A Chinese couple found murdered in a flat in Newcastle were boyfriend and girlfriend, police have revealed.
Xi Zhou and her boyfriend Zhen Xing Yang, both 25, were found with head injuries in a scene described by police as "gruesome".
Post-mortem examinations showed Xi Zhou may also have been asphyxiated.
Detectives from Northumbria Police, who are still trying to trace the couple's final movements, say they have yet to find a motive for the killings.
The pair, who had met as students at Newcastle University, were found on beds in separate rooms in a downstairs flat on Croydon Road.
Police said Zhen Xing Yang, who was found in a back bedroom, had suffered "massive head injuries".
Xi Zhou, who was found in the front bedroom, had also suffered head injuries, but police said "a conclusive cause of death will have to await further tests".
Det Supt Steve Wade, who is leading the murder inquiry, described the scene as gruesome.
"We have no known motive for this savage and brutal attack"
"The crime scene was very unpleasant, one of the worst I have seen during a long career, sadly.
"It was a vicious attack, there was a lot of blood and I think in any interpretation that was a frenzied attack."
Xi Zhou, who was known to friends and colleagues as Ci Ci, worked as a waitress at Wagamama restaurant in Newcastle.
Colleagues described her as a reliable, hard-working member of staff who had a bubbly personality and was a joy to work with.
She had completed her MA Degree in Applied Linguistics at Newcastle University in September 2006.
Her parents have been traced to the province of Hunan in South China.
'Tragic loss'
Zhen Xing Yang completed his MA Degree in International Human Resources at Newcastle University in September 2006.
"They were two nice, hard-working, respectable people who have come to the UK for the best of reasons, to get a good education," Det Supt Wade continued.
"We have no known motive for this savage and brutal attack."
The multi-cultural area in Newcastle's West End is popular with students, particularly those from the Chinese community.
Extra police patrols have been put on duty in an attempt to reassure residents, and officers plan to speak to local community leaders.
Police have also been carrying out house-to-house inquiries in the area and are urging anyone with any information to contact them.
Eddy Tang, minister of the International Christian Fellowship in Newcastle, said the couple were popular in the Chinese community.
He said there was a large Chinese student population in the city who had been scared by what had happened.
Det Supt Wade added: "This is a tragic loss of two young lives and our thoughts are with their families as they try to come to terms with what has happened.
"It is understandable after what's happened that there's a great deal of concern in the community and we're addressing that, with local officers carrying out extra patrols in the area and will be speaking to residents individually to reassure them all is being done to find the offenders."
Northumbria Police are in contact with the Chinese Consulate in Manchester and the Chinese Embassy in London to provide information and support to the dead couple's families.
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