Prayers said after McFall family found dead in Oswestry
Posted By admin on February 7, 2010
Prayers will be said in a Shropshire town later where the bodies of a mother, father and daughter were found.
A special service will be held at St Oswald’s Church, in Oswestry, after Sue McFall, 56, and daughter Francesca, 18, were found at their home on Friday.
A double murder and suicide inquiry was launched after Hugh McFall, 48, was later found dead at an industrial unit.
Police have said no-one else is being sought over the “family tragedy”. Post-mortem tests are yet to be carried out.
Mrs McFall and her daughter were found dead at their home in Hampton Road at about 0500 GMT on Friday.
A body said to be that of Mr McFall, but yet to be formally identified, was found in St Martins, near Oswestry, at about 0930 GMT on the same day.
The bodies of Sue McFall and her daughter were found at their home
The Reverend Simon Thorburn, who will lead prayers at St Oswald’s, encouraged people to share their problems more openly and said the community was still reeling from the deaths.
“I think people are thinking about other friends they know, and who else is in trouble and you don’t really know about it,” he said.
“People do keep their problems to themselves… one of the things perhaps from the church point of view is to say to people, looking forward, we really should share burdens with one another.”
He said a condolence book had been opened at the church ahead of the service on Sunday, but did not know if family members would attend.
James Bond, a neighbour and close friend of the McFall family, said the news had come as a massive shock.
The BBC Radio Shropshire presenter, 51, said: “The police in your kitchen at quarter to six in the morning isn’t quite what you expect.
“And when they say brutally ‘We can only tell you this straight away. It’s tragic news. There are two dead bodies next door. We need a pointer to try and find the man you know as a friend next door as soon as possible’ – you think goodness me what’s life come to? It’s been turned upside down in a moment.”
David Lloyd, a former leader of Oswestry Borough Council, who knew Mr McFall, said the important thing now was “to offer support”.
“The way in which the public reacts in support of those who are suffering is quite substantial,” he said.
“There’s a great sense of knowing and belonging in the town.
“One doesn’t know the trigger point of all of this, but clearly there are pressures on people and people react in different ways and sadly there are now three people lying dead who not so long ago were probably living a very full life in this town.”
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