Anguished husband speaks of wife who killed their sons and hanged herself

Treasured memory: Susan Talby holding her younger son Paul, two, in her arms
13 April 2012

The distraught father of two boys murdered by their mother, who was said to be suffering from post-natal depression, paid tribute to the family he has lost.

Richard Talby, whose wife Susan, 41, hanged herself after smothering four-year-old Joseph and two-year-old Paul, said: "The memories are endless and I can't believe it is all over."

More here...

• Mother hangs herself after killing her two children

• Woman and children found dead

The 38-year-old sales executive made the horrific discovery on Thursday after coming home from a business trip. It is understood Susan left a suicide note.

As Mr Talby released touching family photographs, he said: "I loved Sue, Joe and Paul with all my heart. I have many happy memories of Sue, especially when I think of the great times we had together. I remember her stroking a koala in Australia, at the George Michael concert in Manchester, at Kylie in Birmingham, meals out, going to the beach and our wedding day. And on Joe's christening, where she looked stunning and blissfully happy."

Mr Talby, who lived with his family in Werrington, Cambridgeshire, added: "Joe and Paul were my pride and joy and we spent ages playing football, pitch and putt, and throwing balls around.

"My last memory of Joe is of him painting his model bin lorry; of Sue, it is of her sitting with Joe and playing Scrabble, while watching a Kylie DVD. The last time I saw Paul he turned to me as I left to say, 'See you Dad,' to which I replied, 'See you son'."

Mr Talby last saw his family alive on Wednesday morning when he set off on the business trip.

One of the photographs released shows gap-toothed Joseph grinning for the camera. In another, blonde Mrs Talby is seen smiling as she holds baby Paul.

A post-mortem showed she died from compression of the neck consistent with being hanged. A pathologist concluded that the children were asphyxiated. Police said they were not looking for anyone in connection with the deaths.

Ben Wilding, headteacher of Werrington Primary School where Joseph was a pupil, said: "The staff and governors are extremely upset, as I know are the many who knew the family. Joseph was a delightful boy."

The Talbys' neighbour Fiona France, 37, said: "We're shocked. We can't take it in. They were a lovely couple with two lovely boys."

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in

MORE ABOUT