Couple found dead in armchairs after carbon monoxide leak at £1 million home
A couple were found "dead in their chairs" after a suspected carbon monoxide leak in their £1 million detached home, it was revealed today.
Named locally as Stephen Baxter, 61, and wife Carol, 64, the couple are thought to have been overcome by deadly fumes as they relaxed on Easter Sunday.
The alarm was raised after their daughter Ellie, 21, found them dead in their five bedroom home in the yachting village of West Mersea near Colchester, Essex.
Paramedics were called, but were unable to revive them.
Police sealed off the road outside the couple's home in Victory Road, West Mersea, while officers began an investigation.
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But Essex Police revealed today that there were not thought to be any suspicious circumstances.
Officers are instead believed to be treating the deaths as accidental, and preparing a report for the Essex Coroner.
The alarm was raised after their daughter Ellie, 21, found them dead in their five bedroom home in the yachting village of West Mersea near Colchester, Essex (East Anglia News Service)It is thought that the police investigation is focussing on a possible leak of deadly carbon monoxide gas from a faulty appliance or poor ventilation in their home.
The gas is odourless and can gradually overcome people who are exposed to it.
Mrs Baxter was managing director of a company called Cazsplash Ltd, selling bath mats designed to fit snugly around modern curved or corner showers, along with matching towels.
Her husband was a fellow director of the business which was launched 11-years-ago, according to Companies House records.
He was also global lead, operational risk and assurance, for multi-billion pound transnational real estate firm Jones Lang LaSalle, which was founded in the UK but has its headquarters in Chicago.
The couple who married in 2000 had two children together, Miss Baxter and her brother. Mrs Baxter had two more children from two previous marriages.
They were known to be social members at West Mersea Yacht Club which is now planning to fly its flag at half mast.
Carol Baxter who died with her husband Stephen at their home in West Mersea, Essex (East Anglia News Service)The couple's white Nissan Juke car and black Jaguar, both with personalised number plates, were today still parked on the driveway of their weather-boarded house.
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A near neighbour said: "The road outside was cordoned off with blue and white tape by police on Sunday afternoon. It looked like there had been a murder.
"I also saw two fire engines and a gas van to arrive. We later heard that they had been found dead in their chairs, and that it was probably down to some sort of gas leak.
"It is just a terrible tragedy. They were a lovely couple and seemed really happy. I know they had grown up children. They were members of the West Mersea Yacht Club."
An Essex Police spokesperson said: "We were called by colleagues in the ambulance service to concerns for the welfare of two people at a home in Victory Road, West Mersea, on Sunday 9 April, at about 1.30pm.
"Officers arrived and, sadly, found two people aged in their 60s had died. Their deaths are being treated as unexpected but not suspicious and we are investigating the circumstances around the deaths."
Post mortems on the couple are due to be completed this week, and an inquest will be held at Essex Coroners Court at a later date.
East of England Ambulance Service said it sent a number of personnel to the incident, but added: "Sadly, the patients were found deceased."
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