Police have launched a major investigation after the bodies of a middle aged couple were found dead in suspicious circumstances at their home late on Thursday night.
Officers were called to the address in Stephenson Road, Darlington, shortly after 10 pm on after relatives of the couple contacted the police and said they were concerned for their safety.
After speaking to family members officers then forced their way into the terraced house and discovered the bodies of a woman in her early fifties who was found in the kitchen and her husband, aged 66, found in the backyard 20 feet below an attic window.
Post mortems are being carried out on the bodies by Dr Mark Egan at Memorial Hospital in Darlington.
Crime scene investigators and forensic experts have started a detailed examination of the property.
Detective inspector Dave Jones leading the enquiry said the couple may have been dead for up to 24 hours.
He said: "At this stage I am keeping an open mind about how the couple died."
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