Mother and her two young sons found dead at London home
Tributes to Swedish director of property company and ‘loving and caring’ boys aged 7 and 9
A MOTHER and her two young sons were found dead in their south London home, police said yesterday as they launched an investigation into their deaths.
Nadja De Jager, 47, Alexander, 9, and Maximus, 7, were discovered at their home on Mayfield Road in Belvedere, in the borough of Bexley, shortly before midday on Thursday.
Detectives have said they are not actively seeking anyone else in connection with the investigation.
Nadja is Swedish and was the managing director of a property company, having previously been a chief investment risk officer for the investment management company CBRE Global Investors, according to her Linkedin profile.
Her sons have been described as “loving and caring boys” by their primary school.
Officers forced entry to the property after being called about concerns for welfare at 11.50am on Thursday.
Nadja, Alexander and Maximus were found inside. All were pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics.
A cordon remained outside the house yesterday, where forensic teams were seen searching the house and examining a grey Mitsubishi pick-up truck parked on the driveway.
Flowers had been laid on the pavement outside the terraced property, as neighbours spoke of their shock following the tragic incident.
Belvedere Infant and Junior School paid tribute to the boys, describing them as “truly wonderful members of our school community”.
“They were loving and caring boys who had a real hunger to learn.
“Both were model pupils and it was clear that they were each other’s best friend. They will be hugely missed by pupils and staff alike, and forever be part of our hearts at Belvedere.
“The death of any child is a terrible tragedy, but our school community will come together to grieve and to be there for each other. Belvedere is a warm and loving place and we will come through this together.”
Det Insp Ollie Stride, of the Met Police, investigating the incident, said: “This is a deeply sad case and we are continuing to establish the circumstances that led to this tragic incident. I would like to thank the local community for their cooperation while our officers go about their enquiries. Our
‘They were loving and caring boys who had a real hunger to learn’
thoughts today are very much with the family as they struggle to come to terms with their loss and we ask that their privacy be respected at this extremely difficult time.”
Marion Beazer, who lives opposite the family, said as far as she could tell they were a “normal family”.
The pensioner, who has lived in the street 40 years, added: “They never caused any issues in the street. As far as I’m aware they were just a normal family. The neighbours here really watch out for each other. Seeing the kids’ toys out the front tugs on the heart strings. It’s just dreadful.”
Marion said she had two police officers in her house going through her CCTV to check for anything unusual.
Another neighbour, Christopher Babutulde, 68, who lives two doors down from the family, said he used to see the mum walking her two young sons to and from school.
He added: “It’s really shocking. We’re such a close knit community who really care for each other. There’s been a big police presence since yesterday. I’ve had officers knocking on my door.”
One neighbour, who asked not to be named, said the 47-year-old woman had previously had a partner living at the property, but that neighbours had not seen him around for a while.
The Met’s Specialist Crime Command is leading the investigation and postmortem examinations are due to be carried out to establish the cause of death for the three victims.