A COUPLE and their 31-year-old son were found shot dead in their
gas-filled bungalow yesterday.
Building firm director Alan Taylor, 63, and his wife Joan, 58, were
discovered dead in bed while the body of their son Grant was in another
room. A .22 rifle was in the house at Whickham, Gateshead, Tyne and
Wear, which was filled with gas.
The discovery was made by a relative who is thought to have found a
note directing him to an outhouse where there was a will.
Mr and Mrs Taylor and their son worked in the family business, road
building materials supplier Abcon, of Blaydon, Gateshead.
Mr Alexander Elliott, 54, a family friend who lives near the #170,000
detached four-bedroomed bungalow in Broom Lane, said: ''They were all
such lovely people -- this is an appalling tragedy. They seemed so very
happy with life. They all seemed to get on very well together.''
Alan Taylor is believed to have pushed a note through his
mother-in-law's letterbox during the night, and she went to the bungalow
early yesterday with a male relative.
Police said they had recovered a rifle which belonged to Alan Taylor,
who held a firearms certificate.
They said the bungalow was filled with fumes from calor gas bottles
and there were no signs of forced entry.
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