The investigation into the brutal double murder in 2017 of a Deptford man and his daughter has now been closed, the Metropolitan Police have announced.

Police believe the motive for the murder of Noel Brown, 69, and his daughter Marie Brown, 41, who were found strangled in his Deptford flat on December 4, 2017 was revenge.

The ‘significant suspect’ for the murders was Nathaniel Henry, 37, who died from a drug overdose in December 2017. Police said in May last year that DNA recovered at the crime scene linked Henry to the attack, including a spot of blood on a pillow and two tubigrips; believed to the murder weapons.

The Met believe Marie Brown was murdered after she went to check on her father, a convicted sex offender, interrupting the killer dismembering Noel Brown in an attempt to conceal the murder.

Police have now been able formally close the file on the murders, following an inquest at Southwark Coroner’s Court on November 12, ruling that the deaths were ‘unlawful’. 

Police believe the attack was “revenge for one of the previous crimes that Noel Brown was convicted of”, with Henry “linked” to a crime that Brown had committed years earlier.

In 1999, Noel Brown was convicted for a serious sex offence and was imprisoned until 2004. On his release he was placed on the sex offenders register, but has no record of any additional offences since. 

Detective Constable Inspector Simon Harding confirmed police would have sought to prosecute Henry had he not been found dead. Harding explained: “Whilst there can be no court proceedings in this case, we can say that we would have presented a file to the CPS to ask for double homicide charges.” Officers are not looking for anyone else in connection with the murder investigation.

A statement from Sharon Brown, another of Noel Brown’s daughters said: “This devastating loss has robbed us of his presence unfairly, made worse by the knowledge that no one is being brought to justice for this crime.”