Article content continued

“I think she had an affair with someone, told him about it, [and] ended up flying back the day that she told him because he kind of went ballistic about it,” one former acquaintance said.

“She wanted to marry him pretty fervently. [They] tried to reconcile and ultimately he proposed. But I think maybe a month or so into it he was not able to come to terms with the fact that she had been unfaithful. It was ultimately him who broke it off.”

A second source said: “It was a fairly dramatic break-up. They were engaged for a fairly short period. He broke the relationship up.”

The couple have had no contact since the break-up and Mr. Jutting has had several girlfriends since, although none long term.

Miss Butt was born in Bury, Lancs, where her parents still live. One of three siblings, she attended the local grammar school and Imperial College London, working briefly at Pricewaterhouse-Coopers before joining Barclays Capital.

She joined Goldman Sachs last year and spent about 12 months working in New York before returning to London, where she works as an associate on European special situations.

She was said to be shaken by the news of her former fiance’s alleged killing spree. A source said: “She’s very upset. It’s a lot to take in.”

Goldman Sachs declined to comment.

Tasheen Butt, Miss Butt’s mother, moved to Britain from Pakistan when she was 19 and lives in a modern semi-detached house on an estate close to Bury town centre.

She said she did not know about her daughter’s relationship with Mr. Jutting and that her children had left home and did not discuss their lives with her.