Tributes to bedsit murder students

5:17am Saturday 5th July 2008

Family and friends have paid tribute to two French university students who were brutally murdered in the UK.

Laurent Bonomo and Gabriel Ferez, both 23, were bound, gagged and stabbed to death in a bedsit in south London on Sunday night. The two friends were living in the capital while they worked on a three-month research project at Imperial College London.

Detectives, who believe the pair may have been the victims of a savage robbery, are investigating possible links with an earlier burglary at the flat.

The father of Mr Ferez paid tribute to his "incredibly gifted son".

Olivier Ferez, a nurse, told the Daily Mail newspaper: "We are just in shock and completely devastated. Gabriel is, was, the most intelligent, affectionate, wonderful son anyone could ever want. He had such a bright future and now that has gone."

The director of the French university attended by Mr Bonomo and Mr Ferez spoke of the "brilliant professional future" the murdered pair have been denied.

Claude-Gilles Dussap, head of the Polytech Clermont-Ferrand in central France, also revealed that a silent procession would be held on campus to commemorate the murdered men.

According to Le Parisien, Mr Bonomo's best friend at school, called Aurelien, said: "You could always count on him." Another friend, Erik, said: "He was really happy all the time. He was a party type, always open to other people."

Police believe the men might have died for the sake of two Sony PSP games consoles, costing £130 each, which were stolen from their rented flat in Sterling Gardens, New Cross, south London.

They fear a set of keys to the flat, which were stolen in a burglary six days earlier, may have enabled the attacker to surprise his victims.

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