SPECULATION about why a country house was burned to the ground, and why its millionaire owner and family have disappeared without trace, continued last night as search teams prepared to enter the secluded property.
More than two days after Osbaston House was consumed by fire, police said officers hoped finally to access the building today. While the home, in Maesbrook, near Oswestry, Shropshire, remains too dangerous for specialist search officers to ente
r, police refused to comment on reports surrounding the motive for what they believe was an arson attack.
It is feared that the bodies of Christopher Foster, his wife Jill and their 15-year-old daughter Kirstie, will be recovered from the remains.
West Mercia Constabulary yesterday refused to comment on reports that bullet cartridges and pools of blood were found in the courtyard.
The force also refused to confirm or deny newspaper reports which suggested that police feared Mr Foster may have shot dead his family before boarding himself up in the house and setting fire to it.
The absence of any recovered bodies has also triggered reports that the family may have set fire to the house before running away in the early hours of Tuesday.
The Fosters went to a friend's barbecue on Monday before returning to their home, reportedly worth £1.2 million, later that evening.
The fire started at around 5am on Tuesday, destroying a stable block, garage and badly damaging the house itself. Three horses were found dead.
Superintendent Gary Higgins, from West Mercia Constabulary, said every possible line of inquiry to trace the family was being followed up. A police spokesman added:
"We are not able to go into the building so we do not know what, if anything, is inside. We are not making any comment on speculation."
Two men accused of blackmailing 50-year-old businessman Mr Foster were cleared by a jury in November 2006.
Shrewsbury Crown Court said Timothy Baker, 35, was cleared of blackmail and found guilty of perverting the course of justice, for which he was given a community order. Leo Dennis, 42, was cleared of blackmail. Police said they could make no comment on the trial.
The full article contains 368 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
