Police name Northampton murder victim and confirm suspect in London hospital after being found with stab wounds at Euston station

A 32-year-old Northampton man has been detained by police on Tuesday (October 11) on suspicion of murdering a woman whose body was found at an address in the town.

Detectives say the suspect is under medical supervision at a London hospital after British Transport Police found him with a number of serious stab injuries at the capital’s Euston Station at about noon on Friday (October 7).

The body of 36-year-old mother, Diana Dafter, was discovered at an address in Lawrence Court, Lower Mounts, shortly after midday on the same day.

Specialist search teams and forensic officers spent more than 72 hours in the property gathering evidence during which Mrs Dafter’s body was removed for a post-mortem investigation on Saturday afternoon.

The Home Office pathologist who carried out the post-mortem at Leicester Royal Infirmary, revealed she had died as a result of multiple stab wounds, one of which proved fatal.

Detective Chief Inspector Adam Pendlebury, from the East Midlands Specialist Operations Unit’s Major Crime Team, said: “This has been an intensive few days of police activity during which a large number of officers and staff have been deployed to gather evidence from scenes in Northampton and at London Euston.

“The suspect is now under police guard at a hospital facility in London and we will be making arrangements in due course for him to be transferred to police custody.

“At this time Northamptonshire Police are not looking for anyone else in connection with this investigation.

“I would like to thank the local community around Lawrence Court for their co-operation over the past few days and would ask anyone who has information about this investigation to call Northamptonshire Police on 101, quoting incident 211 of Friday, October 7, 2022.”

Neighbours said they were shocked by the developments on their doorstep.

One resident, who has lived in the area for six years, told this newspaper: “Nobody in this area would have thought that this could happen. We just can't believe it. It's just so sad.”

Another said: “I was shocked. It's a normal community here, we don't expect this.”