Students were murdered in frenzy for games consoles
Saturday July 05 2008
The victims of a sadistic double murder might have died for the sake of two handheld games consoles, police said last night.
French students Laurent Bonomo and Gabriel Ferez, both 23, were bound, gagged and stabbed to death in a bedsit in south London on Sunday night.
Detectives, who believe the pair may have been the victims of a savage robbery, said two Sony PSP consoles, costing £130 each, were stolen from Mr Bonomo's rented flat.
They fear a set of keys to the flat, which were stolen in a burglary six days earlier, may have enabled the attacker to surprise his victims.
Officers are also hunting a black Packard Bell laptop taken in the previous burglary while Mr Bonomo was in the shower.
They believe that they also could have been tortured to get their PIN numbers.
Mr Ferez had travelled to spend the evening at his close friend's flat, where they were playing computer games.
Detective Chief Inspector Mick Duthie, leading the investigation, said: "We are keen to hear from anyone who has recently been offered a laptop and two personal games consoles, or knows someone who has unexpectedly come to have them.
"Laurent Bonomo said he was in the shower when he heard a suspicious noise. He found the window of his living room forced open and his laptop was stolen.
"However, with property being stolen this now suggests that the burglary, which happened six days prior, may well be linked to the murder.''
Running
He said a white man seen running from the address moments after it exploded in flames has not been identified.
A pathologist documented 243 separate injuries to the badly-burned bodies, with Mr Bonomo suffering 80 wounds after he died. It is believed the Frenchmen were dead before the fire started.
Neighbours dialled 999 after an explosion blew the windows out and ignited a fierce blaze shortly after 10pm.
Investigators believe a petrol-like accelerant was poured on or near their bodies, possibly in a bid to destroy evidence.
Mr Bonomo's fiancee, Mary Bertez, has vowed to avenge his death. She wrote on a social networking site yesterday: "My love, we were always together but unfortunately I wasn't there that evening.
"I will never stop thinking about you for a second. I had 10 months of a happiness I had never experienced until then.
"Today you are gone. I will try to be as good as you always wanted. I will give all the required information so you can be avenged.''
The successful bio-chemistry students were in the second year of a three-year Master's degree in France. They had been selected to take part in a three-month research project and were due to return home later this month.
Mr Bonomo, from Velaux, near Marseille, and Mr Ferez, from Prouzel, near Amiens, were popular characters at the Polytech Clermont-Ferrand in central France.
Officers said they were now following up on 25 calls received in relation to the murders.
- Joe Sinclair
