Hanged father’s note: I hope I will rot in hell

A man believed to have killed his wife and daughter before hanging himself left a note which said: “I hope I will rot in hell”, an inquest heard yesterday.

Flower salesman Hugh McFall, 48, was found hanged in his industrial lock-up on February 5, four hours after the bodies of his wife and daughter were discovered at the family home in Oswestry, Shropshire, UK.

Susan, 56, and Francesca, 18, died of head injuries, an inquest into the three deaths at Shrewsbury Magistrates’ Court was told.

Detective Superintendent Niall Parker told the court a handwritten note was found near Mr McFall’s body which read, “My world, Frankie and Susan, just ended, I love them so much, nobody can understand.

“Part of me wants to stay alive just so I can keep thinking about them. The pain is too much.”

Referring to Mrs McFall’s children from a previous marriage, the note continued: “What I have done to Dan and Nick is beyond belief.

“It is all over now, I hope I will rot in hell.”

The inquest heard yesterday that Mrs McFall and her daughter were found lying side by side on a bed in the master bedroom of the Hampton Road bungalow covered in a “considerable amount of blood”.

Alexander Kolar, a Home Office pathologist, told the court the women had injuries consistent with having been struck by a rubber mallet recovered from the scene.

Following the deaths, detectives seized one computer from the family home and another from a lock-up used by Mr McFall.

Richard Roberts, a senior forensic investigator from West Mercia Police, said internet searches for “how to commit euthanasia”, “HIV testing” and “sexual health clinics” had been carried out on the family computer under the username Hugh.

The same user had also searched for escort girls, massage parlours, pornography, torture methods, and skin complaints, Mr Roberts said.

The computer expert said searches for massage parlours and escort girls were conducted regularly on the family computer between October 20, 2004 and January 5, this year, and a number of searches for HIV testing and body temperature information were carried out on the day before the McFalls were found dead.