Channel 4 News, Oct 01
Police are trying to establish how the two women, both in their 20s, knew each other after their bodies were found at a rented flat in Putney yesterday.
It is thought the pair gassed themselves using a toxic combination of household chemicals, having sealed the flat doors and windows with tape first, police said.
Tests are being carried out on the bodies of the two women, which remain in the flat and are expected to be removed later today.
The deaths came just 10 days after Joanne Lee, 34, and Stephen Lumb, 35, made a suicide pact over the internet before releasing toxic hydrogen sulphide inside a car in Braintree, Essex.
The tragedy was thought to be the first "chemical suicide" of its kind in Britain.
The pair met on a suicide chatroom online, sparking condemnation of websites that often encourage vulnerable people to take their lives and advise on how to do so.
News of the Putney deaths was posted on one leading suicide website today, provoking a user to comment: "Good for them.
Neighbour Suzanne Viggers said one of the dead women was a loner who was obsessed with suicide.
She said: "One of the women rented the flat. She moved in about five months ago.
"She was Somali, I think, in her late 20s. She kept herself to herself and was very private. I don't know who the other girl was. I believe she was a friend.
"We've been told by someone that knew her very well that she had become interested in suicide ideas and had been collecting chemicals to kill herself.
"Apparently she was supposed to be meeting a friend this morning, but when she didn't turn up the friend became worried and called the police.
"It's all very sad. I always thought something wasn't quite right about her as she covered up her window with cloth material and you never saw any light from inside the flat."
Police were called to the three-storey red brick block of flats at Norman Court, Lower Richmond Road, shortly before 11am yesterday.
Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus were called to the scene over fears of a chemical spill, while residents were asked to stay in their homes.
A member of staff at a shop nearby said several neighbours of the women had spoken to him since the incident.
He said: "Apparently they called police this morning saying they were committing suicide using gas or some kind of chemical.
"The police came here and found the flat sealed with tape, including the windows, and started to investigate.
Retired typist Catherine McGrath, whose flat overlooks the property, said a young woman had moved in within the last few months.
She said: "She was a very quiet and private girl. She always seemed very scared and had her windows shut and curtains closed.
"She had moved from Roehampton so I thought I should try and talk to her, but she was always very scared, almost frightened of something.
"On Wednesday night, about 2am or 3am, I heard a lot of noise, like somebody doing DIY, drilling and banging.
"It might be a coincidence but it is not the sort of thing you expect at that time of night."
The block is owned by Women's Pioneer Housing, a not-for-profit organisation that provides affordable one-bedroom and bedsit properties for single women.
Chief Executive Janet Davies said the deaths are "completely unprecedented" and she is waiting for police to confirm if one of the dead women is a tenant.
She said: "We do not know the identities of the two women involved and are waiting to hear from the police.
"It is a quiet residential street, a small block and something like this is completely unprecedented in our experience.
"As soon as we are allowed some access we will be able to speak to our tenants and reassure them as far as we can."
