Police question a man over the murder of a couple in east Belfast

MURDERSQUAD detectives are still questioning a man arrested yesterday on suspicion of the double murder of a couple in east Belfast.

The bodies of the man and woman were found at an apartment in Ravenhill Court on Friday afternoon.

It is believed the man arrested is the woman’s former partner.

Cops had launched a manhunt for the suspect who they believed had murdered the couple in a jealous love rage.

The PSNI said detectives were satisfied that the deaths were as a result of a “double domestic homicide”.

However, an exact cause of death has yet to be established. Detectives are waiting the results of a post mortem examination.

Police and crime scene investigators were still at the murder apartment in east Belfast yesterday.

Specialist search teams were drafted in to search the area for forensic clues in the quiet-cul-de-sac.

A red and white police tape cordoned off the semi-detached property off the Ravenhill Road while a PSNI Mitusbishi Shogun was parked at the entrance to the home.

The alarm was raised around 2.45 pm on Friday afternoon by locals.

When police arrived they front door to the flat had been damaged. Inside, shocked officers found the bodies of the man and woman.

Police have not yet released their names but the couple found dead are believed to be in their 30s.

The cul-de-sac is made up of semi-detached houses and two-storey rental apartments leased by couples and professional people, say neighbours.

Yesterday afternoon, following a 24 hour search, the man was arrested and taken into custody for questioning.

Local Ulster Unionist Party councillor Jim Rodgers described the double murders as a “terrible tragedy”.

“This is really sad news for the families of this man and woman coming up to Christmas,” said the former Lord Mayor of Belfast.

“It is a terrible tragedy and my heartfelt sympathies go out to this family at this

“The circumstances of what happened still remain unclear but no one has the right to murder another person.

“Life has become so cheap in today’s society,” he added.

Detective Chief Inspector Una Jennings said last night: “We are treating this at the moment as a suspected domestic homicide.”