Compassion plea over murder pair

Xi Zhou and her boyfriend Zhen Xing Yang studied at Newcastle University

Police have called for compassion for the "distraught families" of a Chinese couple murdered at a flat in Newcastle.

The plea comes after it emerged Zhen Xing Yang and his girlfriend Xi Zhou, both, 25, may have been involved in online scams and providing false visas.

Officers are also investigating whether Mr Zhen forged university documents.

Detectives say the couple, who were killed at a flat in the city's West End, should still be seen as "victims" despite the speculation.

Det Supt Steve Wade said: "This young couple were killed at the home they shared in Newcastle, thousands of miles from their families and the country of their birth.

Football matches

"They leave behind distraught families and no amount of speculation concerning their online activities should be allowed to obscure the fact that this was a happy young couple who had their futures snatched away from them."

The couple were found dead in separate bedrooms at the downstairs flat in Croydon Road by friends on the afternoon on 9 August.

Mr Zhen had been tortured before being stabbed to death and the couple's cat was drowned by the killers.

Police believe both of the victims may have been involved in fraudulent activity which angered people and led to the killings.

One line of inquiry involves claims that Mr Zhen recruited spectators online to send live updates from UK football matches.

It is claimed that syndicates in China, where matches are televised a minute behind, could have taken advantage of the delay.

On Sunday, officers spoke with Xi Zhou's father, and Zhen Xing Yang's mother in China through a translator.

Family members have been offered fast track entry into the UK to help detectives with their investigation.