Man arrested on suspicion of murder after police find 82-year-old victim in back garden of property in Edmonton

This article is more than 6 years old

This article is more than 6 years old

A man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after an elderly woman was beheaded in broad daylight in a suburban back garden.

The victim, named by police as Palmira Silva, 82, was found at an address in Edmonton, north London, just after 1pm on Thursday.

Residents described scenes of terror and panic as the suspect, dressed in black, waved a machete-like weapon as he wandered screaming and shouting through private gardens.

Police said a man had run through back gardens armed with a weapon, with officers smashing windows to evacuate terrified residents. They risked their lives and distracted the man so he did not harm anyone else.

Armed officers were sent to the scene. The Metropolitan police said the 25-year-old man was cornered in a house, Tasered then arrested. One officer broke his wrist in the struggle.

Officers from the Met's homicide and major crime command are also investigating an attempted attack on two people at another house in the road before Silva was killed.

A spokesman said: "At this stage we believe they were both able to get out of the house without injury."

Tributes were paid on Thursday night to Silva, who is thought to have been of Italian descent and to have worked in a nearby cafe.

A neighbour said the widow was "such a sweet lady" who had lived in the house for more than 25 years and still went to work every day.

Palmira Silva in a photograph supplied by her family

The neighbour, who did not want to be named, said: "I was speaking to her yesterday. She was weeding in the front garden, she loved her gardening.

"She was sitting having a rest. I said 'You've been doing such hard work, your flowers are beautiful'. She said 'I know'.

"I think maybe today she was in the back garden.

"She was such a sweet lady. She was slow getting around but she still went to work. I think really after her husband died that's what kept her going."

Police said they were called at 1.07pm to reports of a man armed with a knife who was attacking a cat or a dog. "On arrival they found a woman collapsed in a garden area. She was pronounced dead at the scene."

Officers said the woman's next of kin had been notified, adding that detectives believe she was of Italian descent. Police would not confirm the injuries suffered, or the weapon or weapons used to inflict them.

Paramedics called to the scene immediately realised the victim was dead, such was the severity of her wounds suffered.

The incident came two days after video of a terrorist beheading of a US journalist gained widespread media coverage, sparking speculation as to its cause. However, the attack on the woman is not believed by police to be terrorist-related.

A neighbour said she believed the apparent attacker, whom she saw carrying a machete-like knife in a back garden, was a local man. "I've seen him around here a lot. I don't know where he lives but I've seen him here, with what look like family or friends," said Freda Odame.

Odame said she was about to go to sleep when she heard shouting and banging. "I opened my curtains and I saw a man with a knife a few gardens down," she said. "He was screaming – I couldn't hear any words – and looked frantic. You could see he seemed aggressive."

The man was waving the weapon, which she described as long and curved, around the grass, "as if he was looking for something on the floor", she added.

"I was shaking. I drew the curtains straightaway in case he saw me, and called for my husband."

Within five minutes police arrived at the house and evacuated them, she said.

George Stutianou, who was working on a nearby house when the attack happened, said: "There were so many police here, there must have been about 30 cars.

"I saw some police smashing the doors and the windows of three houses either side to get women and children out. We were in the road and two policemen were running as fast as they could towards us, shouting at us to run and get out off the street. We just didn't know what was going on."

Another local resident described seeing a man brandishing a machete and shouting about cats.

The witness, who did not want to be named, said: "There was a scream so I went to the windows and saw a guy with a machete with blood dripping from it. We saw a cat on the floor without a head.

The knifeman then appeared in the witness's garden and began swiping at plants, he said.

He went on: "He started cutting roses. We were just trying to call the police. You can't think anything in that situation.

"He asked our neighbour if he had seen a cat and the neighbour was afraid and walked inside."

At one point the man climbed on top of a garage, he said.

"He appeared in the alleyway and I saw him raising the machete," the man said.

"Then he came to a front door and nobody answered so he started to bash the windows."

Commander Simon Letchford said his officers "did everything they could to evacuate people from those premises and clearly they were aware of what had happened and they put themselves in extreme danger to protect the public."

The suspect was taken to hospital after suffering injuries during his arrest.

Behind the cordon, on a section of the road lined with 1930s terraced houses, police guarded the front of one home, while others stood around a white van.

Police said nothing had emerged suggesting that the victim knew her attacker and said they had recovered a weapon, though they would not confirm what it was.

Muhammed Yusuf said police knocked on the door: "They just said 'You've got to get out of the house'."

His son Ahmed, 19, said: "At first there were two police cars, then all of a sudden there were 20. The police said to drop everything. I said 'What's going on?' and they said there's a guy jumping over gardens."

May Yapp, a retired clerical officer, said: "My husband was working in the garden and he called and said come and have a look. We saw a lot of policeman and a helicopter. They smashed a window. We were shocked."

Dennis Lattimor, 78, told how he was roused by police: "There was a big knock on the front door with uniformed police standing outside. They as good as dragged me away down the street, saying there was a dangerous man on the loose. I didn't even have time to put a shirt on – I had to borrow one from someone."

Another man who lives near the scene said he learned from other neighbours that a man carrying a machete had been seen in a series of back gardens on the road before the killing.

"My neighbour, who works nights, said she was woken by noise from a man in her back garden. He had a machete," said Isik Saban.

Other neighbours said the man was seen in three or four other gardens on the road, he said. The rear of the homes are accessible using a small alley, Saban added.

DCI John Sandlin, who is leading the investigation, said: "This was a highly visible attack in broad daylight on a residential street. I can understand why this may cause people concern. However, we are confident that we are not looking for anyone else at this stage. While it is too early to speculate on what the motive behind this attack was, I am confident, based on the information currently available to me, that it is not terrorist-related.

The Met added: "A 25-year-old man was detained by firearms officers near the scene of the incident. He was arrested on suspicion of murder and remains in custody.One firearms officer was injured during the course of the arrest, believed to be suffering from a broken wrist A Taser was discharged by officers."