Blaise Walk murders: Three siblings found dead at Bristol house had knife injuries as cause of death revealed

The three siblings found dead at a house in Bristol earlier this month had knife injuries, the police have said. The children have now been formally identified as seven-year-old Fares Bash, three-year-old Joury Bash and nine-month-old Mohammed Bash - with a 42-year-old woman remaining in custody on suspicion of murder.

Officers attended a concern for welfare call in Blaise Walk, in Sea Mills, on Sunday at around 12.40am. The young children were found inside the property and pronounced dead a short time later.

Avon and Somerset Police Chief Inspector Vicks Hayward-Melen said the children's next of kin completed a formal identification process earlier today following forensic post-mortem examinations carried out over the past few days.

She said: “Earlier today, the children’s next of kin completed a formal identification process, and we can confirm the children as seven-year-old Fares Bash, three-year-old Joury Bash and nine-month-old Mohammed Bash. They were all siblings.

“The loss of such young children, who had their whole lives ahead of them, is truly heartbreaking and our thoughts remain with their family and everyone affected by this tragedy. Our specialist liaison officers will continue to provide their next of kin with any help and support they need.

“Over the past few days, forensic post-mortem examinations have been carried out on the children. We can now confirm the cause of death for each child was knife injuries.

“A 42-year-old woman arrested on suspicion of their murder remains in hospital undergoing treatment for non life-threatening injuries. The amount of time we can legally keep a person in custody does not start until they are brought into a police station, so will not include any periods of time spent in hospital.

“Our investigation, led by the Major Crime Investigation Team, is progressing at pace and we’re carrying out comprehensive enquiries to establish the events which led to this devastating loss of life."

A woman, who did not wish to be named, described the arrested woman as “lovely”. She said the family had two boys, aged around eight and six months, and a girl aged around four. She told the PA news agency: “She was so happy when she had that little boy. We were so happy for her, we came round and gave gifts. I’m very surprised because she was really gentle, really lovely. She always had a smile on her face." However, the woman added: “After the baby, she was having a really hard time."