Chef arrested over the suspected ‘murders’ of two women believed to be accidentally crushed in their sleep
Susan Nicholson died after being crushed while she slept on the sofa with Robert Trigg in 2011
A FORMER chef has been arrested over the suspected murders of two women — including a girlfriend he fell asleep on.
Robert Trigg — then aged 47 and weighing 13st — was thought to have accidentally crushed 8st Susan Nicholson as they slept on a sofa in 2011.
But cops using new forensic techniques have now linked her death to that of Caroline Devlin, 35, five years earlier.
She was thought to have died in her sleep and was found by her young daughter on Mother’s Day.
Both the women were from Worthing, West Sussex, where Trigg also lives.
A 2011 inquest heard he rolled on top of Susan, 52, while in a deep sleep on the settee four months into their relationship.
Trigg told the coroner: “She was on the sofa and I asked her if she was coming (to bed).
“But she said, ‘Let’s snuggle in, let’s crash here together’. So I slept on the sofa with her. It was relatively narrow but we had slept on it 40 times before.”
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Referring to the moment he woke up, he added: “At this point I realised I couldn’t hear breathing. I had my midriff over her chest area.
“When I looked down she was in the same position but she had changed colour. I just thought the worst, I had suffocated her.
“Her hand was still warm and I held it and said, ‘Time to wake up, stop mucking about’, but there was no response.”
Home Office pathologist Dr Simon Paul told the hearing: “Susan died as a result of someone sleeping on top of her.”
Coroner Michael Kendall recorded an accident verdict.
Yesterday Sussex Police confirmed a 52-year-old man had been arrested on suspicion of murdering both Susan and Caroline. He was bailed until February.
Officers said the families of both women have been kept informed of the developments.