Harrow teacher's daughter found stabbed to death

Jason Bennetto,Crime Correspondent
Saturday 16 September 2006 00:00 BST

The daughter of a teacher at Harrow School has been stabbed to death at her home next to the college.

Lucy Braham, 25, was found at her parent's home in Harrow-on-the-Hill late on Thursday night.

A man in his twenties, named as William Jaggs, was also found at the house in north-west London with severe knife wounds, which were believed to have been self-inflicted. Mr Jaggs was arrested, but was too ill to speak to police. Police recovered a knife from the scene.

Mr Jaggs, who is thought to be the son of a design teacher at the school and studied at Oxford, was believed to have known Ms Braham, but they were not thought to have had a relationship.

Ms Braham was the daughter of Jason Braham, the head of the art department at Harrow School, where fees are about £25,000 a year. The independent boys' school has about 800 pupils aged 13 to 18. Her mother, Julienne, is an artist.

Ms Braham was living with her parents in their Victorian home close to the entrance to the school. She went to Millfield School in Somerset for the last two years of her schooling, between 1997 and 1999.

Her sister Alice, who also went to Millfield, is a runner who has represented Britain in a number of marathons, including London and New York.

Police were called at 10.25pm on Thursday after reports of a man being injured at the house, which is owned by Harrow School. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene in Peterborough Road.

Mr Jaggs was found in the house and arrested. He was in a critical condition in a west London hospital yesterday.

Mr and Mrs Braham were thought to have returned after an evening out to find their house cordoned off and their daughter dead.

A spokeswoman for the school said: "Residents of the Harrow community are deeply shocked by this tragedy and the school wishes to extend its greatest sympathy to the families of those involved."

She confirmed that the incident took place on school premises: "There was a serious incident in a property owned by the school last night. No pupils from the school were involved."

Police cordoned off the house, which is part of a large residential block.

The manager of a French restaurant opposite the school said he was "shocked" by the incident. Ray Pan, from Bistro Français on the Hill, said the neighbourhood was quiet and he had not been aware of any crime in the 10 years that he had worked there.

He said: "It's such a nice area. It's really, really quiet. All the students have to be in bed by around 11 o'clock and we close the kitchen at about 10 o'clock because it's so quiet."

Mr Pan said a number of teachers and some students dined in the restaurant on Thursday night but left shortly after 9pm to attend a function at the school.

He said: "I'm absolutely shocked. I know most of the teachers. I'm just stunned that something like this could happen here."

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