At 1900 hours, on Wednesday, January the 19th, 2006, NASA's New Horizons probe, propelled

by the majestic Atlas V rocket, is launched into space.

Having begun its journey at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, the probe, which

is part of the new Frontiers program, is the focal point of NASA's first ever mission

to Pluto.

With the spacecraft being hurled towards its target, it will be another 10 years before

it begins to uncover the secrets lying in wait at the outer regions of our solar system.

Back home, a week after the launch, in a small bed sit in London, a far more earthly discovery

is about to be made.

On the afternoon of Wednesday, January the 26th, a team of housing officials are making

their way towards a flat in Wood Green, North London.

The apartment is part of a complex known locally as Sky City, which forms an estate perched

on top of a vast shopping mall.

When the team arrive at the front door, noises from the TV can be heard emanating from inside

the flat, an indication perhaps that the occupier is home.

The officers' subsequent knocks, however, go unanswered, and after a few minutes, they

decide to break down the door.

Stepping into the gloom of the flat beyond, the officers are first struck by a clawing

smell that hangs thickly in the air.

Pushing the front door wider reveals a stack of unopened mail on the floor, or the

pile, the voices from the TV continue uninterrupted.

A moment later, the officers step into the living room and make a gruesome discovery.

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