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Police remain at Darlington street after 'unexpected' death of two pensioners

Police remain at Darlington street after 'unexpected' death of two pensioners <i>(Image: Northern Echo)</i>
Police remain at Darlington street after 'unexpected' death of two pensioners (Image: Northern Echo)

Police are still posted outside a Darlington home following the "unexpected" deaths of two pensioners last week.

A lone police car remains outside a home today (May 21) on Park Crescent for a fourth day after the bodies of two pensioners were discovered inside on Friday (May 17).

The bodies of an 86-year-old man and an 84-year-old woman understood to be a couple, were found at the address as CSI teams wearing white protective clothing were seen going in and out of the home.

The Northern Echo: Police outside the home on Park Crescent, Darlington.
The Northern Echo: Police outside the home on Park Crescent, Darlington.

Police outside the home on Park Crescent, Darlington. (Image: a)

Outside the home, three glass bottles of milk were pictured, presumably still being delivered on schedule to the couple.

Detective Superintendent Andy Reynolds, of Durham Constabulary, said: “The family have been informed and are being supported by officers. Our thoughts are with them during this difficult time.

“I would also like to reassure the community that, although our enquiries continue to determine the circumstances leading to the deaths, we believe this is an isolated incident and there is no third-party involvement.

“We are trying to piece together their movements in recent days.

“We are appealing to anyone who has not already come forward who may have seen them between Thursday, May 9 and Friday, May 17 to get in touch with us.”

Neighbours had previously reacted with confusion at the presence in the "quiet neighbourhood" as the nature of the incident remains unknown.

Reacting to the police presence, one resident said: "The police have been hanging around for three days now - there has always been someone there since Saturday.

"You could see them walking around inside the house in white suits with flashlights at night.

"It's not a small presence, they have been there the whole time."

Another neighbour said: "We are all still a bit confused as we don’t know what is going on.

The Northern Echo: Milk delivered to the home.
The Northern Echo: Milk delivered to the home.

Milk delivered to the home. (Image: NORTHERN ECHO)

"I just looked out of the window and saw people in forensic suits walking around the street nearby."

One local explained how they did not see anything at the time, but now feel concerned for their children going outside.

They said: "We are usually at work so we didn’t see anything at the time. We are a bit confused by it and we don’t know what happened exactly.


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"We aren’t letting the kids go outside."

Another resident added: "There are all kinds of tales going around. I did ask the police what was happening but they didn’t tell me.

"It’s awful though, whatever has happened."