‘Peaceful’ elderly woman, 80, found dead in flat as teenager arrested on suspicion of murder

A teenage boy has been arrested on suspicion of murder after an 80-year-old woman was found dead in her flat on Tuesday.

Cops were called to reports of an unresponsive woman in a flat in Abbey Orchard Street, Westminster at around 2.40pm.

Police and London Ambulance Service crews attended the Peabody estate, where the woman was pronounced dead at the scene.

A 17-year-old boy has been arrested on suspicion of murder. He was taken to a police station where he remains in custody, police said.

The woman’s next-of-kin has been informed. Formal identification and a post-mortem examination will take place in due course.

A concerned neighbour on the estate, who asked not to be named, said that a “continuous and extensive police presence” had remained at the scene since Tuesday, conducting investigations across all floors of the building.

Images from the scene show three police vans, three ambulances and a number of police cars parked by the estate.

The neighbour said: “She was an elderly woman, peaceful and living alone, occasionally visited by a young adult.”

The incident had caused “growing unease” within the community, they said, after residents saw a black body bag being removed from the building and taken into a black ambulance.

Detectives from the Met’s Central West area’s Public Protection team are leading the investigation, with support from the Specialist Crime Command. Enquiries are ongoing.

Anyone with information which could assist with the investigation is asked to call 101, quoting CAD 4192/4MAR. Alternatively, you can contact the independent charity, Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111 or online at crimestoppers-uk.org.

Pictured top: Police cars, unmarked vehicles and a black ambulance at the scene in Abbey Orchard Street, Westminster (Picture: A resident of the estate)