A SHOCKED worker found the dead bodies of a colleague and his partner at their quiet Grimsargh home.
When 61-year-old Arthur Compsty failed to turn up for work last Tuesday (May 4), one of his worried workmates went to his home near Preston - and discovered the body of 33-year-old hairdresser Dianne Hamer in a pool of blood on the kitchen floor. She had been stabbed in the head and arms.
Minutes later he found her boyfriend Mr Compsty with his motorbike still running in a fume-filled garden shed at his Jeffrey Hill Close home.
Police believe Mr Compsty, a business manager for Royal British Legion Attendants Ltd in Preston, stabbed his girlfriend to death before killing himself on Monday evening (May 5).
Det Insp Peter Mason said: "It's a very tragic incident. Although we're investigating, we're not looking for anyone in connection with it."
And RBLA Chief Executive Robert Long said Mr Compsty would be a loss to the company.
He said: "It's a shock. We're all very upset. He had been a manager for more than 10 years and was an excellent man."
A post mortem was carried out by Home Office Pathologist Dr Edmund Tapp at the Royal Preston Hospital and an inquest will be held at a later date.
The deaths stunned nearby neighbours. One couple said: "We don't want to talk about it. We think it's awful."
Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article