A Latvian man has denied the double murder of his ex-wife and mother-in-law – on the first anniversary of their deaths.

Sergei Zolotovsky, 43, allegedly slashed the throat of 40-year-old Svetlana Zolotovska and repeatedly stabbed her close to a bus stop in Stansfeld Road, Beckton, at 7.30am on August 12 last year.

Her 70-year-old mother Antonina Belska also suffered fatal stab wounds and was found at the home the women shared in nearby Leamouth Road.

Zolotovsky was arrested after he was allegedly found in the loft of the property, which had been set alight.

He had also suffered serious knife injuries.

Separated

Zolotovsky appeared at the Old Bailey via videolink in a wheelchair, exactly one year after he is said to have carried out the killings.

He pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder and is set to face trial on November 14.

It is believed Miss Zolotovska, who worked as a pharmacy technician at the private Wellington Hospital in St John’s Wood, north-west London, had divorced Zolotovsky shortly before her death.

They had separated in August of 2009.

Mrs Belksa had been staying with her daughter after arriving in the UK only three months before her death.

Zolotovsky, of Lower Edmonton, north London, was remanded in custody.