37-Year-Old Father Killed His Family (Wife And Two Young Sons), Then Take His Own Life

Posing happily together for the camera a few weeks ago, this is the family whose lives ended in cold-blooded slaughter in their home.

Richard Smith stabbed his wife and two young children on the marital bed before starting a fire that killed him.

Detectives are probing the possibility that he had been having an affair and that this was a key factor behind the appalling multiple murders. Smith, 37, is believed to have killed his family in the early hours of Saturday after they all attended a function at the local cricket club. 

He murdered wife Clair, 36, and 13-month-old Aaron with a single stab wound to the chest. His other son Ben, nine, was also stabbed once in the chest but died from suffocation, possibly through a pillow being held to his face.

Smith stayed in the house for another 24 hours – even washing his car on Sunday morning – before taking his own life.

He put a mattress up against the window of the room in which he had killed his family, blocked the door and started a fire. He died from smoke inhalation, a post-mortem examination showed.

A neighbour raised the alarm after spotting the blackened bedroom window and phoned Smith’s brother Matthew. They called the police and, accompanied by three officers, broke into the house and found the bodies at 5.30pm on Sunday.

Detective Superintendent Paul Taylor, who is leading the investigation, refused to speculate on the motive, saying: ‘It will all come out in the fullness of time.

‘As we have previously stated we are not looking for anyone else in connection with this enquiry and our role is to now establish the facts leading up to the tragic event that has ended the lives of four people and a seemingly happy family.

‘That information is then passed to the coroner, who will make a decision around the circumstances of the deaths.’ He said his thoughts were with family and friends of the family, adding: ‘I cannot begin to imagine what they have been through during the last 48 hours.’

Friends said the Smiths appeared to have had no problems. They moved to their £180,000 house in Pudsey, West Yorkshire, last May, had no money issues and appeared happy after 13 years of married life.