An arsonist who set fire to a family home killing a mother and her four-year-old son was being hunted by police last night.
The bodies of Georgina Ingles, 34, and her son Milo were found together in a first-floor bedroom after the house had been gutted on Tuesday night.
Her partner, Toby Jarrett, who lived with them in the seaside resort of Eastbourne, suffered severe injuries but managed to escape by jumping from a first-floor window.
The 26-year-old, who was not the boy’s father, is now in an induced coma on a life support machine in an intensive care unit. Police are waiting to question him.
The bodies of Georgina Ingles, 34, and her son Milo were found together in a first-floor bedroom after the house had been gutted on Tuesday night. Her partner, Toby Jarrett, who lived with them in the seaside resort of Eastbourne, suffered severe injuries but managed to escape by jumping from a first-floor window. (All three are pictured)
The appalling attack on the family’s £200,000 home (above) has shocked friends, family and neighbours. It was claimed the culprit left a petrol can by the front door after setting the property alight in the middle of the night
Detectives launched a double murder investigation after discovering the two badly burned bodies while sifting through the wreckage 11 hours after the blaze started.
The pair have yet to be formally identified due to the state of the bodies, but after police informed next of kin, Miss Ingles’ relatives posted tributes to the mother, who was known as Gina.
The appalling attack on the family’s £200,000 home has shocked friends, family and neighbours. It was claimed the culprit left a petrol can by the front door after setting the property alight in the middle of the night.
One neighbour, who asked to not be identified, said: ‘We were woken up at about 12.50am. I looked out the window and saw flames coming out of the front door. It was like an inferno.
‘Then the bathroom window exploded and that set the tree in front of the house on fire. Before you knew it, the roof was on fire. Then you could see the flames coming out of the rear of the house. It was horrendous.’
Detectives launched a double murder investigation after discovering the two badly burned bodies while sifting through the wreckage 11 hours after the blaze started
Yesterday, police had cordoned off the house as fire investigators took over at the scene. Officers were also seen examining a car outside the house
Shortly before her death, Miss Ingles posted a series of photographs on Facebook of herself with her partner and son, and wrote: ‘I am so blessed.’ On Twitter, the mother, who listed her hobbies as music, cars and motorbikes, also posted regular images of her son, as well as cakes she had made for others.
Yesterday, police had cordoned off the house as fire investigators took over at the scene. Officers were also seen examining a car outside the house.
A Sussex police spokesman said: ‘Two bodies have been discovered. They are believed to be those of the two occupants previously unaccounted for – a woman aged 34 and her four-year-old son.
‘This is a difficult scene and it will take some time before forensics examinations are complete.
‘The cause of the fire is being treated as arson and a murder investigation has been launched. No arrests have been made.’