The Millionaire and the Murder Mansion, Thursday 9pm, Channel 4

Posted by Will Parkhouse

Our rating:

A mansion, utterly gutted by fire. A millionaire, missing along with his wife and 15-year-old daughter. Dogs and horses, each killed with a bullet to the head, lying dead in their kennels and stables. A horse box blocking the drive, its tyres punctured by shots from a .22 calibre rifle.

While this might sound like the beginning of an Agatha Christie story, this was the scene that confronted Shropshire police in real life as they arrived at Osbaston House in August last year. There were rumours that the owner, Chris Foster, had recently been doing business with some Russians – had the deal gone awry? Or had Foster done a Lord Lucan, or a Jack 'The Shining' Torrance?

Neither, it turned out. As this gripping Cutting Edge documentary reveals, in a shocking premeditated act, Foster shot his wife Jill and daughter Kirstie in the head himself, went outside and killed the animals, pumped oil into the basement, set the house alight, then lay down in his bed to die.

The reason, ostensibly, was bad debts – well, very bad debts, unless you've got £4.5m in spare change kicking round – but this documentary teases out the whys and hows with all the skill of a fine detective novel, uncovering aspects of Foster's past that, in hindsight, seem more than a little creepy.

There are also interviews with the family's friends and relatives, most memorably the moving insights from Foster's estranged brother and mother, both trying to make sense of the horrible events in their own way. In the end, though, by perceiving the cold precision of Foster's actions, we're granted what is possibly the most shocking detail of all: he was sane.

Picture: Channel 4

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Comments

[peter]

It was mentioned he was on antidepressants, it would be interesting to know what meds he was taking? maybe their is another story here,sometimes these drugs can bring on suicidal thoughts. I felt so sorry for his mother this lady was clearly looking for anything to explain what had happened that night.

[Richard Sletzer]

Graham James is spot-on with his analysis. This is a 21st century tragedy.
Chris Foster saw himself - as most men do - as the family provider.
Failure is hard for all men with dependant families - especially those who have been highly successful and who face having that success and status - and all its material manifestations - taken from them.
But evidently his success was -at least in part - funded by tax evasion.
Chris Foster was unable to face facts rationally, tackle his problems and downsize. He allowed emotion to get in the way of logic. He was angry; angry with the Inland Revenue, with his creditors, with his accountant (who seems to have "grassed" on him) and with the world. He wanted to heap the guilt on the bailiffs due to call that morning. He was saying - in effect - "now see what you've made me do".
In life there are two things which are unavoidable; death and taxes. In evading the latter Foster - with terrible consequences or his family - opted for the former.

[sue]

Is Graham James a psychologist? Its a bit deep and meaningful for a blog page don't you think. Sorry Graham but I, along with others on this blog who have commented, are entitled to our opinion and I for one, do not appreciate being labled as naive for doing so.

To me you came across as a little patronizing, to say the least! Perhaps if you disagree with other comments in future, you could perhaps address these without sounding so pompous and downright rude.

[Graham James]

I find some of the comments above breathtaking in their ignorance and naivety. To lay the blame for this on the evils of money and, in one case, even on the banks is simplistic and entirely misses the point.
I did see the documentary and I thought it was one of the best and most empathetic I have seen in many a year.
It didn't take a psychologist to see where the problem lay here; plainly a guy with a deep rooted personality disorder manifesting itself in a need for complete control over anyone or anything with whom he comes into contact.
I hesitate to say this, but I don't think we needed to look far beyond the mother for the family schema that would have set these events in motion - probably as early as the day the younger brother was born.
Her lack of remorse on behalf of her eldest son was all too obvious and she conveyed an impression of one who was entirely comfortable with, and indeed supportive of, Chris Foster's need for control and his bullying atttiude to his brother and, evidently, towards anyone who got in his selfish way.
She concludes that her son killed his daughter and his wife out of love. There is a perverted sense in which this could be seen to be accurate - that is to say that, in Foster's mind, he might actually have beleived that it was about love (better for them to be gone than to have to face the truth). But this is surely the conclusion of one with a mind set equally as disturbing as Foster's itself. This was not about love. It was about control. No one is to get the better of me and I have to destroy everything, and that means absolutely everything, rather than allow my possessions to fall into someone else's hands - living or otherwise.

[sue]

I didn't see the documentary but I read about it in the papers and its a really sad story. He must have been in a really desperate state to do something like that. He may have been worried about losing his lavish lifestyle but nothing is more important than family. It must be horrendous for the relations left behind. Such a sad story, but once again, money is the route of the problem. Most are finding it hard in the current climate, and I wouldn't be surprised if there are similar stories happening out there that haven't made the media attention because they were not millionaires. Can't even begin to imagine just how desparate he was to do something like that.

[Linda]

I did not see the documentary, but know one really knows what went on; its all just so sad to take another persons life especially your own daughter. and Mark your comment posted yesterday about struggling with the English language,some people do, so what? you need help with your spelling, but we wont be patronising about it!

[stephen Durrant]

Surly the banks again.... I want my money or we are coming to repo your assets

[Mr.T]

Living near by to Maesbrook, Shropshire where the Fosters lived, I can say that the whole area surrounding has been shocked by this tragedy, and it is still very much that way despite this happening last Summer.
Nobody will ever know or understand why Chris decided to take the lives of his innocent family but I feel people should stop the anger towards him not for Chris' sake but for the rest of the Foster family to be able to get on with their lives as much as possible.

[Burton]

Its so sad. its just so sad. life can be so precious, and yet taken so lightly. That man was so selfish to rid his family of a chance at life. His debt, his responsibility. Nothing to do with them.

[Jo]

I remember being a very small child in the 70s and eating baked beans on toast if we didnt have money to eat. But I was always loved and I never went without anything I 'needed'. Men and women worked to enable the family to eat then and fixed broken things as they couldnt afford to buy new ones. I am guilty myself of just buying new ones.........what a shame we have become like this......I think he is an extreme but will he be the last in this current climate....someone said in an earlier post 'money is our God'........if only we were still a God fearing country. Call me a crank but think about how nicer this world would be and men would not be murdering their 15 year old daughters

[Janet Catton]

Money is the root of all evil!
I've been brought up with that saying and it does tend to be true. Whether too little, which can cause thefts etc or too much which brings on selfishness and greed.
Whatever situation is responsible for these deaths, there is definately one thing to blame and thats the banks. If they didnt allow such spending or debts with their easy overdrafts, loans, credit, then this family would still be here. Mr Foster was undoubtedly sane. He couldnt cope anymore, he didnt want his family to suffer his debts. I am not condoning what he has done but can understand the love he had for his family in burdening them with his mistakes. May the Foster family RIP and Mr Foster be forgiven for loving his family too much. An interesting TV programme would be to speak to his bankers to ask their explanation as to why he was allowed to get into so much debt in the first place!!!!

[Sarah]

Surely there's got to be more to this? Could anybody who was 'sane' ever be so shallow to take money, comforts and posessions as being the be all and end all of his life and then to be so selfish as to take his wife and kids with him to the grave because he can't bare to be without them also? I don't think they can ever prove that he shot himself and his family and animals as the remains of the bodies are just to far gone. I guess at the end of the day he either did it or somebody set it up to make it look like he very obviously did it.
I live in a flat and always aspire to a bigger place and to have a bit more money but I am not ashamed of being 'average', surely this man could not have felt that he had to take his own life and his family and animals purely because it would bring him to low?

[B Towers]

The problem was he got so attached to his money that he couldn't imagine a fulfilling life without it. There's nothing wrong with making money, but it's critical it doesn't become our god. I hope the rest of us will take heed and prepare ourselves for the ups and downs of life, however severe they are.