Neighbours tell of bitter divorce as father found dead with his son

A man found dead with his young son had been going through an acrimonious split with his partner and feared losing the boy in a custody battle, neighbours said.

Chris Hall, 52, was found with his six-year-old diabetic son, also called Chris, at their home in Queen's Road, Poole, on Wednesday. The bodies were discovered by Mr Hill's former partner Rachel Edwards who had called for her son.

Neighbours yesterday spoke of their shock and distress at the deaths of the father and son, who were known as Big Chris and Little Chris.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Phil Haley, 38, said Mr Hall had been incredibly upset by the split with Ms Edwards and had been experiencing "legal problems" with the cafe they ran.

Mr Haley, a sales representative for a drinks company, said he had become good friends with Mr Hall through walking his dogs with him.

"He doted on his little boy, he meant everything to him. He was a lovely little boy, it's absolutely tragic, I don't know how they are going to explain it to the other kids at the school."

Mr Haley said Ms Edwards left Mr Hall in March or April this year, and Mr Hall was distraught at the prospect of losing his son.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"It was a very difficult split-up, a lot of issues surrounding it that made it very difficult for Big and Little Chris at home.

"She did end up with someone else, that was the trigger that upset Big Chris. He wasn't selfish enough to know that that was the only reason for the split-up."

He added: "He was a very good man. Before people think he was evil, that was the last thing he was. He had a lot of morals, a lot of people liked him.

"He must have felt that to get himself and Little Chris out of the situation he was in, that was what he felt he had to do. I'm not saying that was the right thing but that must be how he felt.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"There was a custody battle going on, there were lots of things going on in his life and Little Chris was getting very upset about things."

Mr Haley said Mr Hall was a fitness fan who spent a lot of time in the gym.

"He looked after himself, didn't drink, didn't smoke, didn't gamble, he wasn't a womaniser, he was an all-round good person."

Another neighbour, who didn't want to be named, said: "It's a real shock. They seemed like a nice family but you never know what goes on behind closed doors."

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The house remained cordoned off by police as forensic officers examined the scene yesterday.

Police said no one else is being sought in connection with the incident and the cause of the deaths is not yet known.

Related topics: