Mother stabbed to death near her £2.5m Berkshire mansion
Tributes have been paid to a mother of three who was discovered stabbed to death in a crashed car near her £2.5 million mansion.
Maya Bracken, 56, was found inside a Lexus in Pangbourne in Berkshire on Thursday at 5.45pm.
An 18-year-old man was also killed by a train near Pangbourne.
It is seen as a “linked” tragedy by officers investigating the two deaths.
A friend of Ms Bracken, who asked not to be identified, in an interview with MailOnline, said: “Maya was a lovely lady, so kind and generous to people. She doted on all her children. She had twins, a boy and a girl, and another son. She’d do anything for them.
“They all spent Christmas and New Year together as a family. What’s happened is horrific and so unexpected.”
They added: “She was from Indonesia originally but met her husband, Michael, in Hong Kong. He worked in the banking sector I believe.
“It was Michael who project managed building the house in Pangbourne. I’m not sure he ever lived there, though, as he and Maya split soon after the house was finished.
“She lived there with her three children and was quite a private lady. l believe they were boarders at a public school and the twins had gone to university.”
Officers were originally alerted to the collision on the A340 Tidmarsh Road at the junction with Flower’s Hill on Thursday at about 5.45pm.
Officers said the woman died at the scene after being fatally stabbed, although efforts were made to save her.
Thames Valley Police and British Transport Police were later told of the death of the 18-year-old on the railway track near Pangbourne at 6.15pm.
Senior Investigating Officer Detective Superintendent Kevin Brown, head of the Major Crime Unit, said: “We have launched a murder investigation after the death of a woman near Flower’s Hill, Pangbourne, and the associated discovery of a deceased man at Pangbourne railway station.
“Firstly, I would like to send my condolences on behalf of the force to loved ones of both at this extremely difficult time.
“We are in the very early stages of this complex investigation, but we are not currently looking for anyone else in connection with either death.
“We are still investigating but are treating the two deaths as linked; we are keeping an open mind as to the circumstances of each. There is no wider threat to the public from these sad and tragic incidents.”
A British Transport Police spokesman previously said: “Officers were called to the line near Pangbourne railway station at 6.11pm on January 4 to reports of a casualty on the tracks.
“Paramedics also attended and a person was pronounced dead at the scene.
“British Transport Police are working closely with Thames Valley Police to establish the circumstances leading up to their death.”
