THE mother of Grange Villa murder victim Mark Shaw says the family has been left shocked and distraught by his death.

Mr Shaw, who was known locally as ‘Sharky’, died after he was subjected to a vicious assault in his home in Pine Street, Grange Villa at the weekend, police say.

His mother, Valerie Watson said: “Not only have I lost a son but Mark’s sisters have lost their much-loved brother, and his 11-year-old son has lost a father.

"We have been left devastated by Mark’s sudden death, but we have been overwhelmed by the generosity and kindness shown to us by so many people.

“I would urge anyone who has information to come forward and speak to the police so they can bring to justice those responsible.”

Detectives investigating the murder revealed they had made two more arrests.

Late on Monday night and early on Tuesday morning Durham police arrested a 22-year-old man from Stanley on suspicion of murder, and an 18-year-old woman from Grange Villa on suspicion of assisting an offender.

The Northern Echo:

Mark Shaw who died after a prolonged attack

The man remains in custody and will be questioned later, the woman has been released on police bail until the end of February.

This brings the total number of arrests to six. A 25-year-old man has been released with no further action.

One man, aged 18 remains in custody on suspicion of murder while the other two – a man aged 19 and a woman aged 19 – have been released on police bail until the end of February pending further enquiries.

Det Supt Adrian Green, who is leading the investigation, said: “The search teams will be at work in the Grange Villa area throughout today and indeed for much of the week.
"We are carrying out extensive work to recover forensic and other evidence as part of this investigation.

“Unless there is a significant development, I do not expect to make further arrests in connection with this case.

“As you can expect Mark’s family are distraught by what has happened. We are keeping them up to date with every key stage of our investigation and we have two very experienced detectives working as family liaison officers.”

Mr Shaw's body was found in one of the bedrooms of his house in Pine Street, Grange Villa on Saturday evening.

He died from a stab wound but had also been subjected to a severe and prolonged assault, which detectives believe probably started late on the Friday night or early Saturday morning.

  • Anyone with information is urged to ring police on 101 or Crimestoppers, 0800 555111.