Westminster murder case: Woman found stabbed to death at home

The woman was found with "a number of stab injuries", the Met Police said

A woman has been found stabbed to death at her home in central London.

The woman's friends contacted officers on Sunday as they were concerned for her welfare, the Metropolitan Police said.

Officers went to her home in Stanhope Place, Westminster, at about 08:30 BST on Monday, forced entry and found her dead with "a number of stab injuries".

No arrests have yet been made and officers said they were working to trace the woman's next of kin.

Police forced entry into the property on Monday morning after the victim's friends contacted officers

The Met said it had received a call "raising concerns for the welfare of the woman" at 19:05 BST on Sunday, and then another from the same person at 21:34.

"The woman was initially graded as a medium risk missing person prior to the discovery of her body," the force said.

The Met said it had informed its own Directorate of Professional Standards and a "mandatory referral will be made to the Independent Office for Police Conduct in relation to the initial contact from the woman's friend".

Det Ch Insp Adam Clifton said: "I understand this news will be concerning, and that local women especially may be worried.

"Our inquiries are in the very early stages and we are keeping an open mind as to the motive.

"However, I can assure people that my team are working 24/7 to establish what happened to the woman, and to identify and arrest whoever may be responsible for this attack."

He appealed for people to check doorbell cameras and dashcam footage to contact the force.

A post-mortem examination will be held in due course, the Met said.

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