A couple met up at a to take their own lives in a bizarre suicide plan.
The man and woman are said to have met online and came up with the pact during conversations.
Police sources told the Record a 28-year-old man and a 24-year-old woman, understood to be Dutch, arranged to meet at Mergie holiday cottages in Rickarton, near Stonehaven in Aberdeenshire, to carry out their tragic arrangement.
Fire crews from Aberdeen were called to the scene after chemicals were found. The alarm was raised by a cleaner who was unable to access the property.
A police source said: “The man and the woman appear to have met online and converged on Stonehaven to carry out their plan.
“Initial inquiries suggest they arranged their plan completely over the internet and decided to meet in Rickarton.
“It’s a tragic situation for their families and friends.”
The source added: “It would appear some sort of chemical was in the cottage, which the fire service assisted with.”
A local resident said: “At first, we all thought someone had been murdered when forensics went in.
“The police have got the cottages cordoned off. The fire service were here too for several hours.”
Police said the deaths are not being treated as suspicious.
A spokesman said: “Police were called to the property at about 1.30pm on Thursday, December 5, after two people, a man aged 28 and a woman aged 24, were found within.
"Their next-of-kin have been informed.
“Inquiries remain ongoing and as a result, officers will remain at the property while the investigation continues. A report will be sent to the procurator fiscal in due course.”
Mergie Bothy is a two-bedroom self-catering holiday cottage in the grounds of Mergie Castle Estate – home of the Bogton Clydesdales, one of Scotland’s largest stud farms.
