Family ‘may never know’ why Leeds dad killed wife and children

THE truth behind what drove the head of a “perfect family” to murder his wife and two children before killing himself at their home in Leeds may never be known, their inquest was told.

Richard and Clair Smith were mourning the fourth anniversary of the death of their baby son when Richard murdered Clair and their children Ben, nine, and Arran, 13 months, at their home in Pudsey last December.

The box containing baby Jake’s ashes was found under the crook of 36-year-old Clair’s arm when the family’s bodies were discovered in the master bedroom of their home on Sheridan Way.

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The inquest heard Clair and Arran died from stab wounds and Richard and Ben died from smoke inhalation after Richard, 37, started a fire in the bedroom having killed his wife and youngest son.

The quantity estimator had propped mattresses up against the windows, scattered clothes across the bedroom, disabled the smoke alarm and switched the gas on in the kitchen, Leeds Coroner’s Court was told yesterday.

Despite these “acts of preparation”, the inquest heard that the full reasons for the horrific tragedy may never be known.

Addressing Leeds coroner David Hinchliff, Det Supt Paul Taylor, of West Yorkshire Police’s Homicide and Major Enquiry Team (HMET), said: “There were clearly issues on Richard’s mind that were not relayed but, as with all deaths that you come across and I come across, there are questions that can’t be answered.”

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Speaking about the couple’s lost baby, who had died almost four years to the day of the tragedy, he said: “When we moved the bodies we found the ashes in the box they were kept in in the crook of Clair’s arm. That was clearly a matter that was preying on their minds.”

The family’s bodies were found on Sunday, December 11, after worried neighbours saw evidence of a fire and called the police.

The family had not been seen since an outing to a nearby cricket club on December 9 and Ben’s advent calendar had not been opened on December 10, leading police to believe the family may have died earlier that weekend.

Richard’s body was found huddled together with the bodies of his wife and two sons on the bed in the master bedroom.

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Forensic pathologist Dr Brian Rodgers, who carried out the post-mortem examinations, said Clair died from a stab wound to the chest and compression to the neck, having been strangled by a scarf she was wearing.

Det Supt Taylor said he thought Clair had died first and that Arran had probably been murdered in his own room before being carried into the main bedroom.

Arran died from a stab wound to the neck, Dr Rodgers said.

Having killed his wife and youngest son, Richard – who had inflicted stab wounds on himself and his older son Ben – then started a fire before lying down on the bed with the rest of his family.

Both Richard and Ben died from smoke inhalation, Dr Rodgers said, as the stab wounds inflicted on Ben were not enough to kill him, although Richard may not have known this at the time.

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Det Supt Taylor added: “It is my opinion that the boys died where they slept and were carried into the master bedroom so they could all be together as a family. The fire was started and Richard died then with Clair, Ben and Arran.

“Clair was in a position that you would imagine was natural for sleeping, while Ben was lying across his mother, Arran was between them and Richard had his arm embracing all three.”

Speaking of Richard’s actions before the fire, Mr Hinchliff said: “It does occur to me that Richard’s aim would have been not only to take the lives of his family but to end his own life, and in a way to obliterate evidence, he’s created a fire and possible explosion which would have probably interfered with a great deal of evidence.”

The coroner recorded three verdicts of unlawful killing against Clair, Ben and Arran and one verdict of suicide against Richard.

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He concluded: “On that dreadful and fateful Sunday it would appear that Richard had undergone some sort of aberation, some problem affecting his mental health, which caused him to take the action that he has.”

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