Kensington deaths: Man in court over murder of elderly parents at west London home

A man accused of murdering his elderly parents at their west London home has appeared in court.

Sergey Koudriavtsev, 48, is charged over the deaths of his mother, Tatiana Koudriavtsev, 68, and father, Vladimir Koudriavtsev, 69, on Monday.

He handed himself in to police in Surrey before the pair's bodies were discovered by officers in their flat at Adair Tower, Appleford Road, in north Kensington on Thursday morning.

Bearded Koudriavtsev appeared in the dock at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Saturday wearing prison-issue grey tracksuit bottoms and a grey T-shirt with a grey sweater tied around his waist.

During the brief hearing he spoke to confirm his name and date of birth and gave his last address as his parents' flat.

Asked his nationality, Koudriavtsev, who was not represented by a lawyer, said: "New Zealand but I was born in Russia."

He was not asked to indicate pleas to two charges of murder relating to his mother and father on May 20.

District Judge Denis Brennan remanded Koudriavtsev in custody and told him he will next appear at the Old Bailey on Tuesday.

"These are matters that can only be tried at the Crown Court, so I must send you to the Central Criminal Court," he said.

Scotland Yard was alerted to the west London flat by Surrey Police after Koudriavtsev handed himself in and officers found the couple's bodies inside.

Forensic officers were seen leaving Adair Tower late on Thursday night, before two covered bodies were taken away in a private ambulance.

The Metropolitan Police said a post-mortem examination was due to start on Saturday and that the Homicide and Major Crime Command was continuing with its inquiries.