Teenager stabbed to death while babysitting for sister

Chatherine Wynter, 19, also known as Katie, was staying at the house on Boxing Day night while their mother was away.

However, when another female relative called at the address in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, at 8am on Tuesday they found Miss Wynter’s body.

The children, aged three and four, were still in the house but had not been injured.

Police are interviewing them and do not yet know how much they saw or heard of what happened to their aunt, who regularly babysat as a favour to her sister.

Interviewing is expected to take some time because of their age, Hertfordshire Police said.

In a joint statement Miss Wynter’s family said: “Katie was a quiet girl who enjoyed life. She was a loving auntie to her niece and nephew, who she was looking after on Boxing Day.

“We would ask not to be contacted by members of the media and that our privacy is respected to allow us to grieve together as a family.”

An 18-year-old man from Borehamwood and a 26-year-old man from Islington, north London, were arrested later on Tuesday and were still in custody yesterday. Both were known to Miss Wynter and her sister but were not direct relatives, police said.

Officers believe Miss Wynter was attacked between 7pm on Boxing Day and 8am on Tuesday, when they were called to the mid-terrace property in Beech Drive.

A post-mortem examination confirmed that Miss Wynter, who also went by the surname Briscoe and lived elsewhere in Borehamwood, died as a result of stab injuries.

Detective Superintendent Mick Hanlon said: “Firstly, our thoughts are with the victim’s family.

“As you can imagine, this is an extremely traumatic time and they are being supported by specialist family liaison officers.

“We have a team of detectives currently working on the case who are looking at a number of lines of inquiry to establish exactly what happened. However, I would like to appeal to the communities of Borehamwood to help us.”

Police are investigating whether there were any signs of a break-in at the house where Miss Wynter was found, but said she and the children were the only people staying there on the night.

Floral tributes were left near the scene. One read: “To darling Katy. RIP angel. We will miss you so much.”