Two teenagers dead after Milton Keynes house party stabbing

Milton Keynes: Two 17-year-old boys have died after a stabbing at a house party in Milton Keynes, police said.

One of the boys died at the scene, while the other was taken to hospital but died in the early hours of Sunday. The two victims have been named locally as Dom Ansah and Ben Gillham-Rice. Two tearful cousins of one of the boys attended the site of the killing to lay flowers on Sunday. One of the cousins, who did not wish to give her name, said: “He’s come here with his long-time best friend since childhood, comes to a party and both of their lives just got ripped away from them. He was just so respectful to, like, his family and friends. Many, many people’s hearts are broken.”

Another 17-year-old and a 23-year-old were seriously injured after the stabbing late on Saturday at a private house party in Archford Croft in Emerson Valley, Milton Keynes.

Neighbour Suzzy Teye told BBC News she believed the gathering was a party for a teenage girl living in the house. Others had said a birthday banner was hanging on the door. Detective Chief Superintendent Ian Hunter said there had been about 15 to 20 people at the party and that “the people directly involved in this incident are all likely to have known each other”.

On Sunday, what appeared to be blood was smeared across the front door of a house in Archford Croft. Two forensic officers could be seen inspecting an object on the driveway next to a black BMW.

One neighbour said she heard a “commotion” involving screaming, shortly before midnight, but did not see what happened. “The police were here pretty quick,” she said.

Another neighbour, who lives in an adjacent cul-de-sac, said that she knew the boys but declined to give their names. She said: “This gang of kids have been hanging around Archford Croft — it’s all gang-related.

“We do know that there was a house party at the time, not here but another part of Emerson. I think it’s just because there was a house party and then the trouble started from there.”

One woman, whose home overlooks the property’s garden, said she did not see or hear anything and described the neighbourhood as “peaceful”. “It’s just a nice peaceful part of Milton Keynes. There’s never been any incidents, not since I’ve been here, which is quite a while now,” she said. The MP for Milton Keynes South said he was shocked and that he would be speaking to police.

Iain Stewart wrote on Twitter: “I offer my deepest condolences to the families affected and am available to offer them assistance.”