UPDATE (SATURDAY 5.30PM): Man and woman found dead in Holbeach house both died of natural causes
Police have said this afternoon that post mortem examinations carried out this morning on the man and woman found at the address in Holbeach on Thursday have established that they died from natural causes.
They say there are no suspicious circumstances and the deaths are no longer being treated as ‘unexplained’. Although the man and woman have been identified in the news media, police say they still have not established positive identification so are unable at this stage to confirm their names.
The Free Press and Guardian know the man is 75-year-old Michael Cobley – known as Jack. The woman has been named locally as Zanna Ernstone, a 46-year-old from Latvia.
FRIDAY (9.20PM): Police say they are still trying to trace relatives of the man and woman who were found dead at a house in Willder’s Garth, Holbeach on Thursday afternoon and will not confirm their identities until they have done so. The Free Press and Guardian know the man is 75-year-old Michael Cobley – known as Jack. The woman has been named locally as Zanna Ernstone, a 46-year-old from Latvia.
Post mortem examinations have been arranged for later tomorrow (Saturday) when more information will be released – in the meantime the deaths are still being treated as ‘unexplained’.
Anyone with information they feel may be relevant to the enquiry is asked to call 101, quoting incident number 168 of December 21.
FRIDAY (3.15PM): The couple found dead have been named locally as retired factory worker Michael ‘Jack’ Cobley (75) and his partner Zanna Ernstsone.
A neighbour said she had last seen Mr Cobley and his “lady friend,” said to be in her 40s, around three weeks ago.
Mr Cobley, who used a wheelchair, used to work at the former Tinsley’s Foods in Holbeach St Marks and moved to the bungalow around five years ago and was joined by Zanna afterwards.
She was seen leaving the home every morning to go to work.
FRIDAY (11.30AM): Neighbours of the couple found dead in a house in Holbeach yesterday (Thursday) are saying the victims were an elderly man and a “younger” eastern European woman who lived together in the council-owned property.
A close-by neighbour, who withheld his name, said: “A council housing officer and her partner found out yesterday morning. They believe that the pair had been there for some time and the council officers are quite upset about it.”
Residents living nearby described fire and ambulance crews with specialist gas equipment being called to the scene on Thursday.
The neighbour added the unnamed man was “frail”and lived with a “younger woman” from eastern Europe who was not his wife.
“There was an elderly gentleman and he had a foreign lady who worked with him,” he said.
Lincolnshire Police are treating the deaths as unexplained and an investigation is under way.
Detectives are appealing for witnesses as forensic teams continue to scour the bungalow for evidence today (Friday).
A spokesman for East Midlands Ambulance Service said: “We received a call at 12.05pm on December 21 to an incident in Holbeach. We sent a paramedic in a car, a responder from Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue and a crewed ambulance. No patients were taken to hospital.”
THURSDAY (3.26PM): Police are investigating two unexplained deaths in Holbeach. They received a report shortly after midday today (Thursday) that two people had been found dead at a property in Willder’s Garth, a mixture of private houses and retirement bungalows off Foxes Low Road.
A spokesman said: “At this time the deaths are being treated as unexplained and an investigation is under way.”
Anyone with information they feel may be relevant to the enquiry is asked to call 101, quoting incident number 168 of December 21.
• Further details when we have them.
