A woman who was found dead next to the body of a father and his two young daughters is the children’s aunt who was visiting from Thailand, a friend has said.
Kanticha Noon, 36, had arrived in the UK on December 27 and was staying at the family home with her sister Nanthaka’s husband, Bartlomiej Jakub Kuczynski, and their daughters, seven-year-old Downreuang and Jasmin, 12.
Ms Noon’s friend Naty Wathanakul said Nanthaka, the girls mother, was ‘shocked and heartbroken’ after losing both her children and her sister, and is now believed to be staying with friends.
Nanthaka had been at work in her job as a caretaker in Norwich when the tragedy unfolded, which is ‘why she survived.’
Police are investigating after the bodies of Ms Noon, Mr Kuczynski and the girls were found with stab wounds at the property in Costessey, near Norwich, on Friday.
Ms Wathanakul, who had known Ms Noon since primary school, said she had been due to fly home at some point next month.
Kanticha Noon, 36, had arrived in the UK on December 27, her best friend said today
Ms Noon (left) with her friend from primary school Naty Wathanakul (right)
Engineer Bartlomiej Kuczynski (right), 45, was found dead with his two daughters and Ms Noon. He is pictured with one of his girls and a woman
She added: ‘I know that she was stabbed to her neck several times. That’s too cruel… She was my close friend. She always helped her friends with everything. Such a caring person, very kind heart.’
Ms Wathanakul said her friend had visited the UK last June and had been hesitant about coming over this month.
She said: ‘She didn’t want to go to the UK this time for no reason because she went there once or twice a year normally.’
Ms Wathanakul went on to say: ‘She loved her nieces, I always saw their pictures together. She is a single woman, no boyfriend, no husband, that’s why she spent most of her time with those lovely girls.’
She confirmed that Mr Kuczynski had ‘a mental health issue’ and that ‘he didn’t work any more’. She added: ‘We don’t know the detail.’
And that Ms Noon had run a clothing business with her sister, called Malishopuk on Instagram and Facebook
Ms Wathanakul said her friend had seemed happy in the days before death, joking with her about Nando’s chicken and how best to cook steak.
A man called 999 from the property on Allan Bedford Crescent at around 6am on Friday, but police were not dispatched there.
Officers made the discovery about an hour and 15 minutes later after a member of the public alerted them at around 7am.
Norfolk Police, which has referred itself to the police watchdog over the delay, is not looking for anyone else in connection with the tragedy.
In a statement issued today, the force’s chief constable Paul Sandford said: ‘This is a tragic and horrific incident and my thoughts, and that of the entire constabulary, remain with the family of those involved.
‘I’m aware this incident has also caused great upset and shock in Costessey, the wider community and beyond.
‘Following the identification of the earlier 999 call, the constabulary referred itself to the IOPC who will now investigate.’
The family were named locally by neighbours who told of their shock at the tragedy (pictured is one of the girls)
Floral tributes left near the house in Costessey near Norwich
He added: ‘I know the family and the public will rightly want to know whether there was an ability to prevent this tragedy, and this is a question that must be answered.
‘However, at this stage, I cannot answer that question. What I can say is that we will be open and honest in the days, weeks, and months ahead, to get the answers to this question.
‘There will, of course, also be an inquest that will review the wider circumstances a surrounding the death and the involvement of the police and other agencies.
‘We have thousands of interactions with the public every single day, on the phone and in person. It’s only right that when there are questions about our response, they are properly investigated, and I fully support and welcome this scrutiny.
‘I will not wait for the outcome of this investigation to review our working practices and that process has started.’
The chief constable added he has asked His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services, which is undertaking a routine review of the force at the moment, to consider taking a ‘deeper review than the robust inspection already planned’.
Floral tributes, and two unicorn toys, had been left a short distance from the house today.
The items were left by the sign for Stony Grove, a road which joins Allan Bedford Crescent, with the house remaining taped off by police and with a number of marked vehicles still at the scene.
Police manning a cordon at the scene in Costessey, Norfolk, yesterday
One of the tributes said: ‘Jasmine, you were such a sweet, caring girl, yourself and your sister didn’t deserve to have your lives taken away.
‘You would always be smiling in primary school. Fly high beautiful girls.’
Another said: ‘You will be missed. I’m sorry to whoever was in the family and is going through it. Sorry Jasmin.’
Matthew Cross, headteacher at Queen’s Hill Primary School and Dr Roger Harris at Taverham High School said in a joint statement that extra support was in place for pupils and staff.
‘Both our schools have worked closely alongside colleagues from Norfolk County Council’s critical incident support team over the weekend to ensure we have extra support and provision in place so we can meet the needs of both our pupils and staff at this difficult time,’ they said.
Post-mortem examinations carried out on Sunday found the 45-year-old man died of a stab wound to the neck, while the 36-year-old woman died of a number of stab wounds to the neck.
The bodies of the two girls will be examined on Wednesday.
Detectives said the man and two children lived at the address, but the woman was visiting and lived elsewhere.
All four were found with injuries.
The force had already referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct on Friday over police contact about a missing person inquiry at the address last month.
Detective Chief Inspector Chris Burgess, who is leading the investigation, said: ‘We remain satisfied no one else was involved in this incident.
‘I would like to thank the community for their support and for the many people who have called offering information.
‘We continue to work through this and will get back to everyone who has been in touch.
‘The police cordon remains in place at the scene and we will continue to have a presence in the area tomorrow.’