Madrid triple murder: Two women and one man killed Published duration 23 June 2016

Two women and a man have been killed at a lawyer's office in Madrid, Spanish emergency services say.

Their mutilated bodies were found, one with its throat cut, after a passerby reported a small fire to the police.

Police say they believe the killers started the fire to cover their tracks.

The Peruvian boss of the firm had been a public prosecutor in his home country and had worked on kidnapping and drug trafficking cases, according to reports in the Spanish media.

He was not in the office at the time of the attack.

Spanish media are reporting that two of the victims were workers at the firm, while the third was a client who had visited briefly to sort out some documents.

Police are keeping an open mind about the motive of the triple murder, reports say.

Immigration lawyers

The alarm was raised in the Usera district of Madrid at 18:30 local time (16:30 GMT) on Wednesday.

A woman who was climbing the stairs of the office building noticed the smell of burning, and called firefighters.

When they arrived, they found the bodies in two separate rooms, which had been set alight separately. The fires were not visible from the street below.

Reports say the firm specialises in immigration law and in helping people to resettle in Spain.

Usera is a part of Madrid known for its Chinatown and high proportion of Latin American residents.