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ITN
Police to identify third mansion body
Police to identify third mansion body
Police are still waiting to see if a third body found at a millionaire's mansion belongs to his teenage daughter. Officers think Christopher Foster killed his family before setting fire to his house in Shropshire and taking his own life. CCTV footage shows a man, believed to be Mr Foster, with a gun in the grounds of the house. Revealing details of the images recovered from Osbaston House in Maesbrook, Shropshire, Detective Superintendent Jon Groves said it showed outbuildings ablaze as a figure opened fire on a horsebox that had been used to block the driveway. Det Supt Groves said: "CCTV recovered from the house shows a man, who we strongly believe to be Mr Foster, in the grounds of the property during the early hours with what appears to be a rifle in his hands. "It also shows outbuildings going up in flames around the same time and a large horsebox being moved down the driveway, in front of the gates to the premises. "A man, again believed to be Mr Foster, is seen to get out of the vehicle and apparently shoot out two of the tyres." Mr Foster's wife Jill, 49, died of a gunshot wound to the head before the fire started, but detectives are still awaiting the results of a post-mortem on a body thought to be that of Kirstie. Emergency services called to the property at about 4am on August 26 found three horses and four dogs which had been shot dead. Subsequent searches of the house led to the discovery of a .22 rifle, which was legitimately owned by Mr Foster, near his body and that of his wife. Det Supt Groves said: "We believe that Mr Foster killed his wife and daughter before setting the fires which destroyed his home and many of its outbuildings in the early hours of Tuesday. We believe Mr Foster took his own life after setting the house alight." Mr Foster amassed his fortune developing insulation technology for oil rigs but earlier this year he was branded "bereft of the basic instincts of commercial morality" and "not to be trusted" by a High Court judge. Court documents show Mr Foster's company, Ulva Ltd, which had gone into liquidation, faced legal action from one of its suppliers for thousands of pounds and owed about £800,000 in tax. The Fosters were last seen when they attended a friend's barbecue on the evening of August 25.
ITN | September 3, 2008
