Mother stabbed to death in London as husband and children killed in seafront cliff fall

A mother was stabbed to death before her husband and two children died falling from a seafront cliff, police said.

The 47-year-old woman suffered multiple wounds at her home in west London, results of a post-mortem examination showed.

Her husband, 57, and sons, aged seven and 10, died of “multiple injuries consistent with falling from height” in East Sussex, Scotland Yard said.

Detectives said they were not looking for anyone else in connection with the case.

All four died on 5 March, but London's Metropolitan Police have only just revealed the details of the case, following pathologist examinations.

They said the bodies of the man and two young boys were found at the seafront at Birling Gap, on the Sussex coast near Eastbourne.

Police later found a vehicle thought to have belonged to the family.

Within an hour, police and ambulance crews were called to a home in Twickenham, West London “following concerns raised about the welfare of the occupants”.

They found the mother had been stabbed to death.

“Officers from the Met's Homicide and Major Crime Command are leading the investigation, supported by colleagues in Sussex Police," the force said in a statement.

“Next of kin have been informed. No arrests have been made. Enquiries continue.

“At this stage, police are not looking for anyone else in connection with this investigation.”

They added that while formal identification of the man and boys is awaited, they believe the three are the woman’s immediate family.

A spokesman declined to say whether the husband killed his wife before killing himself and their children.