Double murder probe as cops hunt for bodies of mum and daughter
Man arrested after off icers swoop on detached house
A MURDER inquiry was launched last night by police searching for a missing mother and her two daughters – after a raid on a Scots property hundreds of miles from their home.
Bennylyn Burke, 25, and her children were last seen at their house in the south-west of England nearly three weeks ago.
Amid reports the family had travelled 450 miles to Dundee, officers raided a detached house in the Ardler area in the northwest of the city on Friday.
Yesterday, police said they had arrested a 50-year-old man at the house in connection with the disappearance of the family.
He is expected to appear at Dundee Sheriff Court tomorrow.
Officers were last night continuing to search for the bodies of Ms
Burke and her daughter Jellica, and the case is now being treated as a murder investigation.
It is understood that her other daughter had been found at the Dundee property.
Police said last night that the child was being supported.
Detective Superintendent Graeme Mackie, of the major investigation team, said: ‘We are now treating the disappearances as a murder investigation.
‘I would urge anyone with any information to please come forward and speak to us.
‘This is a complex inquiry involving both local officers in Dundee and specialist resources from across Police Scotland.
‘Bennylyn’s next of kin have been updated on the arrest and are being supported by colleagues from Avon and Somerset Police.
‘Our thoughts are with her family and friends at this very difficult time.’ Members of Ms
Burke’s family were seen at her semi-detached home in Kingswood, near Bristol, last night but declined to comment.
Officers were sent to the Dundee property at 3.20pm on Friday as part of the nationwide inquiry into the disappearance of Ms Burke and her daughters.
Neighbours told how plainclothes, uniformed and forensic officers raided the large detached house. They described watching the teams of police set up a blue examination tent in the front garden, taping up a back window and rifling through a skip that had been sitting outside the property.
They also cordoned off the street, with officers remaining on the scene yesterday morning.
Last night, residents of the quiet street told how they had been left shaken by the raid. One neighbour said: ‘It was such a shock to the system. I don’t know the man who lives there personally, but I know that he lived here years ago.
‘He had a Japanese wife or partner and children, but they moved back to Japan.
‘He moved out of the street for some time and rented the property to someone else. He moved back in the last year.’
The neighbour added: ‘He kept himself to himself, he didn’t really interact with anyone.’
Other locals said they were surprised at the number of police on the scene.
Seven police vehicles, including two forensic units and an incident support unit, remained parked up yesterday.
Last night, forensics officers could be seen examining the window panes with torches, while a black car was towed away for further inspection.
One neighbour said: ‘There’s a huge amount of police activity.
‘Forensic officers are in a garden and are also searching a skip that is in the street.
‘I’d seen it earlier in the week and it was full of rubble, debris and what looked like old kitchen units.’
‘Forensic officers were searching in a skip’ ‘There’s a huge amount of police activity’
The search for Ms Burke was launched by Avon and Somerset Police last Monday.
Yesterday, a spokesman for the force said: ‘We put out a missing person appeal at the start of the week. I can now confirm that Police Scotland and the police in Dundee will be taking over the lead of this case.’
A statement released by Avon and Somerset officers on Monday said: ‘We are appealing for the public’s help to locate a woman who is missing with her two young daughters.
‘Bennylyn, 25, was reported missing on Monday [March 1] having last been seen at her South Gloucestershire home on February 17.
‘We’re increasingly concerned for her and her children’s welfare and are asking for anyone who sees Bennylyn or knows where she may be to contact us.’