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Bodies of two children and woman found in West Yorkshire house Murder inquiry launched as bodies of woman and two children found
(about 2 hours later)
A woman and two children have been found dead at a house in West Yorkshire. A murder investigation has been launched after a woman and her two children were found dead in their home in West Yorkshire.
Police were called to the house in Allerton Bywater, near Leeds, just before midday on Tuesday after concerns were raised about the occupants. Geraldine Newman, 51, was found dead by a concerned friend at her home with her son and daughter, and now police have launched a triple murder investigation.
Officers found three bodies inside the property on Beeston Way and it is believed a man is being sought in connection with the investigation. Dozens of police officers and a forensic team surrounded the house in Beeston Way, Allerton Bywater, near Leeds, just before noon on Tuesday.
West Yorkshire police said a crime scene had been established and inquiries were under way to establish the circumstances of the deaths. Newman, a supermarket store manager known locally as Gerry, lived in the house with her daughter Shannon, 12, and her son, believed to be around six years old.
The woman was named locally as 51-year-old Geraldine Newman. It is understood that Newman’s body was found by a friend who grew concerned after she had not been in contact for a few days.
A woman who lives nearby told the Yorkshire Post that a couple lived in the house with two young children. She found Gerry’s body downstairs and alerted police. Officers from West Yorkshire police then found another two bodies upstairs.
“We are just really shocked and sad,” she said. “You just don’t know what’s happening on your doorstep. A couple lived in the house with two children – a boy aged about seven or eight, and a girl aged 12 or 13. The kiddies used to play outside on their scooters.” Police are now looking for a man in connection with the incident, but have emphasised that the investigation is focused on a domestic incident and members of the public were not in any danger.
She added: “They kept themselves to themselves. I think they must have been here for about five years. I remember seeing them around for as long as I’ve lived here.” At the scene, police vehicles surrounded a cordon that stretched across a row of terraced houses.
Another neighbour said he was surprised and confused by the deaths. Scene-of-crime officers wearing masks could be seen entering and leaving the mid-terrace property and a large group of plainclothes police officers held a meeting in the street.
“It’s a quiet estate. It’s got a good sense of community. There’s never really any antisocial behaviour or anything. It’s quite a middle-class area. Crime is relatively low, there’s no bother.” Schoolgirl Chloe Firth, who knew Shannon, said: “I used to play out with her and her brother. “Her dad also used to play out with us and we would play hide and seek. “She was a very happy and bubbly girl. Even though she went to a different school to me she was a really good friend of mine. “I didn’t really know her mum. She just spent most of her time inside. I think she was just making the house nice and tidy.”Chloe’s father, Sean, said: “The police knocked on the door this morning, but didn’t tell me what had happened. “You don’t expect to see this on your doorstep; it is devastating. I’m lost for words. I don’t know what to say about it.”Bursting into tears, the next-door neighbour said: “My neighbour told me that they had found the bodies, but I am too upset to speak about it now.”
On her Linkedin profile Newman said her family especially her two children were the “light of her world”. Her profile also revealed charitable work for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance and a number of cancer charities as well as Age UK. Wesley Rice, 38, who lives on the estate with his partner and their two children, said he met the family at Halloween when they went trick or treating.
Chloe Firth, 11, who is a friend of the daughter, said: “She was really bubbly and laughed a lot and was very kind to everyone else. I just can’t believe it. You don’t expect something like this to happen.” He said: “We knocked on the door and the lady came out and gave the kids sweets. She seemed very nice.”
Allerton Bywater is made up of several smaller communities, mainly old mining villages, such as Brigshaw, Hollinhurst and Bowers Row. Rice said people living on the estate were mainly young professional couples with young children.
The house was in the Millennium Village development of 520 homes, including low-cost housing, as well as commercial and community space. Meanwhile, a Wilko spokesperson confirmed that Geraldine Newman had worked for the company for 23 years as a “loyal and enormously respected member of the team”. The spokesperson said: “This is tragic news and has devastated everyone who worked with Geraldine as well as impacting team members across the company. “Our heartfelt thoughts and condolences are with her family, friends and colleagues at this very difficult time and everything is being done to support those team members who are affected by this tragic news. “This is now a matter for ongoing police investigation and we are giving them every support. For this reason, we can’t give any more details at this time.”
On her Linkedin profile, Newman said her family, especially her two children, were the “light of her world”.
Her profile also revealed charitable work for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance and a number of cancer charities, as well as Age UK.
Newman’s husband, Paul, 43, was not registered at the address with her but was instead living with his parents in nearby Normanton, Wakefield.
At Paul’s parents’ address, an ambulance and plainclothes police officers were in attendance, but no one answered the door of the property. A neighbour living opposite the semi-detached house said she saw armed police on the street at lunchtime. DCI Warren Stevenson, of West Yorkshire police homicide and major enquiry team, said: “Postmortem examinations are yet to take place to establish the causes of their deaths, but the victims have died in suspicious circumstances and therefore we are treating their deaths as murder. Initial indications are that this is a domestic-related incident.
“We are carrying out a full and comprehensive investigation into the circumstances surrounding their deaths and are conducting extensive inquiries.
“We would like to hear from anyone who witnessed anything in the area of the address in the period leading up to when the discovery was made this morning.”