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| Body of wife found at arson house | Body of wife found at arson house |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| One of two bodies found at the burnt-out home of a millionaire businessman is that of his wife, police have said. | |
| A post-mortem test found Jill Foster, 49, of Osbaston House in Maesbrook, Shropshire, had been shot in the head. | |
| Christopher Foster, 50, his wife and 15-year-old daughter, Kirstie, have been missing since the fire which was started deliberately on Tuesday. | |
| Police said the other body was believed to be a man and that a rifle, belonging to Mr Foster, was found by the bodies. | |
| Formal identification of the body is expected to take some time and further tests are needed to try to establish a cause of death, police said. | Formal identification of the body is expected to take some time and further tests are needed to try to establish a cause of death, police said. |
| The female body was positively identified from dental records as that of Jill Foster. | The female body was positively identified from dental records as that of Jill Foster. |
| Gun cartridges | Gun cartridges |
| West Mercia police have launched a murder inquiry after post-mortem examinations were carried out on Saturday night on the two bodies. | |
| The bodies were found and recovered late on Friday. | The bodies were found and recovered late on Friday. |
| A rifle, identified as a rifle that was legitimately owned by Mr Foster, was recovered near the two bodies, along with the body of a fourth dog. | A rifle, identified as a rifle that was legitimately owned by Mr Foster, was recovered near the two bodies, along with the body of a fourth dog. |
| About 100 police officers and staff are involved in the investigation | |
| Post-mortem examinations carried out on three horses and three dogs found in the outbuildings showed they had also been shot before the fire broke out. | Post-mortem examinations carried out on three horses and three dogs found in the outbuildings showed they had also been shot before the fire broke out. |
| Spent and unspent gun cartridges have been found scattered around the grounds of the property. | Spent and unspent gun cartridges have been found scattered around the grounds of the property. |
| Supt Gary Higgins, from West Mercia police, said further tests were needed before it could be established whether the rifle recovered was the murder weapon. | Supt Gary Higgins, from West Mercia police, said further tests were needed before it could be established whether the rifle recovered was the murder weapon. |
| He said: "The two bodies were found close to one another and the body of another dog found nearby. | He said: "The two bodies were found close to one another and the body of another dog found nearby. |
| "The dog has also been subject of a post mortem examination, which revealed it too had been shot." | "The dog has also been subject of a post mortem examination, which revealed it too had been shot." |
| It is expected to take several days, possibly even weeks, to complete the examination of the home, due to the large site and amount of debris in the building, police said. | It is expected to take several days, possibly even weeks, to complete the examination of the home, due to the large site and amount of debris in the building, police said. |
| Police said search teams had been forced to withdraw from the main part of the house on Saturday night for safety reasons. | Police said search teams had been forced to withdraw from the main part of the house on Saturday night for safety reasons. |
| The Fosters had been at a friend's barbecue on Monday evening before returning later to their home, thought to be valued at £1.2m. | |
| The fire started at about 0500 BST on Tuesday. | |
| About 40 people gathered at St John's church, Maesbrook, for a Holy Communion service to pray for the family on Sunday morning. | |
| Anyone with information has been asked to contact West Mercia Police or Crimestoppers. |