‘Disturbed’ criminal wanted over double murder is fighting for life after ‘slicing his own throat’ when his canal barge hideaway was discovered
- Lee Peacock, 49, was found after allegedly slicing his own throat’ on a houseboat
- He was found on the Grand Union Canal in Ealing, London, yesterday after week
- He is wanted over murder of girlfriend Sharon Pickles, 45, and Clinton Ashmore
- Ms Pickles and Mr Ashmore, 59, had their throats cut in Marylebone on August 19
A ‘disturbed’ criminal wanted over a double murder is fighting for his life in hospital after trying to take his own life when his barge hideaway was discovered.
Lee Peacock, 49, was found after allegedly slicing his own throat’ on a houseboat on the Grand Union Canal in Ealing, London, yesterday following a week-long manhunt.
Peacock is wanted in connection with the murder of his girlfriend Sharon Pickles, 45, and 59-year-old Clinton Ashmore.
Sex worker Ms Pickles and Mr Ashmore were found dead within hours of each other at separate flats in the Marylebone last Thursday night, having had their throats cut.
Earlier this week, police released CCTV images of Peacock outside North Wembley tube station on the night of the murders in a bid to locate him.
Peacock was found with serious ‘self-inflicted injuries’ last night around 10 miles from the murder scenes.
A ‘disturbed’ criminal wanted over a double murder is fighting for his life in hospital after trying to take his own life when his barge hideaway (pictured) was discovered
Lee Peacock (pictured), 49, was found after allegedly slicing his own throat’ on a houseboat on the Grand Union Canal in Ealing, London, yesterday following a week-long manhunt
Peacock is wanted in connection with the murder of his girlfriend Sharon Pickles (left), 45, and 59-year-old Clinton Ashmore (right)
The houseboat where Peacock was found had been moored on the canal for weeks, despite being ordered to move on by the council, according to local residents.
Peacock was taken to hospital and is thought to have cut his own throat before police arrived at around 5.55pm.
He was transported to hospital where his condition is believed to be life threatening, according to Scotland Yard.
Paramedics spent around half-an-hour working on him at the scene, according to residents who witnessed the aftermath.
Jen Lock, 43, a community centre manager and founder of L.I.K.E – Lives Instead of Knives England – who lives around the corner from the scene, said: ‘I saw the helicopter and so I walked over to the canal and saw it was absolute chaos.
‘Then we walked down the canal and we saw police, paramedics, CID, everything. We got to the barge – it’s like a white box boat – and they were working on someone.
‘He was lying down on the grass next to the boat and they were pumping his chest for quite a long time.
‘Eventually they put him on a stretcher and carried him away. We thought he was totally gone because of how long they had been working on him.
‘The crazy thing is people were taking their kids over and showing them what had happened.
‘Apparently he’d sliced his own throat – how do you do something like that to yourself?’
Several police cars and an ambulance vehicle were spotted parked up on Kensington Road, Ealing, on Wednesday evening
She added: ‘To find out that he was here goes to show you never know what’s happening on your doorstep. He is obviously a very disturbed person.’
Selwyn Lee, 52, a bus driver who also lives nearby, added: ‘We saw the helicopter circling and circling, so we went over to the canal.
‘On the other side we saw around six officers around the white houseboat. They looked quite frantic and were turning back people coming along the footpath.
‘Then I saw the paramedics arrive and the helicopter landed on the other side of the canal.
‘Everyone was running, no one was walking, so you could tell they were trying to save someone’s life.’
Colin Mills, who lives in a house overlooking the canal, said: ‘The boat was abandoned and I don’t think it was liveable.
‘It used to be moored outside my house, but that was a year-and-a-half ago now.
‘I remember, the man who owned it was loading building materials onto it. It wasn’t Peacock though, because he had a full head of hair.’
Forensic investigators were seen gathering evidence near a houseboat where wanted man Lee Peacock was located last night
Investigations teams worked through last night gathering information close to where Peacock was found
A resident, who lives nearby and walks the canal path regularly, said: ‘The curtains are always closed and it’s not very nice.
‘There was a sign on the window which isn’t welcoming at all.
‘It says something along the lines of people will be asked to move on.
‘It’s been there since the beginning of lockdown at least. I’ve never seen anyone there – it looked abandoned until the sign appeared.
‘I’ve never seen a curtain move or any sign of life. ‘
Another resident, who did not wish to be named, added: ‘It was around 6pm and there was a whole load of police officers running along the other side of the bank.
‘Then I saw paramedics with a trolley – a stretcher on wheels – heading back towards the bridge.
‘But it was empty. So either he was taken a different way or he must have gone in the helicopter.
‘That houseboat has been there for ages – years. I know because I was talking to one of the canal officers about it.’
They added: ‘He told me it was houseboat, not a barge, and that it wasn’t allowed on the canal.’
The two deaths were previously reported to have been linked to a £120 drug deal between the three involved in the case.
A woman called Sarah, who grew up in the area and had met Ms Pickles, said: ‘I had spoken to her a couple of times and she was always nice and quiet – a skinny little thing.
‘She took drugs, but she was trying to come off them, and she wasn’t a bad woman. Some of my close friends used to go in that flat and knew Sharon well.’
She added: ‘Lee wanted to buy £120 of crack off Cliff. That’s what happened. It’s all about drugs.’
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