Solihull murders: Victim on phone to police when stabbed Published duration 28 August 2018

image copyright West Midlands Police image caption Raneem Oudeh (left) and her mother, Khaola Saleem, were pronounced dead at the scene

A woman who was stabbed to death with her mother was on the phone to police as she was attacked, detectives said.

Raneem Oudeh, 22, and her mother Khaola Saleem, 49, were stabbed in a street in Solihull in the early hours of Monday.

West Midlands Police are searching for Ms Oudeh's ex-partner Janbaz Tarin, 21, in connection with the deaths.

Ms Oudeh made "a number of calls" to police on Sunday evening and the "situation quickly escalated" as police arranged to see her, the force said.

West Midlands Police did not directly answer claims in the Birmingham Mail that Miss Oudeh rang police three times in the hours before her death but officers did not immediately send an officer out.

Clarifying "speculation" about the police contact, a force spokesman said: "There were a number of calls from Ms Oudeh to police on Sunday evening and we tried to physically locate her but were unsuccessful.

"Contact was being made to arrange to see Miss Oudeh and it was during this conversation that the situation quickly escalated and the call handler immediately dispatched officers to the location in Northdown Road where they arrived within minutes."

The force has said it referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct as it had previous contact with the victims' family.

image copyright West Midlands Police image caption Anyone who sees Janbaz Tarin has been asked not to approach him but to ring 999 immediately

Officers rushed to Ms Saleem's house in Northdown Road, Solihull, shortly after 00:30 BST on Monday, but found the pair fatally wounded.

Despite the efforts of emergency services neither could be saved.

Mr Tarin, who is from Afghanistan, was Ms Oudeh's former partner but is not the father of her two-year-old son.

Several addresses linked to Mr Tarin have been searched and computer equipment has been seized, along with mobile phones, for analysis.

A suspected murder weapon has been recovered and a van has been seized for forensic examination, detectives said.

image copyright PA image caption Forensic examinations have taken place in Northdown Road

Ms Oudeh and Mrs Saleem, who had five other children, were born in Syria.

Their relatives said in a statement: "Our family is devastated with the loss of our loved ones."

Forensic post-mortem examinations are still taking place to confirm the precise cause of their deaths.

Police said there had been a "strong response" from the public, including details of possible sightings of Mr Tarin.

Anyone who sees Mr Tarin has been urged not to approach him but to call 999 immediately.

Det Insp Caroline Corfield, who is leading the investigation, said: "This is a shocking, tragic case in which a young mum - who has a two-year-old son - and her mother have both been murdered in cold blood."

The force has appealed directly to the suspect to hand himself in and warned against anyone "shielding" the 21-year-old.