West Chiltington murdered woman- children leave floral tributes

Her two daugters and a son left a message which said: ""To a loving and devoted mother, love from all your children, we love you mum."

Her murder was discovered on Sunday December 23, after police were called out to a car crash in Monkmead Lane, West Chiltington at 8.50pm.

Mrs Goswell's husband, Roger (66) had been driving his Smart car, which hit a tree. He was taken to Worthing Hospital, but died there before detectives were able to speak to him.

Police went to his home to tell his wife of the crash and discovered Mrs Goswell's body in a pool of blood. They have not ruled out the fact that Mr Goswell may have committed suicide by crashing his car.

Mrs Gosling was well liked in West Chiltington, but residents have described Mr Gosling as ' a bully'.

He upset the village a few years ago when he bought land in Threal's Lane, West Chiltington and tried to obtain planning permission for six houses. When the scheme was turned down he became aggressive towards residents who had opposed the scheme.

He and his wife had been landlords of several pubs, including the Stonemasons Arms in Petworth and the Squire and Horse in Bury.

One neighbour said that Mrs Gosling had told her recently that she and her husband were having marriage problems and that she was worried about the way he was buying expensive cars and spending money.

The house had recently been put up for sale and she said they were on the verge of divorcing.

Specialist scenes of crime officers spent the morning at the house on Monday gathering forensic evidence.

A Home Office pathologist carried out tests on the bodies to try to confirm how the Goswells died, including carrying out tests for alcohol and other substances in their bloodstreams.

A major incident room has been set up and Detective Chief Inspector Adam Hibbert of Sussex Police's Major Crime Branch is leading the investigation, codenamed Operation Armoy.