Wife’s body found at arson house

Sunday 31st August 2008, 2:36PM BST.

Chris, Jill and Kirstie Foster A murder inquiry was launched today after one of the bodies discovered at the fire-ravaged home of Shropshire millionaire Chris Foster was identified as his wife, Jill, who had been shot in the head.

The second body, believed to be a man, was found close to the 49-year-old’s body at Osbaston House, Maesbrook, but has not yet been identified.

Forensics search teams found two bodies in the area now covered when they entered Osbaston House three days after the blaze. Photo: newsteam.co.uk Police said Mr Foster and the couple’s 15-year-old daughter Kirstie were still unaccounted for.

Mr Foster’s rifle was discovered near his wife and the unidentified body, along with the body of a fourth dog, although police said it was too early to say if the rifle was the murder weapon.

Three other dogs and three horses in the outbuildings of the £1.15 million house had also been shot before the fire ravaged the buildings in the early hours of Tuesday, post mortems revealed.

Superintendent Gary Higgins, of West Mercia Constabulary, said: “We are certain that one of the bodies is that of Jill Foster and the other is believed to be that of a man.”

For more on this story, see tomorrow’s Shropshire Star.

See also:

Computers recovered from house

Did pressure cause millionaire to ‘flip’?

Kirstie ‘on net’ before blaze

Businessman ‘risked losing £1m home’

Forensics team’s grim search