Ex-policeman kills wife and daughter after ‘losing job’
A former police inspector has taken his own life after killing his wife and daughter and seriously injuring his two other children in a “shocking” attack in Melton Mowbray.
Tobias Day killed his wife Samantha and seven-year-old daughter at the family home in a quiet residential street in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, on Thursday.
He also attacked his daughter Kimberly and son Adam before killing himself. Both teenagers are being treated for serious injuries at Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham and are described as stable.
Neighbours said Day had recently lost his job as a senior officer. Leicestershire Police refused to comment, but the force’s website referred to Day’s former role as the local policing commander for Beaumont Leys local policing unit.
It is shocking and made even more so by the time of year that it happened. Malise Graham
Police officers were seen going in and out of the Days’ house in Robin Crescent on Friday. Police said they received a report at around 4.23pm on Thursday that a 15-year-old girl, believed to be Kimberly, had been injured.
She was rushed to hospital while officers forced their way into the family home, where they discovered two children and two adults with injuries.
The force later confirmed that a man, a woman and a child had died, and two other children were being treated for serious injuries.
Officers were seen entering nearby Swallowdale Primary School, where Mrs Day worked as a teacher, on Friday.
‘Normal family’
Neighbour Samantha Whitfield, who has lived on Robin Crescent for around 15 years, said: “It’s usually a quiet street. I’ve never seen anything like this. They were a normal family from what I saw. I didn’t see him too much.”
The leader of Melton Borough Council, Malise Graham, said of the incident: “It is shocking and made even more so by the time of year that it happened.
“I was at the mayor’s carol concert last night when the news was coming through and there was great shock.”
Speaking on the same radio station, Mr Graham said the council would examine what practical help it could give following the deaths.
“We are a very close community and if something like this happens, it affects the whole community,” he said.
Police did not comment on specific details of the investigation this morning, but said the house “has been cordoned off to allow for a forensic examination”.
A spokesman added: “We are in the initial stages of the investigation but at this stage we are not looking for anyone else in connection with the incident.”
