British police were last night trying to discover why a man bludgeoned his wife and four children to death in their luxury home before hanging himself.
They want to know what drove former civil servant Robert Mochrie to massacre his 45-year-old wife and their children Bethan (10), Luke (14), Sian (16), and James (18), in their five-bedroomed home in Barry, South Wales.
Police were called to the house on Sunday night after a concerned family friend reported that she had not seen the family for some time.
Officers who called got no answer and used a ladder to look in a bedroom window when the grim discovery was made.
Mochrie (49), was found hanging from the landing of the house in Rutland Close. The bodies of his family were found in the upstairs bedrooms with injuries consistent with being struck with a blunt instrument.
Police said that all the bodies had been in the house for a considerable period - the family had not been seen for 10 to 11 days.
But last night neighbours were baffled as to why Mochrie carried out such a horrific attack.
Neighbours described them as a "normal" family who "kept themselves to themselves".
The police are looking into the financial background of the family but at this stage there was no suggestion that the couple had any marital problems. But no clear motive has emerged.
Mochrie had been a civil servant until five years ago and since then had owned several licensed properties in the Barry area. His wife was a housewife. Mrs Mochrie was the older sister of former Wales and British Lions international rugby player Terry Holmes.
The family were believed to have lived in the house for around 15 years. Police examinations of the £250,000 detached house were expected to continue over the next two days.
Ms Sue White, who used to live next door to the family, said: "We didn't know them very well but we used to exchange Christmas cards.
"They kept themselves to themselves. We assumed they were on holiday because we hadn't seen them for a while. The youngest girl used to play in the street."
Another neighbour, Ms Maggie Richards, said: "They were a lovely family and we didn't know of any problems."
Mr Mike Clinch, head teacher at St Richard Gwyn Catholic High School in Barry, where Luke and Sian were pupils, said he could not understand why it had happened.
Mrs Mochrie was the secretary of the school's Parent-Teachers' Association and was described as a "tireless fundraiser" for the school.
Sian was awaiting the results of her GCSEs while James left the school with nine GCSEs.
Luke had a brain tumour about six years ago which left him with some learning difficulties and Bethan attended a special needs school in Cardiff.
Mr Clinch said that he was not unduly worried when Luke failed to turn up for school over the past week because they were not a family to be concerned about.
He added that Mochrie would often attend school events and parents' evening. "He asked the right questions and seemed quiet, calm and very softly spoken," he said.
"They were a good, solid Catholic family. It is a body blow. We are a very close community and it hurts. You just cannot comprehend what circumstances have led to this."
Divisional commander Supt Colin Jones said the scene inside the house was particularly distressing for his officers. He added: "Our feelings are those of utter disbelief. It defies logic. It is not very often that you come across a house where there are six bodies."
The family's pet dog, Brandy, which Bethan used to walk, was not found in the house and still hasn't turned up.