THE victim at the centre of a murder probe died after she was stabbed in the chest two minutes from her £2.5 million mansion in Pangbourne, an inquest has heard.

Mayawati Bracken, 56, of Chestnuts in Flower’s Hill, Pangbourne, was found inside a Lexus with 'a fatal stab wound' at around 5:45pm on the A340 Tidmarsh Road at the junction with Flower’s Hill on Thursday, January 4.

Thames Valley Police were called to the incident and Ms Bracken received medical attention but sadly died at the scene.

Berkshire Coroner' Court also heard that around half an hour after Ms Bracken died, teenager Julian Bracken - understood to be her son - was fatally hit by a high-speed train at Pangbourne Railway Station.

On Thursday, February 15, at inquest openings into the two deaths coroner Alison McCormick said following a post-mortem examination a provisional cause of death for Ms Bracken is recorded as 'shock and haemorrhage [...] due to a stab wound to her chest'.

The inquest heard how 18-year-old Julian, who was a student, died from 'multiple injuries' according to the provisional cause of death from the post-mortem examination.

Coroner Alison McCormick said: “Upon the completion of further examinations and inquiries an inquest date will be assigned.”

Full inquests into each of their deaths will be held at a later date.