Detectives investigating the murders of Bibaa Henry and Nicole Smallman – whose parents live in Ramsgate -have arrested a man overnight.
The two sisters were killed in a Wembley park in the early hours of Saturday 6 June. Later that day, they were reported as missing to police when they did not return home. Their bodies were discovered on Sunday 7 June.
An 18-year-old has now been arrested at an address in south London on suspicion of both murders. He was taken into custody where he remains.
Detective Chief Inspector Simon Harding, who is leading the investigation at Specialist Crime, said: “This investigation into the awful death of two sisters is of course a priority for the MPS and my officers have been working around the clock to identify the person responsible.
“Given the significance of this development, we visited the family in person today to inform them of the arrest. Our thoughts remain with them at this very difficult time.
“A team of forensic officers have been a constant presence at the park over the last few weeks carrying out meticulous fingertip searches at what is a vast and complex crime scene. Whilst that work has now concluded, smaller searches in outer areas of the park will continue. To date officers have recovered more than 1,000 exhibits – including property belonging to both Nicole and Bibaa, collected hours of CCTV and visited hundreds of homes and businesses. And those enquiries remain ongoing.
“I would continue to appeal to the public to come forward with any information they feel may be relevant to our investigation.”
A post-mortem examination conducted on Tuesday, June 9 gave the cause of death for both women as stab wounds.
Detectives from the Specialist Crime Command (Homicide) are investigating, with the assistance of officers from the North West Command Unit.
The parents of 46-year-old Bibaa Henry and 27-year-old Nicole Smallman are Chris and Wilhelmina Smallman, known as Mina, who live in Ramsgate.
Mina is a retired British Anglican priest and was appointed as a trustee to Ramsgate’s Project MotorHouse in 2017.