DETECTIVES are today trying to piece together the final hours of two women who are thought to have been murdered after a night out in Barnstaple at the weekend.

The bodies of Donna St John and Debbie Jones, both mothers, were discovered by firefighters responding to a 999 call in a residential cul-de-sac in the town on Sunday morning.

The only suspect, thought to be Ms Jones's 40-year-old estranged husband, Neil Langmead, was under police guard with unspecified injuries at North Devon District Hospital as the Journal went to press.

Police have confirmed a man had been given a harassment warning, ordering him to leave Ms Jones alone, just two days before her death.

Police said the suspect was in a serious but stable condition and they were not looking for anyone else in connection with the deaths.

The bodies and the injured man were found shortly after 9am after a neighbour's carer dialled 999 after seeing smoke pouring from a semi-detached house in Fortmead Close, near Yeo Valley Primary School.

Mr Langmead, a builder who lives in Convent Close, Newport, was seriously injured when he was found by the emergency services in the back garden of the property.

He was admitted to the accident and emergency department at 9.25am.

Neighbours said Ms Jones had only lived in the house for a matter of weeks. Both women had children but there were no reports of the children being in the property at the time of the suspected murders and fire.

Post mortem examinations were carried out on Tuesday but the results were not known before the Journal went to press.

It is understood the women had been stabbed but it has not been revealed if those injuries caused their deaths. No more information about Mr Langmead's injuries was available.

There was a heavy police presence at his detached modern home this week, where his work truck was parked.

Police said the two women had been socialising together, and with others, in pubs and at Toko nightclub in Barnstaple town centre from around 10pm on Saturday evening.

They then returned to the house in Fortmead Close with an unidentified man between 2am and 3am on Sunday, police said.

Witnesses told police it is thought the women had problems getting into the house, possibly as a result of forgetting a key.

As news of the suspected murders spread around the close-knit networks of Barnstaple, friends and family of the two popular women started bringing flowers to the scene and leaving tributes on Internet sites.

Many spoke of the women's children. On June 30, Ms St John wrote on her Facebook page: "I am the luckiest women alive, having two wonderful daughters."

Amanda Daley brought a large bouquet in memory of her close friend Donna to Fortmead Close on Monday afternoon.

She told the Journal: "She had hundreds, if not thousands, of good friends, and family, and she will be so missed.

"She walked into a room and the room came alive. She had such a lust for life.

"And she had two lovely daughters. I can't bear to think what they are going through. They are with their dad at the minute."

Facebook groups started in memory of the two women quickly attracted hundreds of supporters and dozens of public messages from family members and friends.

A friend called Amber wrote: "They both were amazing, bubbly, loving and caring women, and just at the age of 35, neither of them deserved it.

"They lived in Barnstaple and both have left beautiful children behind.

"They have touched so many hearts, and they will never be forgotten, and will always be in thoughts and hearts of the loved ones."

Donna, who worked at the Co Op supermarket in Sticklepath, was described as "the life and soul of the party as well as a loving mother to her two daughters, Kara and Natalie".

It is thought Ms St John had been in a relationship with a man called David Szmytki. She had been looking forward to seeing him when he returned from overseas in October. They had been exchanging messages on Facebook a couple of days before she died.

Sam Richmond wrote: "The world is going to be a duller place now you're gone. I am deeply saddened."

And Olivia Tutton wrote: "You gave the world two beautiful daughters, who will cherish your memory forever and ever.

"Can't imagine what they are going through, but don't you worry, everyone will be looking out for them every step of the way."

Some people knew Donna by her maiden name, Donna Thorpe, and Debbie by her married name Debbie Langmead.

People who live in the residential streets nearby were left shocked by the deaths.

Kasie Galliford's flat is directly behind the house where the two women were found dead.

She said she heard people screaming and shouting in argument overnight on Saturday but assumed it was nothing worse than a party which had got out of control.

Kasie said: "It's a shock when it's right at the end of your back garden."

Some neighbours said they had not heard any commotion overnight, while others thought they might have heard banging noises.

The inside of the top floor of the house was clearly scarred by smoke, but a fire service spokesman said the blaze had been confined to a first-floor bedroom and firefighters had extinguished the fire before it spread.

The fire service refused to comment further about the possible cause of the blaze while a police investigation was ongoing.

A police major incident room was set up in Barnstaple and there were 50 officers working on the investigation, including detectives from the major crime investigation team.

Forensic examinations of the scene continued as the Journal went to press and next of kin were being supported by specially trained police family liaison officers.

Speaking at a police cordon around Fortmead Close on Monday, Detective Superintendent Steve Carey said: "A man is under police guard in the hospital and the scene is subject to a number of forensic examinations. We believe he was known to the two victims."

The senior investigating officer, Detective Inspector Mike West, said: "We are satisfied that this is a closed scene confined to the inside of the house and that we are not looking for anyone else in connection with this incident."

He said it was too soon to release any further information about what might have happened, including details about the women's injuries, or any suspected motive.

A team of detectives from the Devon and Cornwall Police Major Crime Investigation team had been called in from around the Force area to investigate.

Police were particularly keen to hear from anyone who either saw or spoke to the two victims on Saturday night in Barnstaple.

● If you would like to pay tribute to Donna and Debbie, please phone the Journal on 01271 347430 or e-mail awilshaw@c-dm.co.uk.