Deaths of Sutton Hoo couple spark police inquiry

A COUPLE who volunteered at Sutton Hoo have been found dead in their listed townhouse in what police are treating as a suspected murder-suicide.

Police are not looking for anyone else in connection with the deaths of the couple, named locally as Jonathan and Sally Metcalf, who were found dead in their 18th-century home in Woodbridge, Suffolk, on Saturday night.

Post-mortem examinations carried out yesterday concluded that Mrs Metcalf, who was in her 60s, died of compression of the neck while her husband died as a result of hanging.

Suffolk Constabulary said last night that her death was being treated as murder and his death was not thought to be suspicious. A statement added: “Formal identification procedures in respect of both parties have not yet taken place.

“The investigation into the deaths continues but detectives do not believe that there is anyone else involved with this incident.

“A police scene remains in place at the property but there is no threat to the wider community.”

The couple both worked as National Trust volunteers at the Sutton Hoo Saxon burial site and on the trust website Mrs Metcalf is described as the “much loved mother hen of Sutton Hoo”.

Clare Perkins, a former mayor of Woodbridge, said: “They were just beautiful people and were always ready with a smile and kind words ... it is just tragic. She worked so hard at Sutton Hoo and was always willing to help people.”

Emergency services were alerted at around 6.15pm on Saturday. The couple had lived in the £500,000 Grade II listed semi-detached home since moving to the area from Bristol in 2008.