Arrests made in dead UK Kiwi case

This photo of Emily Longley was taken last month when she was back in Auckland on holiday. Photo / Supplied

Two teenagers have been arrested following the death in England of 17-year-old Aucklander Emily Longley days after she revealed fears of a stalker.

Bournemouth police announced last night that they had released the males, aged 17 and 19, on bail while inquiries continued into Emily's "unexplained" death.

And the local coroner had opened and adjourned an inquest and was awaiting toxicology reports.

The body of the former Takapuna Grammar and Westlake Girls High student was found on Saturday morning (UK time) in a bungalow in Bournemouth, southwest England.

Emily was an aspiring model - she said on Facebook she had signed with Elite Models - and worked at the TopShop clothing store in the town.

Grandmother Ann Humphreys last night demanded justice for those responsible for Emily's death.

In a heart-felt message on Facebook, she wrote: "Whoever did this dreadful thing needs to be put away for life. This is my granddaughter, who was making so much of her young life. I can't believe it. She had so much ahead of her and deserved the chance to live."

British media reported that friends of Emily said she had been involved in the drug scene in New Zealand but was turning her life around in England.

One friend in Auckland, Bastien Tabaillou, said she had been "doing well" in her new life in Bournemouth. "She made some new friends and was away from all bad things."

Emily's mother, Caroline Longley, found out about her daughter's death in a phone call from British police at 2am on Mother's Day.

"It was the worst news you could ever hear on Mother's Day," she told the Herald last night. "It's ruined it forever ... Your child shouldn't die before you."

Mrs Longley got on the next flight to England with younger daughter Hannah, 15, to be with Emily.

"The sun shone out of her. Everyone said the room was dark when Emily wasn't in it because she filled the room with laughter and happiness," Mrs Longley said.

"This is an absolutely devastating time ... there are a lot of questions that we need answering. I'm just taking every hour as it comes."

Mrs Longley arrived in England last night and said she was surprised to hear about the arrests. "But we're just praying that it was a natural death, that she died peacefully in her sleep."

She said her daughter was an incredibly popular and beautiful girl.

"We can't understand it. She had so many friends and everyone loved her. In her short life, she had touched so many people. It was such a shock, an unimaginable death."

Emily's father, Mark Longley, flew out yesterday, telling the Herald: "We're incredibly upset. It's a tragic loss of such a beautiful, life-loving girl ... We're absolutely distraught and we just want to be with her."

He said he had very little information about how Emily had died.

"We have to wait. I know nothing more than what was in the police statement, and it's quite possible that by the time I land, there might be [more information] in terms of what happened to Emily."

Two days before she was found dead, Emily wrote on her Facebook page that she had been repeatedly phoned by a stalker who said he knew everything about her and asked her to come and meet him.

Yesterday, local police stood guard at the address where her body was found. Investigators wearing boilersuits moved in and out of the dwelling.

Police appealed for sightings of suspicious or unusual behaviour.

Last night (NZ time), students at Brockenhurst College, 25km east of Bournemouth, returned to classes without a classmate they described as a great girl who had always put them in a good mood.

"It was only Friday that we saw you in class," Esme Porter wrote on Facebook. "I can't even believe this has happened - I didn't get to say bye."

Charlie Banks said he used to spend all day in classes with Emily in a business national diploma course.

"It's been a really tough couple of days over here in England and a massive shock to all of us," he said.

"We came to become very good friends in class and I will always remember her for always being happy and putting me in a good mood.

"She was a great girl and none of this deserved to happen to her."

A spokeswoman for Brockenhurst College's principal said: "Obviously we're all devastated."

In NZ, Emily was a keen rower, competing for both Westlake and Takapuna Grammar. She juggled daily practices with work as a model, including two fashion photoshoots with Creme.

Former Westlake rowing captain Shanice Duggan-Keefe, 18, said Emily had begun rowing during her first year of high school and continued after she transferred to Takapuna Grammar.

"She was one of those people who I had never seen get down," Ms Duggan-Keefe said. "She was honestly like the sun - always so bright and bubbly."

They used to sing Britney Spears songs while travelling in vans to regattas, where the team from the girls' school would check out all the boys.