Four suspects charged with murder of man found in van

Tom Johnston, 24, Ben Johnston, 26, Robert Johnston, 56, all from Pampisford, Cambridge, and Shaun Matthews, 54, from Whittlesford, Cambridge, were charged with killing Shaleem Amar, a married father-of-three from Hancocks Mount, Sunningdale, near Ascot.

All four men remain in custody and will appear at Slough Magistrates' Court today.

Mr Amar, 33, of Hancocks Mount, Sunningdale, was married and had an eight-year-old son, and two daughters aged seven and three.

Thames Valley Police said a post-mortem examination yesterday showed he had died of head injuries.

Detectives have been searching the multi-million pound six-bedroom mansion Mr Amar and his family moved into two months ago.

The sprawling, modern property is reportedly worth more than 3m.

Neighbours said it had been lying empty for years until Mr Amar started renting it.

They described his lifestyle as "flash" and "desirable".

He drove at least three different new Mercedes estate cars and dressed in "expensive-looking" suits, they said.

One neighbour, who asked not to be named, said: "I used to see him drive by either very early in the morning or late at night, sometimes 12am or 1am.

"Sometimes I saw him outside the Martin's shop near the station waiting for it to open.

"He would smoke those little cigars but would usually throw it away before finishing it."

Another neighbour said: "I would see people coming and going at all hours from his house.

"They were all men, some Middle Eastern and some European-looking.

"They would show up in nice cars and only stay for 10 minutes or so."

Neighbours said they first saw Mr Amar in September but nobody recalled seeing his wife or three children.

One said: "We never thought anything of him, we just thought he was some rich guy who lived near here."

A spokeswoman for Thames Valley Police said: "We conducted a forensic examination of the house in connection with the murder inquiry. Officers were searching the property from 3pm yesterday and are still in place today."

Mr Amar was found inside the van by officers when they pulled over the vehicle on Wednesday

Four men tried to escape from it, three of whom were quickly arrested. Officers had to use a helicopter to find and capture the fourth man.

Following the arrests officers searched the white Mercedes Sprinter and discovered a critically injured Mr Amar, who was "breathing shallowly".

Paramedics tried to revive him but he was pronounced dead at the scene at around 2pm.