Epsom College – latest: Murdered headteacher’s husband ran failed firm before deaths

Emma Pattison should not be seen as the “victim of a cowardly man” but remembered for her talents, Helen Walker, who knew the headteacher for 16 years, said.

Speaking to The Times, Ms Walker said: “It should really be about her. I don’t want to speculate on him in any way. I want people to envisage her and her daughter in a happy place.”

The pair reportedly met when they worked as part-time ski holiday reps in Mühlbach, Austria. Ms Walker said she was not aware of any domestic issues in Ms Pattison’s marriage.

She also shared a picture of Ms Pattison and Lettie, her seven-year-old daughter, paddling on Walberswick beach, Suffolk, four years ago.

“My post was about her light,” she said. “It’s a bit like when you have a terrorist attack. You shouldn’t focus on the perpetrator. You should focus on the victims.”

The headteacher of Epsom College, her husband, and their young daughter were found dead inside the school.

Board of governors chair at the school, Dr Alastair Wells, said: “On behalf of everyone at Epsom College, I want to convey our utter shock and disbelief at this tragic news.

Watch:

Emma Pattison, 45, was found dead with her husband George Pattison, 39, and their seven-year-old daughter Lettie at their home in the grounds of Epsom College in Surrey on Sunday.

Acting headmaster Paul Williams announced on Tuesday that the school will close until after the half-term break following the “incredibly distressing” details about how Mrs Pattison died, according to the BBC.

Ellie Ng reports:

The headteacher of Epsom College and her seven-year-old daughter were killed by her husband in a double-murder suicide, police believe.

Surrey Police confirmed the deaths of headteacher Emma Pattison and her daughter Lettie are being treated as a murder investigation.

The force has also referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct.

Martha McHardy has more:

Epsom College head Emma Pattison, 45, husband George, 39, and daughter Lettie were found on school grounds in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Ms Pattison was just six months into her post as the school’s first female head.

Described as a “wonderful teacher” and a “delightful person”, she presided over the education of almost 1,000 pupils.

Here’s everything we know about the elite school:

A friend of Emma Pattison’s has described her as “beautiful inside and out”.

Zoe Roberts, a teacher at Caterham School, said: “It is tragic and we wish this had never happened. She was beautiful, inside and out. She was just the most wonderful person.

“We can’t put it into words at the moment, it is too raw. We are still working it out. It is just a tragic loss.”

Police believe that the husband of Epsom College headteacher Emma Pattison shot his wife and daughter dead just days after they spoke to him on the phone about his gun licence.

George Pattison was found dead alongside his wife and seven-year-old daughter Lettie at their home on the grounds of the private school in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Investigators said a gun registered to Mr Pattison was found at the scene, but that the causes of death would not be officially confirmed until post-mortem examinations have been completed.

John Wildgoose, a photographer who took a portrait of the Pattison family last month for the Epsom College’s announcement of Emma’s headship, has described seven-year-old Lettie as “an absolute angel”.

“It was amazing how she was for the camera, it’s heartbreaking,” The Sun quoted him as saying.