The family of a man who was stabbed to death on a train in a ‘pointless attack’ have paid tribute to an ‘honourable man’ – on what would have been his 52nd birthday.
Lee Pomeroy, 51, was stabbed multiple times following an altercation on-board a Guildford to London Waterloo train at around 1pm yesterday.
The married father of one, was on his way into London with his 14-year-old son for a day out when the deadly incident happened.
The man arrested for the murder of Lee Pomeroy is aged 35, detectives said tonight.
Lee Pomeroy, 51, was stabbed multiple times following an altercation on-board a Guildford to London Waterloo train at around 1pm yesterday. The married father of one, was on his way into London with his 14-year-old son for a day out when the deadly incident happened
Police are seen outside a property in Farnham this morning after a man was detained on suspicion of murder. A 27-year-old woman was also arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender
Speaking to MailOnline today, neighbors described the shock moment the arrest took place. One, who wished to remain anonymous, said: ‘Two vans arrived to take them away. By this point there were a whole load of police – around 11 or 12 – and two with rifles. Others had sidearms’
Police officers remain at Hosley train station near Guildford, Surrey as they carry out investigations following the stabbing of a 51-year-old man yesterday
Police evidence markers are seen on a gate near West Clandon station in Surrey – where a murder suspect left the Waterloo bound train after a passenger was stabbed to death yesterday
A close up of the fence near West Clandon station in Surrey shows blooded fingerprints
Police forensics officers search a property after a couple were arrested in connection with the murder of a man on a train yesterday. A man and a woman have been detained by police in Farnham in connection with the murder
The suspect was arrested at 6am at flat in Farnham while a woman, 27, was arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender.
Both are still being questioned by police while a post mortem is set for early next week.
In a statement released this afternoon, the family said: ‘Lee took his son on a trip to London hoping to spend some quality time with him which was cut short by horrific and pointless attack.
‘Lee would have had his birthday today but did not get to see his presents. He was an honest, bright person, who loved music very much, he knew history and art and he was a bachelor of science in Maths.
‘He was devoted family man and did everything for his family. He was an honourable man and would always help somebody who was in trouble.
‘He was a loving husband and father, he will be deeply missed by all his family.’
DCI Sam Blackburn from British Transport Police, said: ‘This is a fast moving investigation and I am pleased that overnight we were able to arrest a man following a huge amount of police enquiries.
‘The investigation is moving with good progress and we are now confident to say that this is not believed to be a random assault.
‘In the moments leading to the violent killing, both men appeared to be involved in an altercation lasting three minutes.
‘Nothing justified the extraordinary violence that followed, and we are concentrating our efforts on the on-going investigation.
‘We are continuing our appeal for information and I would urge anyone who was on board the train to contact us as soon as possible.
‘Even if you did not witness the assault, it is vitally important we speak with you.
‘Likewise, if you have any dashcam footage of the Clandon area after 1pm yesterday afternoon, we would like to hear from you.’
A BTP spokesperson said: ‘In the last couple of hours, a man has been arrested in connection to the murder investigation at Horsley station in Surrey.
‘At approximately 6am, police officers attended an address in the Farnham area where the man, now confirmed as being aged 35, was detained on suspicion of murder.
‘A 27-year-old woman was also arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender.
‘Both remain in police custody as the investigation continues.
‘The family of a 51-year-old man, who’s teenage son was nearby when he was stabbed multiple times, are being supported by specially trained family liaison officers.
‘A post mortem examination is scheduled for early next week.’
Police are seen at Horsley station in Surrey where a man was stabbed to death on a train yesterday. Investigations are still underway – as officers reportedly still search for a murder weapon
Tributes have been left outside Horsley station near Guildford, Surrey. A 51-year-old man was stabbed to death while on a train to London
It emerged this morning that in the moments leading up to the violent killing, both men appeared to be involved in an altercation lasting three minutes.
And that they moved through the carriage they first boarded into another – before the stabbing of the 51-year-old father took place in front of his son.
Speaking this afternoon, a woman in the garden of Mr Pomeroy’s home in Guildford said it was ‘too fresh’ for his wife to comment at the moment.
Talking over the back gate of the pretty semi-detached house worth around £485,000, she did not reveal her relation to the family but said: ‘It is too fresh. It was in front of their 14-year-old son.
‘She has asked me not to say anything. She does not want to say anything.’
A neighbour two doors down said he was ‘shocked’ to hear the victim lived on his street.
He said: ‘We don’t know them. They are quite private people. But I am shocked and disgusted that he has lost his life. It’s dreadful.’
At around 6am this morning a man was detained at an address in the Farnham area on suspicion of murder. A 27-year-old woman was also arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender.
Speaking to MailOnline today, neighbors described the shock moment the arrest took place.
One neighbour, Grant Christy said: ‘The raid began at 5.50am when two unmarked police cars and one armed police stood outside.
‘There were a few inside I assume and there was one around the back. I then heard the arrest take place as I had my ear pressed to the door.
‘Later two vans arrived to take them away. By this point there were a whole load of police – around 11 or 12 – and two with rifles. Others had sidearms.’
He later said: ‘Initially I just heard the banging. Sounded like someone trying to kick the door in, that’s what it sounded like to start with. And then I jumped out of bed, put my ear to the door, listened to what was going on.
‘Then I heard the police shouting, ‘put your hands up, turn around’, all that sort of thing and then it went quiet.
‘They led her out first with the kid, barefoot, put her in a police wagon over there, then a few minutes later they pulled him out handcuffed.’
A passenger was stabbed to death on board a train to London in front of horrified travellers yesterday afternoon. Detectives launched a murder enquiry after the man in his 50s was knifed once in the neck on the 12.58pm service travelling from Guildford to Waterloo
Despite desperate attempts from paramedics the man died at the scene, while the attacker is thought to have got off the train fled into the surrounding Clandon area – just one stop into the Surrey to London journey (pictured is Horsley Station, where the train pulled in)
Two police officers are standing guard this morning at the entrance to the property where the arrest took place.
Estate agent Wendie Thompson, who lives nearby, expressed her shock at the incident and said police had continued to guard the flat.
She said: ‘The officers were here when I woke at 8am. Police have been active all day – on guard outside the flats. I think there were detectives and armed response officers.’
It has emerged that in the moments leading up to the violent killing, both men appeared to be involved in an altercation lasting three minutes. Pictured is the train on which the incident took place
Police were in the area yesterday evening, attempting to identify and trace the man responsible for the fatal assault. Now a murder suspect has been arrested along with a 27-year-old woman
At 12.58pm yesterday the South Western Train leaves Guildford, with London the final destination. At 1.01pm the victim, a 51-year-old father, and attacker, board the train at London Road. Then at 1.07pm the attacker is thought to flee the train at Clandon. At 1.11pm the victim is found as the train pulls into Horsley. At 1.15pm police officers are called to Horsley station after reports a man has been stabbed. At around 6am this morning police arrested a murder suspect in Farnham – along with a 27-year-old woman. Effingham Junction was also blocked following the incident Police describes suspect in fatal stabbing on a train in Surrey Police describes suspect in fatal stabbing on a train in Surrey
The son and other family of the 51-year-old man, who was stabbed multiple times, are being supported by specially trained family liaison officers.
Mr Blackburn, added: ‘We are continuing our appeal for information and I would urge anyone who was on board the train to contact us as soon as possible.
‘Even if you did not witness the assault, it is vitally important we speak with you.
‘Likewise, if you have any dashcam footage of the Clandon area after 1pm yesterday afternoon, we would like to hear from you.’
BTP Assistant Chief Constable Sean O’Callaghan said: ‘We now know from inquiries we’ve been doing overnight and from witnesses that the two men were involved in a verbal discussion, that discussion lasted three to four minutes.
‘It moved through one carriage from where they first boarded into another carriage, and that argument escalated to the unprovoked violent attack that sadly resulted in the death.’
The attacker was thought to have got off the train fled into the surrounding Clandon area – just one stop into the Surrey to London journey. Police have cordoned off the station and are conducting investigations. British Transport Police confirmed this morning that a suspect had been arrested
A police officer and station staff member stand at Horsley station while forensics conduct their investigation. One woman passenger, who asked not to be named, said: ‘There was a lot of blood everywhere in the carriage. I don’t think the poor chap stood a chance’
Mr O’Callaghan also said detectives are confident with the arrests they have made and no-one else was being sought in connection with killing at this time.
The arrests come after a knifeman – who was briefly on the run – fatally stabbed a 51-year-old man onboard a train to London in front of his teenage son.
Details of the fatal attack, which took place on the 12.58 service from Guildford to Waterloo, were released by detectives yesterday evening.
The suspect, who police think was not known to the victim, is described as a black man in his twenties to thirties, is approximately 6ft tall, with a slim build and beard, dressed all in black with white trainers.
Earlier shocked witnesses said the man was knifed following a scuffle with another passenger who then fled into the surrounding Clandon area – just one stop into the Surrey to London journey.
The forensics at the scene at Horsley station today. A number of officers are now in the Clandon area, attempting to identify and trace the man responsible for this assault. No arrests have been made at present
One woman passenger, who asked not to be named, said: ‘There was a lot of blood everywhere in the carriage. I don’t think the poor chap stood a chance.
‘The police who were here first started to give him CPR but it was apparently too late to save him and he died while the train was in the station.’
Other passengers said how the ticket inspector and driver leaped into action to desperately try and save the man before emergency services arrived.
British Transport Police Superintendent Paul Langley said in a statement at the time: ‘Tragically as a result of this stabbing, a man believed to be 51-years-old, was pronounced dead on board the train.
‘Early indications suggest he received multiple stab wounds to his body.
‘What we know at the moment is that the victim boarded the train at around 1.00pm at London Road station in Guildford, along with his 14-year-old son.
Forensics officers are continuing their work at Horsley station yesterday evening, following the stabbing of a man in his 50s
Detectives at British Transport Police (BTP) have launched a murder enquiry following a serious incident on board a train between Guildford and Waterloo yesterday
‘Traumatically, the victims son would have been nearby when his father was fatally wounded. This would have been an horrific and hugely traumatic event to have witnessed and we are providing him with as much support as possible.’
Forensic teams have been searching a field in Clandon after a local resident found a bloodied hat on the ground and said she confronted a ‘ sweaty nervous man’ .
Officers with tracker dogs were also seen in the field.
Three uniformed officers stood guard by a wooden gate adjacent to the property less than a quarter of a mile from Clandon station.
Mother Rowena Dodwell posted a message on a local neighbourhood watch site to describe her confrontation with possibly the murder suspect.
She wrote:’ Please be vigilant as I just came across a mid 20’s, slim build, black beard, bald suspicious man wearing a black track suit walking around our neighbouring field, very sweaty and nervous.
‘He walk to the bottom then stood in the woodland, walk back up. I asked him what he was doing and he said he had an accident?
‘Our road is private and so is the field. He walked off on the phone and didn’t want to chat. There was no reason for him to be there!
‘Called police as he’s dropped a blooded hat in field.’
Police cordoned off Clandon station yesterday and were seen conducting investigations following the incident
Police were sent to the area in an attempt to identify and trace the man responsible for this assault.
Supt Langley added: ‘We also know that the suspect left the train service at Clandon station, and headed in the direction of Dedswell Drive.
‘There have been a number of sightings in this areas from members of the public and our enquiries are focussing in on these areas.
‘We have a number of officers in the area working hard to trace the man responsible for this violent and deadly attack.
‘We are working close with Surrey Police and the National Police Air Service who are helping us to locate him.’
Matt Phelps, 35, who works at a business in West Clandon, said police officers provided a description of the man they were hunting – a man with a beard and short hair, who was ‘not dressed for the weather’ in a T-shirt and tracksuit bottoms, and strikingly bright white trainers.
He said: ‘There were also three helicopters circling overhead when we locked up and went home.
‘It was a bit alarming when someone I worked with put two and two together and we realised who the police were looking for.
‘You sometimes see the police helicopter going over or cars going past with sirens on but to think there was someone like that potentially hiding around the corner somewhere certainly made us want to pack up and go home quicker than usual.’
Another woman who did not want to be named told The Telegraph: ‘A man was seen in a field. He had no hair on his head but had a black beard. Someone said he had been seen in a field and accosted a woman walking her dog.
‘He apparently said to her ‘I am in a lot of trouble’, before he dropped his hat and ran away. The hat was later recovered by the police who are examining it for forensic clues.’
Officers sealed off the Clandon area as the manhunt for the killer continued yesterday evening.
Dozens of commuters cars were stranded in the car park at the Surrey station with owners told they would have to remain parked until forensic teams had completed their investigation.
Earlier a police helicopter had hovered over the surrounding countryside as it scoured farmland and nearby National Trust property of Clandon Park.
A number of police cars at the station where a man in his 50s was knifed in an attack. Lines will remain closed while police conduct their investigations
The scene at Horsley station this evening and police and the forensics team continue working. Anyone who witnessed the incident or with any information should contact British Transport Police
The killer would have had a choice of walking either towards the village of Send or towards East Clandon on leaving the station.
Drinkers at the Onslow Arms, about a quarter of a mile from the Clandon station, said they heard the helicopter hovering overhead during the afternoon.
‘There were lot of police cars racing along the road and word soon went round someone had been stabbed, said one of the pub regulars.
‘There’s hardly any serious crime round here so everyone took notice’
Another witness praised the efforts of the railway staff in the frenzied aftermath of the attack.
Natalie Jones tweeted: ‘I was on this train. How those guards and especially the train driver went into action was nothing short of incredible.’
Oliver Thompson, a 16-year-old student living in Clandon, said he was stopped by police in the area at roughly 2.30pm and asked if he had seen a ‘man running from the station’.
A little later he saw police helicopters circling the area before being joined by ‘a police van with high-powered lights’ as conditions darkened.
‘It comes as a big surprise as Clandon is a quiet area that you wouldn’t associate with crime like this,’ he said.
‘It is definitely unnerving to think there is a murderer maybe somewhere in the village.’
A Home Office pathologist was expected to carry out a post mortem examination on the man’s body to establish the exact cause of his death and the Surrey coroner was notified of the death.
Natalie Jones tweeted: ‘I was on this train. How those guards and especially the train driver went into action was nothing short of incredible’
It is understood the murder happened after two men became involved in a scuffle following a dispute. Witnesses said that punches were thrown and the victim was then stabbed in the neck. The station remains cordoned off while police, including forensic officers, investigate
Police are now in the area, attempting to identify and trace the man responsible for this assault. No arrests have been made yet. A Home Office pathologist was expected to carry out a post mortem examination on the man’s body to establish the exact cause of his death and the Surrey coroner was notified of the death
Forensics staff, pictured at Horsley station, where a man in his 50s was knifed in the neck following a scuffle with another passenger who then fled into the surrounding Clandon
Detective Superintendent Gary Richardson from British Transport Police, said: ‘This was a shocking and violent attack which took place on-board a train in broad daylight.
‘Officers from BTP are with the family and have deployed a specially trained family liaison officer to support them through this difficult time.
‘We know that this was an incredibly frightening incident for passengers travelling on the train.
One woman passenger, who asked not to be named, said: ‘There was a lot of blood everywhere in the carriage. I don’t think the poor chap stood a chance. The police who were here first started to give him CPR but it was apparently too late to save him and he died while the train was in the station’ (forensic officers sweep the area)
South Western Railway said lines will be closed while police conduct their investigation. Rail replacement buses are being provided and train tickets are being accepted on Southern Railway services between Dorking and Clapham Junction and some Stagecoach bus services
‘We believe that the suspect and victim boarded the train at London Road at 1.01pm and we would encourage who was on this train to come forward regardless of whether or not they think they can help our investigation.
‘We believe the suspect departed the train at Clandon station.
‘Passengers and members of the public can expect to see an increased presence by BTP and Surrey Police officers at Horsley and Clandon as our enquiries continue.’
Transport Secretary Chris Grayling tweeted: ‘The incident near Horsley is tragic, and our deepest sympathies are with the victim and their family. I urge anyone who witnessed what happened to contact @BTP and @SurreyPolice, by texting 61016 or calling 0800 40 50 40.’
National Rail announced delays and cancellations following the attack – with services on the line halted while police conduct their investigations
View of the South Western Railway service from Guildford in Surrey to London. The attack took place on the 12.58 service today. Lines will remain closed while police conduct their investigations
BTP have said: ‘Anyone who witnessed the incident or with any information should contact BTP by sending a text to 61016 or by calling 0800 40 50 40 – quoting reference 210 of 04/01/19. Or you can ring Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111’
Anyone who witnessed the incident or with any information should contact BTP by sending a text to 61016 or by calling 0800 40 50 40 – quoting reference 210 of 04/01/19. Or you can ring Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
South Western Railway said: ‘Due to the police dealing with an incident between Guildford and Effingham Junction the line is blocked.
‘Train services running through these stations may be cancelled, delayed or revised. Disruption is expected until 9pm.’
Lines remained closed while police conducted their investigations, they added.
Rail replacement buses were being provided and train tickets accepted on Southern Railway services between Dorking and Clapham Junction and some Stagecoach bus services.
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