Lancashire Police have been given extra time to question a man arrested on suspicion of murder after the deaths of Ismail Ahmed Leli and Fatima Leli in Blackburn. The case centres on a house on Hardman Street, where the couple were found with stab wounds at about 08:20 BST on Monday.
Ismail Ahmed Leli was 80 and Fatima Leli was 78. Lancashire Police launched a murder investigation after the pair were found dead, and officers arrested a man in his 40s.
Hardman Street in Blackburn
The police request for more time keeps the investigation moving while questioning continues. It means detectives can keep working through the arrest that followed the scene on Hardman Street in Blackburn, instead of having to release the suspect before their inquiries are complete.
The family described the couple as “inseparable” and thanked the police for “their diligence, professionalism and compassion”. They also thanked local councillors and the wider community for its “kindness and support”.
Masjid-e-Quwwatul support
The family said Masjid-e-Quwwatul mosque had been a “source of strength, comfort and practical support”. That gives the investigation a wider human backdrop: while police continue their questioning, the family is dealing with the loss of two elderly relatives who died in the same home.
Police do not believe there is a wider threat to the community, but they have appealed for anyone with information to contact them. For people in Blackburn, that leaves the case focused on the arrested man, the two deaths, and the unanswered question of the relationship between him and Ismail Ahmed Leli and Fatima Leli.
