Police say Braintree couple's deaths not suspicious as neighbours report hearing 'sobbing' from home

Neighbours say they heard "distressed sobbing" coming from the house where a couple in their 70s were later found dead.

Officers and emergency services were called to a house on Fisher Way in Braintree at 3.40pm on Tuesday after reports of concerns for their welfare, Essex Police said.

Whey they arrived, they found two people aged in their 70s had died.

Police on Thursday said they were not treating the deaths as suspicious.

The couple still have not been officially identified by police, but neighbours have named them locally as Eva and David Murr.

A 62-year-old neighbour, who did not want to be named, said that he heard “distressed sobbing” coming from the house on Tuesday afternoon, before five ambulances and three police cars arrived at the scene and the road was blocked off.

He said that he had known the couple since he first moved on to the quiet residential street 20 years ago.

“They were a very nice couple, he would come out and bring the bins out for us, and he’d always stop and have a chat,” the neighbour told the PA news agency on Wednesday, adding that Ms Murr had mobility issues and was cared for by her husband.

He said it was a shock, adding they "seemed like a very nice couple".

Following the deaths, Essex Police said it had carried out an investigation and concluded that no one else was involved.

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