A former police officer is under arrest on suspicion of the murder of his hairdresser wife who was stabbed to death today in her shop premises.
The victim, named locally as Natalie Esack, died following the attack which happened at about 9.40am today at Esack Hair and Beauty in High Street, Ashford, Kent.
Police have arrested a 38-year-old man on suspicion of murder who they say is known to the victim.
It is understood that the suspect is the victim's husband Ivan Esack, a former officer with Kent Police who now works as a football agent.
Officers were called to the premises in High Street, Ashford, after an ambulance crew attended the scene to treat the victim.
No customers were inside the premises at the time of the attack although another member of staff was present.
A force spokeswoman said: "Kent Police has confirmed that a woman has died following an incident at a business in Ashford High Street this morning.
"Police were called to the High Street by the South East Coast Ambulance Service at 9.40am.
"A 38-year-old Ashford man was arrested at 10.40am at an address in the town on suspicion of murder and is currently in custody.
"The woman who died and the man arrested were known to each other.
"The family of the woman, who is believed to have been aged in her 30s, has been notified."
The spokeswoman added that the section of the street remained closed while specialist scenes of crime investigators examined the area.
She added that a post-mortem examination was to be carried out on the victim tomorrow to establish an exact cause of death.
The website for Mr Esack's business IAE Football, which is based in the same street as his wife's hairdresser's, states: "Ivan Anthony Esack is a former police officer, who spent several years working as a criminal investigator for one of the country's largest police forces.
"During my time as a police officer I encountered many different people from a whole range of interesting and diverse backgrounds.
"However, my first love has always been football and it has been my ultimate dream to be involved in the football industry.
"In January 2010 I left the police force and embarked on the tough process of obtaining my player's agent license.
"I'm pleased to say that I was successful in passing the agents exam at the first attempt and obtained the necessary insurance and signed the code of conduct, which resulted in the Football Association issuing my license."
The site says that Mr Esack is a keen Middlesbrough supporter and continues: "My main motivation in being a football agent is that I care passionately about the game and I feel I have the life experience to advise and look after the everyday needs of professional footballers and coaches."
