A mother and her three-year-old son are thought to have lain dead inside a flat for up to two weeks before they were found in a suspected murder suicide.
Police found 36-year-old Poorna Kaameshwari Sivaraj and toddler Kailash Kuha Raj at a home in Clayponds Lane, Brentford, shortly before 1am on Tuesday.
Relatives had raised concerns for their welfare after they went unseen and unheard from for more than a fortnight.
Sivaraj’s husband , 42-year-old Kuha Raj Sithamparanathan, who was Kailash's father, was found with stab wounds inside the flat and was pronounced dead at the scene.
He is thought to have stabbed himself when officers forced entry to the property, the Metropolitan Police said.
Police attended the address “several times” in the early hours of Monday after a family member raised concerns for Sivaraj’s welfare late on Sunday.
They did not get a reply and became increasingly concerned as the day went on after speaking with neighbours so decided to break in, police said.
Detective Chief Inspector Simon Harding, from the Met's specialist crime command, said it appeared the mother and son had been “dead for some time” and initial inquiries established they were last seen or heard from around 21 September.
He said the family had often been seen walking their poodle cross-breed in the local area and asked anyone who had seen them in the past month to contact police "so we can begin to build a full picture of their lives".
Mr Harding added that "words cannot sufficiently sum up the devastation that this horrific incident will have on the families of those involved".
Neighbours at Golden Mile House told of their shock after the deaths.
Sheri Diba said: "I've always seen them in the lift. They were very friendly. They said 'Hi, how are you?' I always saw them together going for walks.”
Ms Diba said she had lived in the building for seven years and described it as a "nice area", but said she had not seen the family for a number of months.
A mandatory referral has been made to the Office for Police Conduct because Sithamparanathan is believed to have fatally injured himself when officers made their way into the flat.
Additional reporting by PA
