A Southfields man and woman have been charged with murdering their nanny.
Police discovered the burned remains of a body at a Wimbledon Park Road address on Wednesday, September 20 at 6.30pm.
Ouissem Medouni, 40, and Sabrina Kouider, 34, were remanded in custody this morning and will appear at the Old Bailey on September 26.
The victim has been named locally as their missing nanny, Sophie Lionnet, 21, but is too charred to be formally identified without a post mortem.
Resident Damien Martin, 56, expressed his shock at the incident.
He said: “Southfields is a desirable, quiet residential area with high price houses and well-to-do professional people.
“It’s crazy to think this would happen here.”
Neighbours described a strange odour coming from the garden late on Wednesday afternoon.
A decorator, identified only as Sylvester, who was working at a neighbour’s house on Pulborough Road, said: “I saw smoke at around 1:30pm and there was still a lot of smoke by 3pm.
“It is unusual for this area – fires are not normal here.”
Residents reported that the pair were regularly heard shouting.
A neighbour, who asked to remain anonymous, said: “They were always shouting, always arguing.”
Wimbledon Park Road resident Katherine King, 35, said she smelt something odd as she passed the house at around 5:30pm on Wednesday.
She said: “It was a really weird smell, like an acrid smelling bonfire and barbecue. It was a cross between the two.
“I felt something in my gut though, I knew something was wrong.
“It wasn’t like your usual barbecue or anything. I felt really sick when I found out about it.”
Miss Lionnet, from Troyes in France, had been living with her French-Algerian employers for 14 months to care for Ms Kouider’s two sons, aged six and three.
Boyzone founding member Mark Walton, who lives in LA, is believed to be father of the eldest son.
An unidentified neighbour laid a small bunch of yellow roses at the door of the £905,000 house this morning.
The police are appealing for anyone with information to contact them on 0208 721 4843.
