Police Superintendent Steve Wade of the Northumbria Police Force, yesterday gave the following statement to the press, regarding the murder of two Chinese students in Newcastle.

"At shortly after 4.30 on the afternoon of Saturday, August 9, officers from Northumbria Police were called to a ground floor flat on Croydon Road in Newcastle and discovered two dead bodies.

The body of a Chinese man was found lying on a bed in the rear bedroom of the property and the body of a Chinese woman was found lying on a bed in the front bedroom. The pair had both suffered significant head injuries.

The two have not been formally identified, however it is thought that they are both students. Officers are now trying to trace next of kin.

Police, including scenes of crime officers, a forensic pathologist, and other specialists are now working to establish the circumstances surrounding the deaths. A forensic post-mortem is under way and we anticipate the results will be known later this evening.

I would urge anyone with information about the deaths to contact Northumbria police."

(China.org.cn by John Sexton, August 11, 2008)