Police question man over mother and baby murders
A man arrested on suspicion of murdering a young mother and her eight-month-old daughter was being questioned by police in Britain for a second day today.
The 21-year-old man, who is believed to be Anthony Marsh – the partner of the dead woman and the baby’s father – was detained in Fareham, Hampshire, yesterday morning.
It followed the discovery of the bodies of Stephanie Bellinger, 24, and eight-month-old Lili in Totton, Hampshire, on Saturday morning.
Earlier, police named Marsh as the suspect in the killings but would not confirm the identity of the arrested man.
A spokesman said: “Officers are not currently looking for anyone else in connection with the investigation.”
The man was detained by a woman police officer in Fareham town centre at 11.15am yesterday.
The bodies of Miss Bellinger and the baby were discovered at a house in Myrtle Avenue, Totton, by a relative.
A post-mortem examination found Miss Bellinger died from multiple stab wounds. A post-mortem has not yet been conducted on the body of Lili.
The family of Miss Bellinger yesterday released a statement through police, which read: “Stephanie was a fun-loving free spirit who was always happy and smiling. Stephanie was a wonderful daughter, sister, aunt and mother.”
It went on: “Lili was a bouncing, happy little baby who was a delight to be with, a little chatterbox who brought joy to our lives.
“There are no words to describe how we, as a family, are all feeling. We now have a huge hole in our lives which we have to try and come to terms with.”
On Sunday the mother of Marsh, who has suffered from depression, made an emotional plea for him to come forward.
At a press conference, Wendy Marsh struggled to speak and passed her statement to a family liaison officer as she collapsed in tears.
The house where the bodies were found remained cordoned off by police as forensic officers continue to examine the scene.
