Man, 28, and woman, 31, arrested at Stansted Airport on suspicion of murdering church leader grandmother Nelly Akomah, 76

A man, 28, and a woman, 31 have been arrested at Stansted Airport on suspicion of the murder of a church leader and grandmother who was found dead in her £500,000 Croydon home after a suspected ‘burglary gone wrong’.

Grandmother Nelly Akomah, 76, was reportedly found with fatal injuries and a black eye at the bottom of the stairs in her house on Ladbrook Road in Thornton Heath, south London, at 10.46am on Wednesday. 

The mother-of-two’s body was discovered by her sister, who lives nearby and had become worried when she could not contact her that morning. 

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The man, 28, and a woman, 31, who were arrested early on Friday morning at the Essex airport have reportedly been taken into police custody for questioning.

Detectives probing the killing believe she may have been attacked during a burglary but her exact cause of death is not yet known. 

Detective Chief Inspector Kate Blackburn, said: ‘First and foremost my thoughts are with Nelly’s family and friends. Nelly was active in her church and her loss will be keenly felt by many people.

‘The arrests mark substantial progress in what is a fast-moving investigation. I don’t underestimate the level of concern in the local community following this shocking incident and there are various suggestions circulating about what may have happened. 

‘At this stage, we are investigating the possibility that there was a burglary at Nelly’s address. I must stress that our investigation is in its very early stages and we are working to establish what exactly happened.’

Police launched a murder investigation after being called by the London Ambulance Service on Wednesday morning.

Detectives named Ms Akomah yesterday as part of a public appeal for information while awaiting formal identification and the results of a post-mortem examination.

They said that her family have been informed of the arrests and they are being supported by specially trained officers. 

ValidViewNetwork had earlier reported that there were torrential tributes to the loving grandmother

Torrential tributes to ‘loving’ grandmother found dead after ‘overnight attack’

Fellow churchgoers described Nelly as an ‘understanding’ leader of the ‘Croydon group’ of the Upper Tooting Methodist Church in south London. 

The president of Ms Akomah’s Nigeria Methodist Mission UK, Dame Susan Solanke, said in a statement: ‘Sister Nelly, only last week we were all at a weekend retreat, full of life.

‘You were such a valuable member of the mission who will be sorely missed. My heart is broken with this cruel, mindless and senseless attack.

‘I pray God brings the culprits to book as soon as possible.’