Mum 'asked cops for help' before murders

Man, 34, held after stabbing of Katie and Stephen 'while kids in house'

- LUCY THORNTON

A YOUNG mum and her new partner had called the police asking for help, days before they were stabbed to death, it was claimed yesterday.

Paramedics found the bodies of Katie Higton, 27, and Steven Hartnell, 25, with multiple knife wounds on Monday.

It is thought the couple had only been seeing each other for a short time after Katie's previous relationship ended.

West Yorkshire Police has referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct over the incident.

The watchdog said: "This is due to the fact officers had contact with both victims, and a man who has since been arrested on suspicion of murder, in the days prior to this tragic incident."