Horror of Pontesbury child murders as unlawful killing verdict ruled
A father murdered his three children in a scene of 'unimaginable horror' before plunging to his own death, a coroner has ruled.
Samuel Fuller, 12, and his sisters Rebecca, eight, and Charlotte, seven, were unlawfully killed by their father Ceri Fuller in Pontesbury, near Shrewsbury.
Mr Fuller jumped to his own death from a 65ft cliff at Poles Coppice, on Pontesbury Hill, after killing his children with a hunting knife.
Deputy coroner for Mid and Northwest Shropshire, Andrew Barkley, said there was 'overwhelming' evidence to suggest the 35-year-old father had acted alone in the killings and said a 'great darkness' had descended on the tranquil countryside location on July 12 last year, and it was a scene of nightmares.
All three children, from Milkwall in Gloucestershire, had suffered neck wounds inflicted by the 6.7 inch Bowie-type knife, while the two girls had been repeatedly stabbed in the chest.
Mr Barkley said: "What exactly happened may never be known but a great darkness descended on Poles Coppice that night. It was a scene of unimaginable horror and the sort of thing nightmares are made of."
He told Wem Coroners Court that Mr Fuller had died from a 'deliberate act' caused by himself. The inquest heard that Mr Fuller, who was described as having a 'full mental capacity', having earlier transferred £2,000 to his wife Ruth's bank account.
Mr Barkley added: "There is no evidence that his mind was in fact disturbed. I am satisfied and I am sure that he, and he alone, inflicted fatal injuries on his children."
