A man in his 60s has been charged with the murder of two women in south east London, as police still search for the body of one of the women.
Sixty-five-year-old Carl Cooper of Broadfield Road in Catford was due to appear before Bromley Magistrates’ Court today (Friday, July 14) to face the double murder charge.
Naomi Hunte, 41, was found stabbed to death at her home last year in Congleton Grove in Woolwich on Valentine’s Day evening, Monday February 14, 2022, at 8.25pm.
Cooper was arrested by police four days later, but was subsequently bailed pending further enquiries before being released under investigation.
On June 29 this year Cooper’s alleged second victim, Fiona Holm, 48, was reported missing. She was last seen, nine days earlier, at an off licence in Verdant Lane in Catford.
Police said that Cooper was “not on bail at the time of Fiona’s disappearance” and while they originally treated her case as a missing person investigation, once it was transferred to the Met’s Specialist Crime Command they decided to arrest Cooper.
The change in the investigation came, the Met said, due to the “out of character nature of her disappearance and the amount of time since she had last been seen alive.”
This Tuesday, July 11, Cooper was arrested on suspicion of Fiona’s murder and subsequently charged with the murder of both Naomi and Fiona.
Police said Cooper is known to both women.
The Met’s Directorate of Professional Standards has been informed as is routine following the death of someone subject to a missing person investigation.
Police said “searches are ongoing to find Fiona’s body at addresses and some open areas in south east London.”
Officers are appealing for anyone with any information relating to Fiona’s disappearance to contact police via 101 or Tweet @MetCC quoting 22MIS023317. To remain 100% anonymous call the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or visit Crimestoppers-uk.org.
