Two men have been arrested after a heavily pregnant woman was stabbed to death in Croydon, south London.
The 26-year-old woman, who has been named as Kelly Mary Fauvrelle, was pronounced dead early on Saturday. Her baby was delivered at the scene by paramedics and is in hospital in a critical condition.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said: “Violence against women has no place in our city, and horrific murders in the home like this show the scale of the problem we face.
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“My heart goes out to this innocent child, and to the mother they have so tragically lost.”
Khan, who has faced criticism amid rising violent crime in the capital, added that the City Hall-funded violent crime task force, a specialist force of officers, was on duty over the weekend.
He said they had “made over 5,000 arrests, and removed over 1,500 dangerous weapons from our streets in the last year”.
Officers were called to Raymead Avenue at 3.30am on Saturday after reports of a woman in cardiac arrest.
The Met Police said: “Officers attended along with London Ambulance Service and found 26-year-old Kelly, who was eight months pregnant, suffering from stab injuries. Despite the efforts of paramedics, she sadly died at the scene.”
Detectives say they are maintaining an “open mind” on the motive as they continue the murder investigation.
A 37-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of murder and has been released under investigation pending further enquiries. Police have made a second arrest, of a 29-year-old man who remains in custody in south London.
Chandra Mutucumarana, a neighbour of the victim who has lived in the street since 1976, said he was “utterly shocked” and that locals were “upset for her but hopeful for the child”.
Another neighbour paid tribute to the victim, describing her as a “nice girl”.
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