Mother found stabbed to death in car shortly before teenage son killed by train nearby, inquest hears

Mayawati Bracken’s death in Pangbourne, Berkshire, was followed by the death of 18 year-old Julian Putra Bracken

Police officers at Pangbourne station (James Street/PA) (PA Wire)

A mother-of-three was found stabbed to death in her car shortly before an 18-year-old boy, understood to be her son, was hit by a train nearby, an inquest has heard.

Mayawati Bracken, 56, was discovered with stab wounds to her chest inside her Lexus by police responding to reports of a road traffic collision on the A340 Tidmarsh Road on January 4.

She received medical attention but died at the scene at around 5:45pm. Around 30 minutes later Julian Putra Bracken died on a railway track near the village of Pangbourne.

Following the incident, Thames Valley Police launched a murder investigation. The force believed that the deaths are linked but it was not clear how.

Separate inquest openings into the two deaths were heard at Berkshire Coroner’s Court on Thrusday, in which assistant coroner Alison McCormick said they both lived in the same house – Chestnuts, in Flower’s Hill, Pangbourne.

Maya Bracken was found with a ‘fatal stab wound’ inside a Lexus on the A340 Tidmarsh Road at the junction with Flower’s Hill - where she lived - on January 4 (Google Maps)

The court heard Ms Bracken was a housewife and went by the name “Maya” while Mr Bracken was a student.

The coroner said: “A post-mortem examination has been carried out and the provisional cause of death is recorded as… shock and haemorrhage due to… stab wound to the chest.”

Referring to Mr Braken’s death, the coroner said: “Julian died on January 4 2024 at the railway tracks near Pangbourne.”

She added: “A male was reported to be seen on the railway tracks and had been hit by a high-speed train.”

She told the court a post-mortem examination found the provisional cause of his death to be “multiple injuries”.

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

Ms Bracken was originally from Indonesia but lived in Hong Kong before moving to the UK around ten years ago, the Reading Chronicle reported.

Following her death, one friend told the paper: “This is absolutely horrendous. Maya was an amazing quirky, hilarious woman who made everyone smile who met her. RIP to a beautiful lady.”

Another neighbour described her as a ‘happy’ but ‘very quiet person’ who had lived on the street for a while.

Detective superintendent Kevin Brown described the incident as “tragic” at the time and said the force were “keeping an open mind”.

He said: “We have launched a murder investigation after the death of a woman near Flower’s Hill, Pangbourne, and the associated discovery of a deceased man at Pangbourne railway station.

“Firstly, I would like to send my condolences on behalf of the force to loved ones of both at this extremely difficult time.

“We are in the very early stages of this complex investigation, but we are not currently looking for anyone else in connection with either death.

“We are still investigating but are treating the two deaths as linked; we are keeping an open mind as to the circumstances of each.

“There is no wider threat to the public from these sad and tragic incidents.”