A couple have been found dead in their armchairs following a suspected carbon monoxide leak in Essex.
Stephen Baxter, 61, and his wife Carol, 64, are believed to have been overcome by the deadly fumes in the yachting town of West Mersea, near Colchester.
Their daughter Ellie Baxter raised the alarm when she discovered them at the family’s five-bedroom £1millon house at 1.30pm on Easter Sunday. Paramedics called could not save them.
The 21-year-old told the Daily Mail: “It was absolutely awful to see. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.
“But what I keep going back to is they were sitting there together and were peaceful. There were no signs of a struggle or any pain.”
Miss Baxter, who was with her one-year-old son at the time, immediately suspected carbon monoxide poisoning and threw open the bi-fold doors at the property.
Paying tribute to her parents, she added: “They were very loving. Family always came first. They made sure that we always had what we needed, and then some.”
Mrs Baxter was managing director of a bathroom accessories firm. Her husband, whom she married in 2000, was a fellow owner of the business, Cazsplash Ltd.
He was also global lead, operational risk and assurance, for real estate firm Jones Lang LaSalle.
West Mersea Yacht Club, where the Baxters joined as members in 2016, declined to comment.
Commodore John Munns told the Mail there were plans to fly its flag at half-mast.
Essex Police said: “We were called by colleagues in the ambulance service to concerns for the welfare of two people on Sunday at about 1.30pm.
“Officers arrived and, sadly, found two people aged in their 60s had died. Their deaths are being treated as unexpected but not suspicious and we are investigating the circumstances.”
East of England Ambulance Service added it despatched a number of personnel to the address but said: “Sadly, the patients were found deceased.”
Essex Coroner’s Office will set a date for an inquest after receiving the results of the post-mortem examinations, due to take place this week.
