Mansion body tests 'to take days'

The fire destroyed the £1.2m mansion in Shropshire

A third body found at a burnt-out mansion where a man is thought to have killed his wife, daughter and himself may take days to identify, say police.

Christopher Foster, 50, and his wife Jillian, 49, were found in the ruins of Osbaston House, Maesbrook, Shropshire, which was set alight on 26 August.

The other body is thought to be that of their 15-year-old daughter Kirstie.

Det Supt Jon Groves said a post-mortem examination had been carried out, but had proved inconclusive.

"We are also having to carry out further tests with regard to establishing the cause of death with Christopher Foster and the body we believe to be Kirstie," he said.

Police believe Mr Foster killed his wife and daughter

"It will be sometime into next week, and possibly longer, before we have those results."

West Mercia Police said CCTV footage retrieved from the property showed a man thought to be Mr Foster carrying a gun.

It showed him walking away from the stables and the outbuildings going up in flames.

It is believed the businessman killed his family before setting fire to their home and turning the gun on himself.

Mrs Foster died from a gunshot to the head.

Ballistic tests are being conducted on a .22 rifle recovered from the house on Friday to establish whether it was the murder weapon.

Three horses and four dogs were also found shot dead in different parts of the house and its grounds.

Detectives have said the investigation is expected to take months to complete.

'Doting' father

The couple's teenage daughter Kirstie had been online until about 0100 BST - about three hours before the fire began.

The head teacher at Ellesmere College, the private school which she had attended since 2006, said Mr Foster had "doted" on his daughter.

Expensive cars were among items hit by the fire

Brendan Wignall said Kirstie was a "lovely girl", a "very kind person" and an "all-round sportswoman" who loved horses.

He added: "In many ways it's not unexpected but it's still deeply shocking and upsetting to have it pretty much confirmed that Kirstie's dead.

"The Fosters always seemed to me to be a very close, loving and united family."

He said a special service would be held for Kirstie at the school.

Mr Foster had made his fortune developing insulation technology for oil rigs.

But court documents show his company, Ulva Ltd, had gone into liquidation and owed about £800,000 in tax.

It also faced legal action from one of its suppliers for thousands of pounds.