Raul Nicolaie was one of the two people killed in London on Sunday night as violence in the city continues to spiral

London's plague of violence continued as the stabbings of a young father and a woman in her 30s took the capital's murder toll to 59 this year.

Raul Nicolaie, 26, has been named locally as the man stabbed to death in Colindale, north London at around 6pm yesterday.

His death came just half an hour before a woman was stabbed to death in family row in Brixton, according to neighbours.

Paramedics and air ambulance crews treated Mr Nicolaie before he was taken to hospital in central London but died later in the evening.

Friends told the Evening Standard the Romanian, who came to Britain around five years ago, leaves behind a six-month-old son, who he adored.

A woman in her 20s, who knew the victim, has been arrested on suspicion of murder.

In the second incident, a woman in her 30s was stabbed to death in Brixton, south London, shortly after 6.30pm.

The attack took place and the woman died inside the suspected killer's family home, according to shocked neighbours. The attack occurred on Sudbourne Grove, where houses sell up to £1,325,000.

It comes after wave of fatal stabbings and shootings saw London suffer more murders than New York in a single month for the first time.

The use of a blanket stop and search power in suspected violent areas of London has increased fourfold in the last year due to the wave.

A man is led away from the scene in south London where a woman in her 30s was found dead

Forensic officers leave the home in Brixton, south London where the body of a woman has been found by police

London's murder toll neared 60 when two more people died from stabbings

The attack occurred on Sudbourne Grove, where houses sell up to £1,325,000

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick said the force had carried out a considerably increased amount of stop and searches using section 60 orders since she took over a year ago.

The power, which allows officers to search anybody within a defined area where police believe there is a risk of violence, has been used 106 times in London in the last year, up from 23 in the previous 12 months.

Home Secretary Amber Rudd came under fire earlier this month for presiding over cuts to police officer numbers - but she insisted it played no part in London murder wave.

The Home Secretary unveiled a strategy which demands social media companies do more to crack down on videos glorifying violence.

But critics have said police numbers have fallen under her and Theresa May's watch - leaving forces unable to cope with the rising tide of violence.

In the latest attack, a man in his 20s has been arrested on suspicion of murder and is in custody at a south London police station. It is believed the victim and suspect were known to each other.

The woman was found with stab wounds and, despite the efforts of paramedics, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Officers from the Homicide and Major Crime Command have been informed, and a crime scene is in place.

Neighbours claim the victim was killed in a domestic row.

Forensic officers were pictured at the home in Brixton, where they examined the scene

Talk Radio presenter Cristo Foufas, who lives nearby, told reporters that up to 14 emergency service vehicles attended the scene.

A young man thought to be related to the arrested suspect spoke to detectives this afternoon and declined to comment on the incident.

Mr Foufas said: 'I've never seen anything like this happen in this street before and it is worrying and quite sad that this has happened.

'It's really worrying that there's someone who is prepared to kill someone with a knife a few doors up from a primary school.'

Mr Foufas added to The Sun: 'I saw a suspect being led away in handcuffs. The police said the incident took place behind closed doors.'

The two deaths bring the number of murders in London so far this year, where the Metropolitan Police haves publicly released details, to around 59.

February marked the first month in history books that London had more murders than the New York with a total of 15 homicides. Out of the 15 killed, nine were aged 30 or younger.

According to a report by the Sunday Times, New York City's murder statistics have decreased by 87 per cent since the 1990s.

Police have taped off a scene in Brixton, south London where a woman was killed on Sunday night

Police are treating the fatal attack in Brixton as a domestic incident and have arrested a man

Mr Nicolaie was found with stab wounds in this street in north London. He died in hospital

Meanwhile, London's rate has grown by nearly 40 per cent in just three years, not including deaths caused by terrorist attacks.

A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said of yesterday's Brixton attack: 'A woman, believed to be aged in her 30s, was found suffering from stab wounds. Despite the efforts of paramedics she was pronounced dead at the scene.

'Next of kin have been informed. Formal identification and a post-mortem examination will be arranged in due course.

'A man aged in his 20s has been arrested on suspicion of murder. He is in custody at a south London police station. It is believed the victim and the man arrested were known to each other.'

In a statement on the Colindale attack, the Met said: 'We await formal identification. A post-mortem will be scheduled in due course.

'The victim and the suspect are known to each other. Enquiries are ongoing.

'A 34-year-old woman was arrested at the scene on suspicion of murder. She was taken to a north London police station where she remains in custody at this time.'

Horrific moment shopkeeper is brutally stabbed by masked men Shocking footage has emerged of a shopkeeper being stabbed by robbers as London's plague of knife violence claimed two more victims. CCTV shows the moment two hooded men stormed an off-licence in Hounslow, south west London, before one of the men repeatedly stabs the shopkeeper. Two hooded men came into the shop. One barged behind the counter shouting 'open the till' and knifed him repeatedly, while the other pulled off his turban. The victim, who is in his 40s, fought off the attackers and they left without taking anything from the shop. He was rushed to hospital and has since been discharged. Both attackers ran off after the attack, which happened just after 10pm on Sunday December 23 Detective Constable Mike Deans said: 'This was a vicious attack on a man who was simply just doing his job at his place of work, a place where he should feel safe. The attack has understandably left the victim extremely distressed. 'It is through pure luck that the victim did not receive more serious injuries. I would appeal to anyone who recognises the two men in the CCTV to contact police as a matter of urgency so we can bring those responsible for this heinous crime to justice. Advertisement

The 59 lives taken so far on the streets of London in 2018

JANUARY - 12 deaths, including one late on December 31

31 December, Kyall Parnell, 17: Stabbed to death in Lambeth

1 January, Steve Frank Narvaez-Arias, 20: Stabbed in the chest on New Year's Day at a flat party in a council estate off Old Street in Islington, north London. After moving to the UK from Ecuador, the 20-year-old was reading physics and aerospace at Hertfordshire University and hoped to become a pilot

3 January, Elizabeta Lacatusu, 44: Found bleeding to death on Norfolk Road, in Ilford, after she had her throat slashed. She worked at a restaurant in the east London town and was returning home when she was stabbed to death

6 January, Vijay Patel, 49: Mr Patel was beaten to death in Barnet

Yaya Mbye, 26, was stabbed in Hackney on January 28 (left). Right, Daniel Frederick, 34, was killed metres from his home in Hackney after attending a hospital appointment for his pregnant partner on January 8

8 January, Daniel Frederick, 34: Daniel was killed metres from his home in Hackney after attending a hospital appointment for his pregnant partner

9 January, Dami Odeyingbo, 18: Stabbed in Bromley

11 January, Harry Uzoka, 25: Harry, who was on the books of Premier Model Management and had modelled for brands including Mercedes and Zara - was stabbed in Shepherd's Bush. Neighbours reported a shout of 'hand it over' in the melee which involved several men

24 January, Seyed Azim Khan, age unknown: Died from a head injury in Redbridge

28 January, Yaya Mbye, 26: Stabbed in Hackney

Khader Saleh, 25, (left) was stabbed in the Hammersmith and Fulham area on January 31. Right, Dami Odeyingbo, 18, was stabbed in Bromley on January 9

29 January, Juan Olmos Saca, 39: Died six days after being found stabbed at an address in Peckham

31 January, Lily-Mai Saint George, one: One-year-old Lily-Mai was found dead in Haringey. The Met Police say her cause of death remains unknown

31 January, Khader Saleh, 25: The 25-year-old was stabbed in the Hammersmith and Fulham area

FEBRUARY - 14 deaths

3 February, Kwabena Nelson, 22: Ambushed in Tottenham in the early hours where he was fatally stabbed

3 February, Hasan Ozkan, 19: Stabbed to death in Abbey Road, Barking

5 February, Juan Olmos Saca: Died in hospital after being stabbed in Peckham

8 February, Hannah Leonard, 55: Fatally stabbed in Brays Tower, Primrose Hill

11 February, Sabri Chibani, 19: Stabbed in Streatham Common

12 February, Bulent Kabala, 41: The taxi driver was shot dead in a 'targeted hit' on a roundabout in Barnet

Elizabeta Lacatusu, 44, was found bleeding to death on Norfolk Road, in Ilford, after she had her throat slashed on January 3

13 February, Saeeda Hussain, 54: Found with critical injuries at an address in Ilford and pronounced dead at the scene

14 February, Promise Nkenda, 17: Fatally stabbed in Newham, east London

15 February, Mark Smith, 48: Mr Smith was found injured in Chingford, and died shortly afterwards

17 February, Lewis Blackman, 19: Lewis, who grew up on the Peckwater estate in Kentish Town, was killed in Kensington. Witnesses told how a gang of about eight youths, some armed with sticks, shouted 'let's chase him down', before he was stabbed

17 February, Josef Boci, 30: Jozef was beaten up in the street in Greenwich and died in hospital

19 February, Rotimi Oshibanjo, 26: Rotimi was fatally stabbed inside a property in the Halliday Square housing estate

Hannah Leonard, who was 55, was found dead on February 9 in a flat in Camden, North London

20 February, Sadiq Mohamed, 20: The aspiring accountant was found with serious stab wounds in Malden Road, in Belsize Park

20 February, Abdikarim Hassan, 17: Abdikarim died in the street after being attacked in Camden

20 February, name unknown, 24: Shot in Westminster

25 February, Michael Boyle, 44: Stabbed in Southwark. Mr Boyle, from Galashiels, Scotland died of multiple organ failure after being stabbed at a property in Southwark. He was found on February 25 but died on March 10

MARCH - 23 deaths

1 March, Christopher Beaumont, 42: Stabbed in Hammersmith and Fulham

5 March, Kelva Smith, 20: Found stabbed in South Norwood, Croydon and pronounced dead at the scene

5 March, Laura Cecilia Navarrete De Figueira, 47: Police launched a murder investigation after Laura Cecilia Navarrete De Figueira was found with stab wounds at her home in Twickenham. An hour earlier the body of her husband Figueira de Faria and the bodies of Claudio, 10, and Joaquin, seven, were discovered on the beach at Birling Gap, in Eastbourne, East Sussex

8 March, Kelvin Odunuyi, 19: Shot in Haringey

Balbir Johal, 48: Died after being stabbed in Southall on March 19

12 March, Julian Joseph, 36: Murdered in Lewisham, cause of death as yet unknown

13 March, Nikolay Glushkov, 68: Russian businessman was found dead in his home in New Malden. He died from compression to the neck

14 March, Lyndon Davis, 18: The youngest to have been killed in March, was found suffering from a single stab wound in Chadwell Heath, east London

14 March, Joseph Williams-Torres, 20: Killed as he sat in a stationary car in Essex Close, Walthamstow

16 March, Naomi Hersi, 36: Stabbed in Hounslow. Hersi, who lived as a trans woman called Naomi, was pronounced dead at the scene after being found with knife injuries in Hounslow

17 March, Russell Jones, 23: Ambushed outside shops near Ponders End station, in Enfield and stabbed and shot to death

18 March, Tyrone Silcott, 42: The father-of-two died from knife wounds after a St Patrick's Day party. It is alleged the car mechanic got into a row over two girls at a party in Homerton and was attacked

19 March, Balbir Johal, 48: Died after being stabbed in Southall

Hersi Hersi (left), who lived as a trans woman called Naomi, was pronounced dead at the scene after being found with knife injuries at Heathrow Palace in Hounslow. Russell Jones, 23, became the eighth person in a week to be killed in London when he was ambushed outside shops near Ponders End station, Enfield Read

19 March, Jermaine Johnson, 41: Found with stab injuries and pronounced dead at the scene in Walthamstow

20 March, Beniamin Pieknyi, 20: Believed to have jumped in to the fight in a bid to save his friend during the altercation at the Stratford Centre in east London. The 20-year-old, who only arrived in Britain two months ago from Romania, died in his best friend's arms after being chased and stabbed by a gang in the busy shopping centre

25 March, Abraham Badru, 26: Gunned down in Hackney. The university graduate, who was murdered in Dalston, east London, was awarded the National Police Bravery Award in July 2009

25 March, awaiting formal ID, 59: Person found dead in Barking & Dagenham

26 March, David Potter, 50: Found stabbed to death in a property on Tooting High Street

29 March, Reece Tshoma, 23: Reece, from Barking in east London, was stabbed in the neck in Greenwich before being rushed to hospital by his friend where he died

30 March, Leyla Mtumwa, 36: Leyla was found dead with stab wounds to the neck and chest at an address in Haringey

Amaan Shakoor, 16, was shot in the face in Walthamstow and died a day later in hospital

APRIL - Nine deaths

1 April, Devoy Stapleton: Stabbed at as he made his way home from a night out in Wandsworth. Police found him in a pool of his own blood after being called to the middle-class suburb of Earlsfield, south west London

2 April, Tanesha Melbourne, 17: Tanesha was gunned down near her home in Tottenham, north London in front of horrified friends and family. It is thought she was caught in the crossfire of a ruthless gang war

2 April, Amaan Shakoor, 16: The teenager was shot in the face in Walthamstow, north London, and police have now confirmed he died from his injuries in hospital

4 April, Henry Vincent, 37: Burglary who died from stab wound after raiding pensioner's house

4 April, Babatunde Akintayo Awofeso dies after row on Upper Clapton Road, east London.

Israel Ogunsola, 18, died in Hackney after being stabbed on April 4

4 April, Israel Ogunsola, 18, dies in Hackney after being stabbed. The victim approached police who performed first aid but he died at the scene after 25 minutes.

12 April, John Maclean, 35, stabbed at a flat in the Isle of Dogs. A 25-year-old has been charged with his murder.

15 April, Raul Nicolaie, 26: Found at with stab injuries in Colindale, north London. A 34- year-old woman was arrested at the scene on suspicion of murder

15 April, an unnamed woman in her 30s was stabbed to death in Sudbourne Road, Brixton, south London. A man in his 20s has been arrested on suspicion of murder.



