Two people were murdered in London over an £120 drug deal, according to local residents, as CCTV of the prime suspect on the night of the killings was issued.
Convicted prostitute Sharon Pickles, 45, was found with her throat cut inside the ground-floor flat of a wheelchair-bound pensioner in Marylebone, central London, at around 9.30pm last Thursday night.
Less than five hours later, police discovered the body of 59-year-old Clinton Ashmore - known locally as 'Cliff' - at another flat five minutes walk away. His throat had also been cut.
Murder Squad detectives named 49-year-old Lee Peacock as their prime suspect on Friday, but he has not yet been traced.
They have now issued CCTV of Peacock at North Wembley Station on the night of the killings in a bfd to help trace him. A £20,000 reward has also been posted.
Local residents said Peacock was the long term boyfriend of drug user Ms Pickles, and that he had only recently been released from jail.
Police released CCTV of suspect Lea Peacock who they want to speak to in connection with the murders of Sharon Pickles and Cliff Ashmore who neighbours say were killed over drugs
A woman called Sarah, who grew up in the area and had met Ms Pickles on a number of occasions, said: 'I had spoken to her a couple of times and she was always nice and quiet - a skinny little thing.
'She took drugs, but she was trying to come off them, and she wasn't a bad woman. Some of my close friends used to go in that flat and knew Sharon well.
'Her boyfriend, Lee, had just got out of jail last week. They had been together for 14 years.
'Lee wanted to buy £120 of crack off Cliff. That's what happened. It's all about drugs.'
Mary, a woman in her 80s who lives across the road from the flat where Ms Pickles was found dead, said: 'I've lived here all my life.
Scotland Yard believes the killings of 59-year-old Clinton Ashmore (left) and 45-year-old Sharon Pickles (right) are linked but say they are keeping an open mind about the motive
'It's a very mixed up thing, because the young lady that was killed was looking after an elderly gentleman.
'Then her ex-boyfriend came along. I saw him. He was standing on that corner over there and I told him not to get in any more trouble.
'He had just got out of prison for nicking five boxes of furniture from a garage down the road.'
Another resident, who did not wish to be named, said: 'You used to see people coming by the flat to pick up drugs.
'It's been going on for years and everybody knows about it. She was caring for an older gentleman, called Stephen, who I have known all my life.
'He was a nice chap, but I hadn't seen him in a long, long time.
Police released this CCTV footage of Lee Peacock at North Wembley station (left and pictured right) and have warned the public not to approach him if spotted but
