nephew, she said she was due in the summer. London Mayor Sadiq Khan tweeted: ‘Violence against women has no place in our city, and horrific murders in the home like this show the scale of the problem we face.
‘My heart goes out to this innocent child, and to the mother they have so tragically lost.’
Shaun Bailey, the Conservatives’ London mayoral candidate, tweeted: ‘Please God let this child survive. Please let this baby’s family come together to free it from this most heinous arrival to our world.’
Last night, a police car was parked outside the end of terrace home on Raymead Avenue in Thornton Heath. Three uniformed police officers stood outside and forensics teams had been working at the house all day.
Detective Chief Inspector Mick Norman, of the Metropolitan Police, said: ‘This is a horrific incident in which a young mother has lost her life and her child is critically ill.
‘Our sympathies go out to her devastated family.
‘They are being supported by specially trained officers following this awful event and I would ask that they are left alone at this time as they come to terms with the enormity of what has happened.
‘A large crime scene is in place and is likely to be in place for some time.
‘Residents should be aware that if they have any concerns, or information they would like to share with us, that they can speak to any of the officers there, or call our incident room.
‘Alternatively, please use the anonymous methods of reporting information to the police, such as Crimestoppers, if you wish. At the forefront of our enquiries is understanding what exactly has lead to these tragic circumstances, and we are doing everything we can to establish the facts.’
Miss Fauvrelle became London’s 64th murder victim this year. There have been at least 32 fatal stabbings in London in 2019.
Earlier this month, a series of violent incidents saw five killings in just six days. Last year, 132 people were murdered in the capital – the highest toll since 2008.