Detectives in Swansea investigating the murder of three generations of one family at their home on Sunday have revealed they were bludgeoned to death in a horrific attack before their house was set on fire.
South Wales police have opened their biggest ever investigation following the murder of Ms Doris Dawson (80), her daughter, Ms Amanda Power (34), and her two grand-daughters, Katie (10) and Emily (8), at their home in Clydach, Swansea.
Police also revealed that Ms Power was sexually assaulted.
Det Supt Martin Lloyd-Evans said police would be investigating whether a spurned lover or jealous partner or husband of one of her female friends was involved. "We have spoken to a female and have had a large number of discussions with her, but I am not prepared to enlarge upon that," he said.
Just over 24 hours after their deaths, Det Supt Lloyd-Evans, leading 50 officers in the investigation, told a press conference in Swansea yesterday that forensic examination suggested Ms Power may have been the first target of a brutal assault with a heavy weapon before the attacker killed her mother and two daughters.
A Home Office pathologist has begun post-mortems on the two girls. They were discovered on the first floor of the house and police believe their grandmother, Ms Dawson, was attacked while she slept in another room. Police believe she was killed with the same weapon which was used to attack Ms Power.
"There is nothing to suggest that there was more than one person involved in this dreadful act which has horrified everyone in the community. I urge that person to come forward and help us resolve the situation," Det Supt Lloyd-Evans said. "There is every possibility that Mandy was attacked in front of her two girls before they, too, were bludgeoned to death with some form of heavy weapon," he added.
Police had been working on the theory that the family may have died from smoke inhalation, but forensic examination revealed they were the victims of a brutal attack before the fire began, which police suspect was an attempt to cover up the crime. There was no sign of a forced entry into the semi-detached house and Det Supt Lloyd-Evans said that pointed to someone known to the family being allowed in.
At the press conference, police described Ms Power as "a lively, bubbly individual". She was divorced from her husband, Michael, and had been involved in relationships with men and women, according to police.