A British police officer trying to trace the relatives of a man injured in a car crash found the bodies of a mother and her two young daughters, apparently knifed to death.
Forensics experts yesterday examined the West Midlands house where the bodies were found and where presents still lay unopened under the Christmas tree.
The bodies of the 25-year-old mother and her daughters, six and three, were discovered on Christmas Eve.
"The cause of death and circumstances are still unclear," said a spokeswoman for West Midlands police. "But they are believed to have suffered knife wounds."
A post-mortem was due on Friday.
Police called at the house to report that a 27-year-old man had been seriously injured when his VW Golf GTi crashed into a tree.
"He is in a stable condition in hospital and is under arrest," the spokeswoman said.
