‘THEY WERE JUST AN ORDINARY FAMILY’
THESE are the first pictures of the tragic victims of the New Year’s Day massacre that has shocked the nation.
The three women, all related, were gunned down by deranged Michael Atherton who apparently flipped at the family home in Peterlee, Durham,
Rabbit hunter Atherton used one of SIX shotguns he lawfully kept to murder partner Susan Mcgoldrick, her sister Alison Turnbull and niece Tanya Turnbull just before midnight on January 1.
And police today also released the first images of Atherton — who turned the gun on himself after the shootings.
Susan, Alison and Tanya are all seen smiling in the new photos also released by the cops.
Atherton, 42, destroyed the family in just ten seconds of terror soon after supermarket worker Susan, 47, returned home with Alison, 44, and Tanya, 24, after a night out.
A row broke out and the cabbie – who had got back earlier after going out without them to a social club – opened up with the shotgun, reloading as he killed the women and then himself.
Atherton and Susan, who had been together for around 18 years, had a 17-year-old son, Michael. It was not known last night whether he was in the house when the violence erupted.
Atherton’s stepdaughter Laura, 19, escaped after she ran upstairs and climbed out of a window as the cab driver started shooting.
As the massacre went on, performing arts student Laura — Susan’s daughter from a previous relationship — clambered on to a roof before taking refuge at a neighbour’s house.
Neighbours yesterday described how normal the family appeared. One said: “They were just an ordinary family. Micky was a taxi driver and he liked shooting. It was his hobby so I knew he had firearms. It wasn’t a secret.
“Sue was very nice. She used to help me out – if it was raining she’d offer to go out for me and pick up things that I needed.”