Neighbours of a mother who was stabbed to death in a quiet Uxbridge street have spoken of their shock.
Police stood guard on Monday outside Emily Munemo's home in Collingwood Road, where the 41-year-old was murdered on Friday (January 30).
The two-storey property remained cordoned off with flowers left at the gates.
One message read: “Dear Emily. May you rest in peace. May the perpetual light shine upon you. You will always be in our hearts. God keep her.”
The attack happened on the same day father-of-three Michael Wenham, who lived in the same road, was jailed for life for killing Karolina Nowikiewicz, following a botched penis enlargement operation. The two cases are not believed to be connected.
One Collingwood Road resident, who did not want to be named, said: “I just think, like everybody, everyone was just shocked. It's such a quiet road and then all that in one day – it's madness.”
Police and paramedics were called to Ms Munemo's home at around 11am on Friday. They found her with stab injuries and she died at 12.22pm that day.
A 35-year-old man was arrested in Hayes on Saturday (January 31) on suspicion of Ms Munemo's murder. He has been bailed pending further enquiries to a date in mid-March.
One resident, who also wished to remain unnamed, said: “I walk along here every day. I saw her [Ms Munemo] around sometimes in the summer, standing out with her kids.
"I never really spoke to her but she just seemed normal and nice.
“I was really shocked. I didn't expect it. I was kind of scared, to be honest, that it happened so close.”
Another local said she often saw, and would say hello to, the family's nanny.
She told getwestlondon: “It's awful so close to home. You don't hear of things like that around here. It's normally up in London, not two doors away.”
She added: “I just hope the children are alright, the nanny's alright and that poor woman finds peace. And I hope whoever's done it suffers for it.”
PC Ahmed Alizadeh, of Hillingdon Police, who was standing guard outside the property, said: “[Residents] are quite shocked because they've been living here for years and they know each other.
"[They are] really saddened by the news, especially a female losing her life in this way. They have all shown their remorse and condolences at what happened to their own neighbour. It's shocking news.”
Ms Munemo lived in Harare, Zimbabwe, before moving to the UK and studying at Oxford Brookes University, according to her Facebook page.
The body has yet to be formally identified, but police named Ms Munemo as the victim over the weekend. A post-mortem examination will be held in due course.
Her next of kin have been informed.
The Metropolitan Police Service's Homicide and Major Crime Command is investigating.
Anyone with information should call 020 8345 3775, or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
