Foster 'did not die from gunshot'

See also: Foster mansion tragedy - all the Star coverage

The inquest heard the 50-year-old died after being overcome by fumes in his smoke-filled £1.15 million home.

Both his wife Jill, 49, and daughter Kirstie, 15, had been shot and their bodies were discovered amid the wreckage of the family's home at Maesbrook, near Oswestry, last August.

Home Office pathologist Dr Alexander Jan Oldrich Kolar told today's inquest in Shrewsbury there was no evidence he could find that that Christopher Foster died as a result of a gunshot.

He said Mrs Foster had suffered a gunshot to her head, which he recorded as the cause of death.

He said Kirstie's body was so badly damaged by the blaze that the medical cause of death could not be ascertained, but she had suffered a near identical gun shot wound to the head as her mother.

Detective Constable Paul Rogers, of Oswestry CID, had earlier said Christopher Foster claimed to have received threats that his daughter would be kidnapped just days before the fire at his home.

He told the two-day inquest he was not aware of such correspondence but a solicitor acting on behalf of the Fosters said he had a reliable witness who would be cross-examined on the kidnap threat when quizzed by the Foster family's legal team.

Mr Rogers told the inquest that in October 2005 Foster also reported to police that his ex-accountant was blackmailing him over a property deal in Cyprus.

But he said two defendants were found not guilty of the blackmail charge at Shrewsbury Crown Court in November 2006.

Mr Rogers said Foster was in "serious financial difficulty" as his business Ulva failed in October 2007 when his links with the company were formally severed and it was put into liquidation.

The grim horror surrounding the deaths of Foster, his wife and daughter at Osbaston House, Maesbrook, was revealed today.

Detective Sergeant Darren Howells told the inquest what emergency services had found when they arrived.

The first fire crew arrived at 4.29am and found a severe fire had taken hold of the property.

He said on arrival at the scene the fire service were unable to gain entry as a horse box had been parked against the gate of the driveway. Police officers were dispatched to the scene at 4.52am.

Mr Howells said the Foster family could not immediately be accounted for. He added the burnt remains of horses and dogs were found.

The hearing comes nearly eight months after the fire in the early hours of August 26.

By Kirsty Smallman and Suzanne Roberts