THE PSNI is investigating a case of suspected murder-suicide following the discovery on Saturday of a man's body and that of his estranged wife in Co Antrim.
Nobody is being sought in connection with the deaths of Philip Hull (34) and his wife Sharon (33). Her body was discovered at an address in Carnbeg Meadows in Antrim town in the early hours of Saturday.
Mr Hull's body was discovered just minutes later about five miles away in the carpark at Tardree Forest, outside the village of Kells.
The couple had three young children, two boys and a girl, all under the age of 10, but they are understood not to have been staying at the family home at the time of their mother's death.
The wider family has appealed for privacy to grieve and for the police to carry out their investigations. They have also asked for details of the deaths not to be made public.
The police are trying to establish Mr Hull's movements between 2am and 6am on Saturday.
They are also appealing for information about a possible disturbance at the house in Carnbeg Meadows at about 3am. In particular, they are trying to establish the movement of a red Ford Escort.
Forensic officers have sealed off the area in the forest park and are carrying out a full examination of the vehicle in which Mr Hull's body was found.
The dead woman's mother discovered her daughter's body at the house at around 8.30am on Saturday. Postmortem examinations have been carried out but the results have not yet been made public.
Police have confirmed that a restraining order had been in place against Mr Hull.
Initial reports that Mrs Hull had been stabbed to death have been discounted as incorrect.
A spokeswoman for the PSNI said investigators were following a definite line of inquiry linking the deaths of the couple.
Local Ulster Unionist councillor Adrian Watson knew the couple and spoke of the sense of shock in the area.
"They have been married for nearly 15 years, they have a young family of three children and it's a huge shock," he said.
He told UTV: "With a young family, lovely house, everything seemed to have been going quite well. Certainly no one would have suspected this event would have been brought to their door."
The couple were popular members of Antrim rugby club. Its chairman Hugh Wallace said the sympathy of everyone went out to the family.
Police said last night the findings of the postmortem examinations were "a matter for the coroner's office".