Westminster double murder suspect Lee Peacock charged with killing man and woman found dead in London

Police are treating the two murders in the same area of London as linked

Lee Peacock has been charged with the murders of Sharon Pickles and Clinton Ashmore (PA)

A man has been accused of stabbing to death two people in the London borough of Westminster earlier this month.

Lee Peacock, 49, has been charged with the murders of Sharon Pickles, 45, and Clinton Ashmore, 59.

Peacock, from the Harrow Road area of west London, is in custody ahead of his appearance at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Monday.

On 19 August, officers attended an address in Ashbridge Street, near Marylebone Station, at about 9.30pm – after concerns were raised for the welfare of people inside. Pickles was pronounced dead at the scene.

Hours later at around 2am, officers were contacted by the London Ambulance Service to attend an address in nearby Jerome Crescent. Ashmore was found, and he was also pronounced dead at the scene.

A post-mortem examination revealed that both of the victims had been stabbed in their necks.

Ashmore and Pickles were found stabbed to death less than half a mile away from each other (PA)

The Metropolitan Police said the two incidents, that occurred less than half a mile apart, are being treated as linked and that Peacock knew both of the victims.

Police said that Peacock was taken to hospital on Wednesday night after cutting his throat on a barge on the Grand Union Canal in west London, after he was publicly identified as a suspect.

Paramedics and the London Air Ambulance were called to the scene near Ferrymead Avenue before Peacock was taken to hospital for medical attention for “life-threatening injuries”, the force added.

The Met said that the incident was referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct who have “indicated that they will be conducting an independent investigation”.

Peacock since been discharged from hospital, and has been held in custody before his court hearing.