Woman, 82, beheaded at London house
(Reuters) - An elderly woman was found beheaded at a house
in a north London suburb on Thursday, British media reported, in an incident
that police said did not appear to be terrorist related.
Officers said they were
called to the house in Edmonton following reports of a man armed with a knife,
and found the woman's body in the garden. She was named as 82-year-old Palmira
Silva who detectives believe is of Italian descent.
"Whilst it is too early
to speculate on what the motive behind this attack was I am confident, based on
the information currently available to me, that it is not terrorist
related," said Detective Chief Inspector John Sandlin who is leading the
investigation.
He declined to confirm
reports that the woman had been beheaded, or say what weapon was used in the
attack.
Police said a man, 25, had
been arrested on suspicion of murder by armed officers at the scene after they
used a stun gun. One officer suffered a suspected broken wrist during the
arrest.
Earlier, there was an
attempt to attack two other people at a house on the same street but they
escaped unharmed.
The reported nature of the
killing had prompted speculation that the murder might be a terrorism incident
after last year's gruesome murder of a British soldier in London, and the
recent release of videos by Islamic State jihadists showing two U.S.
journalists being beheaded apparently by a British national.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/09/04/uk-britain-stabbing-beheaded-idUKKBN0GZ20P20140904
