The families of the two people who died in separate incidents on the same evening have been sharing their grief with each other.

Mourned: David Allen

On Saturday evening, 16-year-old David Allen, who lived in Spencer Crescent, Rose Hill, was killed after his motorbike hit a barrier in Long Lane, Littlemore.

Just an hour later, 19-year-old Arash Ghorbani-Zarin was found stabbed to death in a car in Spencer Crescent.

It has now been revealed that the two boys knew each other and had attended the same schools, Rose Hill and Peers.

David's father, Arthur, said the two families, who did not know each other before the tragedies of Saturday night, have been sharing their grief.

The Allen family has been paying its respects each evening in Long Lane, but has also been talking to the family and friends of Arash, who have been holding vigils in the street, lighting candles at the spot where his body was found. Mr Allen, a 42-year-old bus driver, said: "It has been helpful for us. We saw them in the street and wanted to comfort them, so we decided to go out and speak to them.

"We did a lot of talking and a lot of crying, but it was helpful. They know what we're going through and we know what they're going through."

Yesterday, the Ghorbani-Zarin family said: "We are truly devastated by the loss of our son Arash. He was a friendly and loving son and brother who can never be replaced. He had his whole life ahead of him and was loved by everyone who knew him." The family repeated its plea for anyone who knows anything about the murder to contact police.

Arash, a first-year student at Oxford Brookes University who has been described as a well-liked teenager, was discovered in a green Renault Laguna in Spencer Crescent by police officers on patrol late on Saturday night.

Around the same time, Mr and Mrs Allen were growing concerned that their son had not returned home and informed officers in the street that they were expecting him.

When officers heard about the motorbike accident nearby they asked for a description of David and broke the bad news.

Floral tributes have been left at the spot where David's accident happened and friends and family have been gathering there to remember him.

"You can't see it for flowers, cards and letters," said Mr Allen.

Tomorrow evening (Fri 26), his friends and family are planning to go to the Oxford Ice Rink, one of David's favourite places, to hold a two-minute silence in his memory.