Father and children discovered dead on father's day
Pastor Dale Morgan
Father and children discovered dead in 4x4*
By John Bingham and Bonnie Malkin
Last Updated: 1:37AM BST 16/06/2008
A man and two children have been found dead in a 4x4 at a remote nature
spot.
WALES UK The discovery, on the afternoon of Father's Day, was made by a
passer-by, who found the Land Rover on an isolated track close to the
villages of Tal-y-cafn and Maenan, a short distance from the Conwy coast
in North Wales.
The man in his 50s, who has not been named, was found alongside two
children – a boy and a girl both under 10 – inside the 4x4.
Detectives confirmed he was the children's father. One police source
remarked: "And on Father's Day of all days."
Last night, an Army bomb disposal team from the Royal Logistics Corps
arrived at the scene. A fire engine was nearby and it was believed that
the Army experts were checking in case there was a device inside the
vehicle.
Detectives, who described the deaths as suspicious, said that they were
not looking for anyone else in connection with the case.
Police said they know the identity of all three and have contacted the
next-of-kin. Post-mortem examinations will be carried out by a Home
Office pathologist today. Last night, their bodies remained at the scene
as investigations continued.
The man is believed to have driven to the remote spot from Cheshire in a
Land Rover with an English registration. Police in the county are
working with their counterparts in Wales. Last night, forensic teams
sealed off a hillside road to allow experts to examine the scene.
Police have refused to disclose how the victims died.
Officers have not commented on the theory that the man killed the
children before committing suicide.
Mary Marrow, who runs the Firs Cottage bed and breakfast between
Tal-y-cafn and Llanrwst, said that she understood the 4x4 was found on a
back road during the afternoon.
"I only know about it because of the plethora of ambulances and sirens
that have gone past us. I understand [the dead] are not local."
The case echoes that of Julian Philpott, who killed himself and his sons
Daniel, seven, and Jordan, three, after a custody wrangle with his
estranged girlfriend, Melanie Enticott.
Philpott, 29, died alongside the two boys in his car in a secluded
lay-by in South Wales in 1999.
A passer-by, who spotted the vehicle and smashed a window, was too late
to prevent the tragedy.
It later emerged that Philpott had run a length of hose pipe from the
exhaust into the car to gas himself and the boys. Miss Enticott
subsequently disclosed that Philpott had telephoned her to say: "You'll
never see the children again."
The villages of Maenan and Tal-y-cafn are popular with tourists as bases
to discover the Snowdonia National Park, a short drive away.
The valley is known for its beautiful mountain views and remote rural
landscapes.