British police investigating the deaths of a family of four, including two young girls, said today they were not looking for anyone else in connection with the tragedy.
The toddlers’ father is believed to have slit the children’s throats and their mother’s before hanging himself at their home in Fordingbridge, Hampshire.
The family was named locally as HGV driver Andrew Case (33), his wife Vicki (31), and their two children Phoebe (2) and Nereya (1).
The bodies were discovered by the children’s grandmother yesterday morning.
Hampshire police said postmortem examinations yesterday revealed that the man died as a result of a ligature suspension and the woman died as a result of knife wounds.
The cause of death of the two girls has yet to be established. Postmortem examinations are due to take place this afternoon.
The family was described by shocked and bewildered neighbours and friends as loving and happy and they had just returned from a week’s holiday in Weymouth. Ms Case ran St Aldhelm’s children’s nursery in nearby Sandleheath.
Police were called to the semi-detached house in Provost Street in the New Forest village at 11.20am yesterday after the discovery.
The toddlers’ grandmother, who usually looks after them on Mondays, went to the house after phoning the family repeatedly and receiving no answer, a neighbour said.
Alayna Brooks (53), rushed over to the house herself after the grandmother found the bodies. She told how the woman emerged screaming “all my babies are dead”.
Ms Brooks said she went inside and found Ms Case dead in the dining room with a plastic bag over her head. She then went upstairs and found the little girls dead on a bed. It is believed Mr Case was found hanging on the landing.
A cordon was set up around the property, which lies in a pretty street of terraced and semi-detached houses, some with riverside views. The family had only recently moved to the house.
PA