Three children apparently killed by their father had been stabbed to death, detectives confirmed on Wednesday.
The bodies of Sam Fuller, 12, and his sisters Becka, aged eight, and seven-year-old Charlotte were discovered by police on Monday at a beauty spot in Shropshire after they had been reported missing.
The body of their father, 35-year-old Ceri Fuller, was found nearby at Poles Coppice on Pontesbury Hill, near Shrewsbury.
It is believed Mr Fuller, from Milkwall, near Coleford, Gloucestershire, fell to his death from a nearby quarry.
The three children were discovered in a wood the family's abandoned Land Rover
His post-mortem examination is to be carried out later by a Home Office pathologist but police said his children had died from stab wounds.
On Wednesday, the children's mother, Ruth Fuller, who had been married to the university graduate for nearly three years said she could not put her pain into words.
"I don't have the words to describe how I feel at the moment. All I would ask is that I be left alone to grieve for my family," Mrs Fuller said.
Detective Chief Inspector Neil Jamieson, who is leading the investigation, said police and forensic officers were close to completing their work at the cordoned-off scene after recovering a knife.
Police are still try to piece together the timeline before the childrens' deaths
He was appealing for information about possible sightings of Mr Fuller's red Land Rover Freelander on Thursday.
Mr Fuller, who worked as a production supervisor at the Lydney-based Glatfelter paper mill, and his children left their semi-detached home last Thursday.
Their bodies were discovered shortly before 10am on Monday after the Land Rover was located nearby.
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