Man arrested on suspicion of murder after teenager dies in 'possible burglary'

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Three other men have also been arrested in connection with the incident in Linslade, Leighton Buzzard, on Thursday night.

Cops were called at 10.25pm to initial reports of a possible break-in at an address on Soulbury Road.

A 17-year-old boy was found unresponsive at the scene and was pronounced dead shortly after.

A man was arrested and is in custody on suspicion of murder.

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A 76-year-old neighbour said she heard “a lot of noise and shouting” on Thursday evening, and “a bit of a bang”.

She thought it was “just drunkards walking home” or a burglary as “there was a bit of movement in gardens”.

The neighbour, who asked not to be named, told the Press Association: “All I knew was there’s a lot of noise and shouting going on.

“And, to me, I thought it was some young lad drunk and looking over gardens, because there was a bit of movement in gardens, and looking for bikes or something to steal.

“But it obviously was not that, it was a lot worse than that.”

She said: “I thought it was just drunkards walking home, and, you know, I thought I heard a bit of a bang, and I think ‘oh my god, my car’s up there’.

“So I went to look out, and then it carried on around the back, and people’s lights were coming on.

"I think I’ve got security lights coming on, and I was a bit worried because I was on my own, so you know you don’t want to go down and look into anything.

“Next thing is a lot of police presence, a lot of people out there, and I just didn’t go down because, well, I just didn’t want to be down.”

Three other men were also arrested in connection with the incident, which is being investigated by the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Major Crime Unit, Bedfordshire Police said.

Enquiries have so far found “no evidence whatsoever that the victim was carrying out, or attempting to carry out, a burglary”, the force said.

Linslade is an area in the town of Leighton Buzzard in Bedfordshire which has a population of around 45,000 people.

Asked if the area was usually safe, the neighbour told PA: “Yes, there was an incident probably four years ago, maybe about that, not long ago, where again somebody had gone over the gardens between these houses at the back view and taken someone’s lawnmower.

"And, I mean, my sheds weren’t even locked. They are now, I always lock now since then.”

She said the area around a house on Soulbury Road remained cordoned off on Friday evening, with police and forensics outside.

The victim’s next of kin have been informed about the incident, Bedfordshire Police said.

Detective Inspector Caeva Taylor said: “This is an incredibly tragic incident in which a 17-year-old boy has lost his life and our thoughts are with his loved ones at this unimaginably difficult time.

“We currently have one person in custody on suspicion of murder, and three other men are also assisting us with our enquiries.

“Our team is working hard to establish what has led to the boy’s death and we understand the concern this will cause in the community.

“The initial 999 call to police was to report a possible break-in in progress, however our enquiries so far have found no evidence whatsoever that the victim was carrying out, or attempting to carry out, a burglary.

“We have been carrying out a number of enquiries today including reviewing CCTV and speaking to people in the area, and we’re urging the public to help us by letting us know any information they may have. In particular, we’re urging anyone with any doorbell or CCTV footage to get in touch immediately.

”Anyone with information can visit beds.police.uk/ro/report, call 101 and quote reference Operation Breakwater or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or on crimestoppers-uk.org.