By Craig RobinsonPOLICE were questioning three people from Suffolk last night in connection with the double murder of a grandmother and her adopted daughter.

By Craig Robinson

POLICE were questioning three people from Suffolk last night in connection with the double murder of a grandmother and her adopted daughter.

Two men and a woman were arrested in Beccles on Monday afternoon following the death of Iris Jones, 78, and Mandy Joseph, 34.

The pair were found dead at their isolated home in the village of Hockliffe, near Luton, Bedfordshire, on Sunday night.

A spokeswoman for Bedfordshire Police said the arrests had been made after officers had received information about a vehicle thought to be connected with the incident.

She added: “I can confirm that two men and a woman have been arrested in Beccles, in Suffolk, in connection with the murder. Suffolk police made the arrests on our behalf on Monday afternoon.”

Bedfordshire Police carried out a post-mortem examination on the bodies last night and were expecting to know the cause of death this morning, when a formal identification of the bodies will also take place.

Armed officers recovered the bodies of the two women shortly before 8pm on Sunday following a 999 call. Police refused to confirm or deny reports that the pair had been shot.

The house, which is set back from the main road behind a petrol station and car workshop owned by the family, was cordoned off while forensic officers carried out a search of the scene.

Petrol station manager Graham Adamson, 56, said Mrs Jones had been left with Mandy following the death of her husband several years ago.

He added she had suffered from diabetes and heart problems and Mandy, who was adopted at the age of four and worked as a carer in a residential home, had devoted her life to looking after her.

Mr Adamson said Mrs Jones and her son Brian, who lived in nearby Stanbridge, owned the house and surrounding land on which a petrol station, car traders and workshop were built.

Mr Jones ran a car workshop from the property where he restored classic cars and was also a keen member of a nearby gliding club, he added.

He described Mandy as “sweet”, adding: “She would not do any harm to a fly. It is very sad, very sad, especially in Mandy's case because she had a life in front of her.

“She had not really had a life because she had been caring for her mother all the time.”

The family of the two women said they were too upset to talk about the murders and asked to be left alone to grieve.

Anyone with any information should contact Bedfordshire Police 01582 471212.

craig.robinson@eadt.co.uk