Dad accused of shooting wife dead as boys, 8, slept
A GUN dealer was due in court today charged with murdering his wife while their young sons slept.
Peter Hartshorne-Jones, 51, is accused of blasting his wife Silke, 41, to death with a shotgun at their country home.
Police and paramedics found the devoted mother of eight-year-old twin boys bleeding to death at the Grade II-listed farmhouse on Sunday morning.
She was rushed to hospital but died shortly afterwards. The couple’s two young sons were at the property in Barham, Suffolk, at the time of the shooting, it is believed.
Detectives arrested HartshorneJones shortly after police were called to the scene.
He was charged with his wife’s murder yesterday and was due to appear at Ipswich magistrates court today.
Forensics officers carried out a detailed search of the scene yesterday. The property remained cordoned off.
The shooting left neighbours stunned. One resident said: “It’s a tragedy what’s happened.” Another said: “It is just beyond words. It is the last thing you would expect to happen in a peaceful village like this.”
German-born Mrs Hartshorne-Jones worked as a general counsel for a firm in the City of London. Her husband Peter runs a catering firm and a shotgun dealership for bird shooting.
It is understood they bought Chestnut Farm, which has a one-acre paddock, in October 2015.
Neighbours said Mrs Hartshorne-Jones was a devoted mother.
Her husband was described as “a country gentleman”.
He runs Hartshorne Fine English Shotguns selling what the company’s website describes as “the finest sporting English and Scottish shotguns”.
A police spokeswoman said: “Police were called shortly before 4.45am on Sunday to reports a woman had been shot within a property.
“On arrival, officers discovered a woman, aged in her 40s, inside who had suffered serious injuries. She was rushed to Ipswich Hospital where she sadly died a short time later.
“Peter Hartshorne-Jones, 51, has been charged with murder and is due to appear before Ipswich magistrates on Tuesday.”