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| Police link Reverend John Suddards and Betty Yates deaths | |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| The murders of a pensioner in Worcestershire and a vicar in South Gloucestershire have been formally linked by police. | |
| Betty Yates, 77, was found stabbed at her cottage near Bewdley last month. | |
| Reverend John Suddards, 59, was found at his vicarage at St Mary's Church, Thornbury, on Tuesday. | |
| Stephen Farrow, 47, was arrested in Folkestone, Kent, earlier over the killing of Mr Suddards. He was later arrested over Mrs Yates's death. | |
| Police launched a nationwide appeal for Mr Farrow on Saturday. | |
| Walking stick | |
| He was arrested in Folkestone by Kent Police at about 04:20 GMT by officers acting on a tip-off from the public. | |
| West Mercia Police earlier said it was investigating any possible links between the two murders. | |
| Det Chief Insp Neil Jamieson, of West Mercia Police, said: "We would like to thank Avon and Somerset Police for their help in our investigation. We have been working with them to examine similarities between the deaths of Betty Yates and the Reverend John Suddards." | |
| Mrs Yates, a retired teacher, was found stabbed to death at the foot of the stairs at her home on the banks of the River Severn on 4 January. | |
| The 77-year-old had also been beaten with her walking stick. | |
| Mr Suddards was found stabbed to death at his home in Castle Street. | |
| Builders found his body when they arrived for a planned job. They had been given a key by a caretaker. | |
| A post-mortem examination revealed he had died from "multiple stab wounds". |