Armed police who stormed a commuter train are understood to have been searching for the husband of a primary school teacher who was found dead in their Kent village bungalow on Thursday.
Police later arrested Stuart Andrews, 54, in connection with the death of his wife Caroline, 52, a supply teacher at the Benenden Church of England primary. A postmortem took place on Friday and the death is being treated as a murder.
Stuart Andrews was discovered with serious injuries in London, and is being detained in hospital as he receives treatment.
The couple are believed to have four children and to have lived in the village – home of the exclusive Benenden school – for two years.
The hunt for Andrews involved more than 30 officers boarding a London train from Gillingham and searching for more than an hour, with witness footage showing police holding guns standing in the aisles.
Police kept the train at Gillingham for 1hr 30 mins looking for the suspect and weapon. We're STILL HERE pic.twitter.com/s8dMGItYaY
— yeside fawehinmi (@lyriah_yesistar) February 4, 2016
In the footage posted online, commuters can be heard asking police why they are being held, with one agitated passenger shouting: “I’m claustrophobic. Let me off the train so I can breathe.” Others ask if there is a gun or a bomb on the train, with police then confirming they are looking for a suspect.
A spokesman for Kent police said on Friday: “Police searches throughout parts of Kent, including the rail network, had been ongoing since the afternoon of 4 February and the man was located in the London area this afternoon and taken to a hospital for treatment to injuries.”
Gill Knox, the headteacher of the school where Mrs Andrews had been teaching, said the pupils and staff were “shocked and saddened”.
“Caroline and her family live in the village and are well known at the school. Caroline has been a loved and well-respected supply teacher for a number of years who has enriched the lives of the many children she taught,” she said.
“At the present time we cannot comment on what has happened but our thoughts and prayers are with her family and all who knew her and will miss her.”
