A really wealthy businessman threw the world into shock after he went into a murderous rampage and shot dead every living thing in his house before setting the house on fire.
Fierce: The fire itself was so severe it took twelve fire crews, several days to contain and put out the fire
These chilling photographs show the scorched remains of a mansion where a psychotic businessman murdered his wife, daughter and all their pets before killing himself.
Christopher Foster, 50, shot dead his wife Jill, 49, and daughter Kirstie, 15, before gunning down their horses and dogs and then setting alight his £1.2million Shropshire home in August 2008.
The shocking remains of the house, complete with fountain, where the businessman
murdered his family and set it alight remained untouched for years
The former mattress and pizza box salesman made himself into a millionaire but his business interests collapsed, leaving him in £4million of debt. Some say he killed his family in a crazed attempt to 'protect' them from poverty they were about to face.
Burned: This is the £1,2million home's drawing room complete with charred sofas and shelves filled with books and paperwork
Foster shot his family and their pet dogs and horses and was caught on CCTV on the night of the blaze walking his mansion's grounds carrying a bucket, a rifle and lighter fluid for setting the fire.
To prevent anyone being saved he also blocked the mansion's gates with a horse box and shot out its tyres.
Poignant last photo: Christopher Foster, 50, his wife Jill, 49, and their 15-year-old daughter Kirstie posed for this photo
at a barbecue with friends - hours later the father of one would kill them all
New pictures published for the first time today show the remains of rusty burnt out cars, dog kennels, and a ruined interior of a once luxurious family home, including kitchen, living room, bar and poignant images of the family's most treasured possessions.
Devastating: Forensics teams work in the rubble of the garage, kennels and stables where Foster shot his animals after turning on his wife and daughter
Describing what he saw he said: 'It's one thing to see it on the news but to experience the actual surroundings, the smells, the sounds, really gave a totally different perspective.
'On entering the property, it suddenly hit me that this dreadful episode in a family's life wasn't just a news story anymore. It is reality and the aftermath was truly grim.
'I couldn't help but picture the laughter, the love and the tears the property once housed that made it a home.
'Then you look around and realise that it was instantly wiped out quite literally in a flash after no doubt weeks of planning.
'The one picture I took that brought home the reality and the impact of this terrible atrocity was of a simple hand written shopping list.'
Aftermath: Barely anything survived the fire apart from a TV, some furniture and even some flowers left
next to a wood burner - the main hallway is shown here from two different angles from above
Foster's crimes shocked Britain and only after the murders did his financial problems emerge.
The family had even attended a barbecue with friends on the day and the killer was acting perfectly normally, it was said.
Yet within hours Chris Foster had shot his wife and daughter, as well as the family pets, before starting the blaze that would lead to his own death.
Rich: Foster was a master salesman who lost all his money - and the fruits of his success like luxury cars and other vehicles are pictured outside here
His daughter Kirstie had spent the final moments before her death texting a friend, with no indication of the horror that lay ahead.
The trigger for Foster's actions seems to have been a letter attached to the gates of the house a week earlier.
The housekeeper found it on her arrival: it said 'to be opened only by Christopher Foster'. She gave it to Chris as he left the grounds. 'He looked puzzled, put it on the seat and drove off.'
It was from the bailiffs. They were coming to repossess the house.
Last movements: Foster was caught on his own CCTV system, left, carrying a bucket, a rifle and lighter fluid for setting the fire
On the night of the fire, the first indication that something truly bizarre had taken place was when West Mercia Police turned up but no one could enter the scene, first because a horse box had been left blocking the gate with its tyres shot out, and then because of the flames and the heat.
Police stood watching vital evidence go up in smoke for three days. 'It was like a clay oven turning everything to ash' said Det Superintendent Jon Groves who led the investigation.
Shell: Many of the rooms were found bare with scorched floors and walls the sole reminder of the murderous tragedy that unfolded
The shock of the killings and fire still resonates through Foster's family and friends. Strangers, too, have issued threats to Enid and Andrew.
A card was posted on the gates after the fire that read 'Money is the root of all evil'.
CCTV footage taken in the evening showed a calm and collected Chris Foster walking the grounds of his home.
Having killed his family and their animals by shots to the head, Chris Foster died of smoke inhalation from the blaze having apparently sat next to his wife's body.
The fire itself was so severe it took twelve fire crews, several days to contain and put out the fire.
First pictures: This is firefighters tackling the blaze started in the early hours of Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Police investigators were unable to get anywhere close to the home for three days due to the scale of the blaze as well as the horse box that had been left blocking the gate to the home. The tyres were flat to further impede access.
Wrecked: This collection of burnt out and rusty sports cars was all that remained of the mansion's giant garage
Coroner John Ellery recorded a verdict of unlawful killing and said Mr Foster had 'quickly and methodically' killed his family.
'Mrs Jill Foster and her daughter Miss Kirstie Foster were both shot in the head. They were shot in their respective bedrooms, almost certainly whilst asleep.'
Mr Kirkam explained his interpretations of the killings that shocked the nation.
'I know that sounds daft, but reading it encompassed the everyday and ordinary family values that filled had once the place,' he said.
'Seeing the remaining family belongings was not without a creepy feeling.
'Of course there are those people who look at the pictures and call me a ghoul but it's nothing of the kind.
'Then there are those that look at them and share the emotions of the sad reality that brought this family from rags to riches to ashes.
'What I like about this kind of photography is that rather than capture a false smile at a party, this stuff is real. This happened and my pictures are keeping the memories alive.'
- Daily Mail
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