By Calvin Palmer
A third body has been recovered from the burned out Shropshire home of millionaire businessman Christopher Foster. Police believe it is the body of his 15-year-old daughter, Kirstie.
Yesterday, two bodies were removed from the ashes of the ₤1.2 million country mansion near Oswestry. One was identified as that of Foster’s wife, Jill. The other was that of an adult male and has still to be identified.
Police hope to remove the remains of the third body today and conduct a post-mortem either tonight or tomorrow morning.
Detectives launched a murder inquiry when it was revealed that Mrs. Foster had been shot in the head. A .22 rifle was recovered near to where the bodies of the two adults were found. Foster legally owned a .22 rifle.
Kirstie had not been seen since the house near Oswestry went up in flames in the early hours of Tuesday morning. The discovery of her body should bring the curtain down on the speculation that has been running rife following the blaze.
With his business in ruins, his house about to be taken away from him, it appears Foster could not bear the loss of face and humiliation. Sadly, his vanity was such that two other people also had to pay with their lives for his fall from grace. What did Kirstie do to deserve such a fate, other than be the daughter of a selfish, incompetent and unhinged man?
She was a talented horse-rider, according to friend and fellow pupil at Ellesmere College, Sophie Halstead.
Sophie told The Daily Mirror newspaper, “Kirstie was a really talented rider. Earlier this month she qualified for the British Society Pony Show and the UK Ponies Winter Championships.” Sophie added, “It is awful to think that all of those hopes have been ruined.”
Foster made his fortune through pipe insulation for the oil industry. In May, his company, Ulva Ltd., went into liquidation, owing ₤1 million in debt and ₤800,000 in unpaid taxes. On Tuesday, bailiffs were due to sequester his house.
West Mercia Police say it will be a couple of days before the other two bodies are identified and several weeks before the search of charred ruins is complete. They are said to be pursuing several lines of inquiry and an all-ports watch remains in place.
The real tragedy in all of this is that the sins of the father have been visited on his daughter. At the age of 15, and with her whole life before her, Kirstie Foster deserved better. Her life, hopes and dreams denied at the hands of the man in whom she placed her love and trust.
[Based on reports in The Daily Telegraph and The Guardian.]
2 Comments
September 3, 2008 at 3:12 pm
I am worried that the body is Kirstie because she is the same age as me, and people should never die that young. I understand what her dad was going through, but in my opinion he went 1 step too far. She didn’t deserve it!!!
September 3, 2008 at 3:22 pm
Sadly, the body is likely to be Kirstie’s. I share your sentiments, Ashley. It was a selfish and despicable act on the part of her father.