Christopher Foster had a breakdown, killing his family, himself and torching the house.

Millionaire Christopher Foster and his wife found in wreckage of their home - Telegraph

Millionaire Christopher Foster and his wife found in wreckage of their home
Millionaire businessman Christopher Foster's wife was shot in the head and was found next to a body believed to be that of her husband with a rifle lying nearby.

illian Foster, 49, had suffered a gunshot wound to the back of her head, a
post mortem revealed, leading police to launch a murder inquiry.

The remains of a pet dog which had also been shot were found nearby in the
ruins of the Fosters' burned out mansion

Police believe the body of a man found in the remains of the couple's sitting
room was that of Mr Foster, 50, although he is yet to be identified.

The couple's 15-year-old daughter Kirstie is still missing as searches
continue in the ruins of 16th century Osbaston House in Maesbrook,
Shropshire.

Her bedroom was above the sitting room in the £1.2 million home where she was
chatting to friends on the internet when the power was cut at around 1am on
Tuesday morning.

Detectives are still trying to piece together the family's missing hours
between leaving a neighbour's barbecue at around 8.30pm on the Bank Holiday
Monday and the house being set on fire at around 4am.

As police launched a murder inquiry, they said a .22 calibre rifle was found
near the two bodies which was legally owned by Mr Foster, a keen marksman
and a member of a local clay pigeon shooting club.

Police confirmed the family's three horses, thought to include Kirstie's
beloved Scrumpy Jack, were shot along with their four dogs.

Supt Gary Higgins, of West Mercia Constabulary, said spent and unspent gun
cartridges had been found but he said he was keeping an open mind about the
circumstances of Mrs Foster's death.

"We are certain that one of the bodies is that of Jill Foster and the
other is believed to be that of a man," he said.

"The post mortem examination did show that Jill died from a gunshot wound
to the head. Further tests are needed to try and establish a cause of death
for the other body."

Mrs Foster was identifiable solely from her dental records and tests are
expected to take some time to formally identify the man.

Search teams were expected to continue their hunt for Kirstie's body after
being forced to evacuate the building because of falling debris.

Kirstie's friends at £16,500-a-year Ellesmere College have spoken of her love
of riding and how she had recently qualified for the British Society Pony
Show.

Sophie Halstead, 15, said: "I'm still hoping it's not true because I
honestly don't know what I'll do without her."

The main focus of the investigation is likely to return to Mr Foster's
business affairs after it emerged he was in so much debt that bailiffs were
due at the house last Tuesday, hours after the fire started.

They arrived to find the area sealed off by police and the seven-bedroom
mansion ablaze and a horse box placed in front of the gates to stop anyone
getting in.

He is said to have racked up major debts after his company, which made him a
fortune selling piping insulation, went into liquidation last year.

In May a judge ordered that he could not sell the property without the
approval of liquidators, who could also repossess it if he failed to clear
his debts of around £1.8 million.

While his business failed, he continued to live the high life, owning a fleet
of luxury cars, sending Kirstie to private school and spending thousands
upgrading his house, shooting and fishing trips and properties abroad.

Business associates said that while he had developed an excellent product, he
was lacking business skills. One said: "It was always a good business,
he just screwed it up."

Friends said last week that he loved Osbaston House, which he had invested
tens of thousands of pounds in after moving in four years ago, and could not
bear to lose it.

Others said he loved the high life and revelled in his image of being a
multi-millionaire and could not stand the loss of face that would come with
the repossession.

Privately police suspect he feared his life was about to unravel publicly and
had a breakdown, killing his family, himself and torching the house.