An elderly couple found shot dead in their home were only discovered days later when their daughter came to deliver some tragic news.
Leslie and Catherine Wardleworth were found by their daughter Emma at their home on June 23, 2021. After struggling to open the front door, Ms Wardleworth found her mother's body in the hallway, covered by a blanket.
Her father's body was found in bed upstairs, under a blue sleeping bag. An investigation found Leslie, 74, had shot Catherine twice in the left arm and chest before turning the 12 bore double-barrel shotgun on himself.
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At an inquest yesterday, June 15, 2023, it was reported neighbours heard two distinctive bangs on June 20, 2021, three days before the couple's bodies were found, reports the ECHO. They were discovered when Ms Wardleworth visited the house to inform them that their son, 51-year-old Colin Reynolds, had tragically died of complications from bowel surgery.
Merseyside Police initially feared the couple had died as a result of a noxious substance in the house in Dinorwic Road, Southport, but a more thorough search found blood stains on the wall close to Catherine, and a shotgun was found in the bed beside Leslie.
Leslie, a retired gardener, was a registered gun owner, and had applied for his licence to be renewed on June 1, 2021. Equipment for making shotgun cartridges was found in the house, and shotgun cartridges were found in the bin and in Leslie's trouser pocket.
His gun was identified as the murder weapon through a forensic examination.
However, a two-year investigation was unable to establish any motive for the killing. A domestic homicide review, carried out following the double shooting, concluded: "No one could have foreseen that Catherine would be murdered by Leslie, nor that he would take his own life."
Concluding Catherine Wardleworth was unlawfully killed by her husband, coroner Julie Goulding said: "Catherine lived with her husband, tragically their daughter attended the family home to inform them of the unexpected death of their 51-year-old son. On arrival, their daughter found the property was secure, but she found her mother’s body covered with a blanket behind the door, her father was deceased upstairs. There was a shotgun alongside him.
"Catherine’s husband was a registered firearms holder. Forensic investigations matched the firearm held by Catherine’s husband to the fatal gunshot wound.
"Police were satisfied there were no other parties (except her husband) involved in Catherine and her husband’s death, there was no evidence of previous violence within the family home and on the evidence available, on balance, Catherine had been intentionally, fatally shot by her husband without justifiable cause before he turned the gun on himself, also causing fatal injuries."
She concluded that the killer, Leslie Wardleworth, died by suicide.
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