A builder who killed his partner, their dog and two children before turning the gun on himself’ was able to acquire a firearm despite being known as a ‘nasty piece of work’.
Robert Needham, 42, is thought to have shot Kelly Fitzgibbons, 40, and their two children Ava, four and Lexi, two, before killing the family dog and ending his own life on Sunday evening.
The bodies were all found with gunshot wounds by a family friend who climbed through a window of their £500,000 property in the village of Woodmancote, West Sussex, after they failed to answer his calls or knocks at the door.
Police are now under pressure to answer questions about how Needham was able to get hold of a gun in the first place. They are investigating a possible murder-suicide and are not looking for anyone else but did not respond to MailOnline’s requests for comment.
To obtain a firearm licence in the UK you must not have any previous violent convictions and have a glowing reference from someone who isn’t a relative and has known you for more than two years.
Firearms and shotgun licences are issued by police so they would keep a record of local gun enthusiasts who have them.
Needham’s 77-year-old mother Maureen also lived with her son and grandchildren, but is believed to have been self-isolating with another relative in Manchester or London.
Robert Needham is pictured with his partner Kelly Fitzgibbons. Their bodies were found at home in Woodmancote, West Sussex, on Sunday evening
Mr Needham (pictured left) is believed to have killed his partner Kelly and their two children, Ava, four and Lexi, two (also pictured)
After news of the deaths spread through the leafy West Sussex village this week, one neighbour branded the father-of-two a ‘bully’, describing him as ‘rude’, ‘ignorant’ and a ‘nasty piece of work’.
Needham’s domestic construction business dissolved last October and locals have said he was ‘worried about business drying up’ during the coronavirus lockdown.
There has been a spike in domestic violence since the UK was ordered to stay indoors to stem the spread of the deadly virus on March 23.
The number of suspected killings now stands at nine, with three other incidents in Hertfordshire, Wales and South Yorkshire.
The former next-door neighbour who described him as a ‘bully’ added: ‘He was rude, he let that dog out at all hours of the night. She was nice but I kept away from him.
‘He was ignorant and also made a lot of noise but he would complain to my landlord about me exercising in the house at tea time… I just didn’t want to get into a confrontation with him.’
In a now-deleted Facebook post to a friend, his mother Maureen confirmed what happened, saying: ‘It was Robert, Kelly and my lovely grandchildren that all died upstairs.’
The bodies of little Ava, Lexi, their parents and their Staffordshire bull terrier Bill were all discovered by Ronald Peacock who drove to the house when he couldn’t get hold of anyone.
They didn’t respond to knocks at the door, so he clambered through a window to find their lifeless bodies all marked with gunshot wounds.
Robert Needham, 42, his partner Kelly Fitzgibbons, 40, and their two children Ava, five, and Lexi, three, died in a house in Woodmancote, West Sussex, in a suspected murder suicide
Forensics officers work at the scene in Woodmancote this morning. Sussex Police went to the three-bedroom home at 6.45pm on Sunday after receiving a call raising a welfare concern
Forensic officers lift up tape in Woodmancote today after the family of four were found dead. Police launched a murder investigation, amid suspicions over a possible murder-suicide
He called police and the ambulance service at around 6.45pm on Sunday but they were all pronounced dead at the scene.
Sussex Police confirmed they are not seeking anyone else in connection with it. Post-mortem examinations and formal identification are yet to take place, they said.
Since Needham’s business collapsed last year, he had been building an extension for his family after moving back into his mother’s home.
Ms Fitzgibbons’ twin sister Emma Ambler had posted a picture of the siblings together on Facebook, which was followed by dozens of people responding with images of love hearts in tribute.
Her husband Thomas told the Daily Mail she was too upset to talk, adding: ‘We are devastated.’
Miss Fitzgibbons’ stepsister Cheryl Giles said: ‘Kelly was the sweetest, kindest, loveliest woman who lived for her girls.’
Police tape surrounds the garden of a house in the West Sussex village of Woodmancote this morning. Officers confirmed they are not seeking anyone else in connection with the deaths
The family had moved to the large property to help care for Needham’s mother after his father Rex, who suffered with Parkinson’s disease, died in 2017.
He was in the process of building a granny flat so the parties could live separately, sources claim.
Douglas Meany, 70, a retired neighbour of the Needham family, said today: ‘I’ve known the family a very long time. We got on well as neighbours.
‘As far as I know they were a fairly close-knit family, just normal, but not in each other’s pockets. For a while the house was used as a care home which the family ran.
‘Previous to that Maureen and her husband used to run a village shop. On Sunday I was alerted to the fact there was a lot of activity in the lane outside. I saw two paramedic vehicles, unmarked police cars in the lane as well as marked.
‘That carried on right through the night, comings and goings, and forensics seemed to arrive at around midnight. At first we didn’t know who or what was involved, but because of the activity it was obviously important.
‘As there was more police and paramedics involved, we knew that somebody was in trouble, then it came to light that there may have been fatalities and there might have been more than one.’
Mr Meany added of the four deaths: ‘We were naturally very surprised, it would take a lot for somebody to do that but there was no evidence previously that there was a problem.
‘Robert was building an extension for the family to live in, but whilst he was building that he wasn’t getting an income from any other building work so it might have been that there were issues over finance or it might have been issues over people living together in confined conditions.
‘I think Robert and Kelly and the children tended to stay in a section of the house and Maureen stayed in another section. I don’t know how Robert used to get on with Kelly but there was never any evidence of any discord.
‘Maureen has relatives in Manchester and near London and she does spend time with them. I don’t know where she is but I would suspect that she might be with one of her daughters.’
Mr Needham and his partner Ms Fitzgibbons had two children – Ava, five, and Lexi, three
The deaths came just two days after Ms Fitzgibbons posted a series of pictures on Facebook of her family out in the countryside last Friday under the heading ‘our walk for the day’
A photograph Ms Fitzgibbons posted on Friday – two days before the family were found dead
Other neighbours of the family also reacted with shock today at the deaths, with one who did not wish to be named telling MailOnline: ‘This is an awful, awful tragedy.
‘It is a very small community and everyone knew the family, who were lovely. We know the police are not looking for anyone else so it makes it all the more shocking.’
The tragic deaths came just two days after Ms Fitzgibbons posted a series of photos on Facebook of her family out in the countryside last Friday under the heading ‘our walk for the day’.
Sussex Police Chief Superintendent Jerry Westerman said: ‘This is believed to be an isolated incident contained to one property and in these early stages of the investigation we are not seeking anyone else in connection with the incident.’
Locals were warned of a heightened police presence, and anyone with information was told contact Sussex Police on 101 quoting Operation Cotton.
