Former EastEnders actor Sian Blake and her two young children died from head and neck injuries, police have said.
Sian Blake, Zachary Kent-Blake, and Amon Kent-Blake.
The bodies of Blake, 43, and her sons Zachary Kent-Blake, 8, and Amon Kent-Blake, 4, were found in the garden of their home in Erith, southeast London, two days ago.
Confirming that formal identification on the bodies had now been carried out, the Metropolitan police said postmortems had given a provisional cause of death of head and neck injuries.
"Sian's family are aware and are being supported by specially trained family liaison officers," a statement said.
The bodies were found on Tuesday, but a missing persons' investigation for Blake, who appeared in the BBC1 soap during the mid-1990s, had been launched on 16 December following information passed on by children's charity NSPCC. Police said there had been "significant attempts" made to conceal the bodies.
Blake's partner, Arthur Simpson-Kent, is being sought by police as part of their investigation.
Detective Superintendent Paul Monk said: "We are continuing to appeal for any information about the movements of Arthur Simpson-Kent who was last seen by police officers at his home in Erith on 16 December."
He added: "This is a fast moving investigation and we are actively pursuing a number of lines of enquiry. If anyone has any information that they think might help our investigation then I would urge them to get in contact with us."
Simpson-Kent is reported to have travelled abroad. The Metropolitan police have referred their handling of the missing persons' case to the Independent Police Complaints Commission watchdog.