Children found stabbed to death alongside body of father (From Basingstoke Gazette)

Children stabbed to death and found next to their father near Andover

1:08pm Monday 1st October 2012 in Andover By Jen Rivett

The car is removed

The bodies of a man and two young children have been found next to a car on a bridleway near Andover.

Hampshire Police were alerted at 6.15pm yesterday by a member of the public who discovered the bodies in Newton Stacey.

They are believed to be Michael Pedersen, 51, of Chertsey, Surrey, and Ben Pedersen, seven, and Freya Pedersen, six, both of Ashford, Middlesex, according to Hampshire Constabulary.

The children died from stab wounds, Detective Superintendent Tony Harris of Hampshire Police said.

No-one else is being sought in connection with the deaths, police said.

The grandfather of Ben and Freya Pedersen, spoke tonight of the family's devastation and appealed for privacy.

Detective Superintendent Tony Harris, of Hampshire police, said that the ''tragic incident'' happened during a visit to Mr Pedersen's father during an arranged visit with his children from his estranged wife.

Mr Harris said that Surrey Police were considering referring the case to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) because of some previous contact with Mr Pedersen.

Mr Harris said the mother of the two children had alerted Surrey Police at 7pm yesterday after Mr Pedersen, of Chertsey, Surrey, failed to return with the children at the arranged time of 5pm.

He said he believed the deaths happened at some point during the afternoon.

Mr Harris said: ''A Home Office pathologist visited the scene and at this time it appears the children suffered fatal stab wounds and Mr Pedersen took his own life shortly afterwards.''

He added: ''They were visiting relatives in Andover, which is nearby.

''It was the father of Mr Pedersen, the grandfather of the children.''

Describing the incident, he added: ''Any scene you go to with children involved is distressing for the officers, we have given them support and they continue to receive support.

''It is very tragic, it's a dreadful loss of life, one of the most tragic cases I have had to deal with.''

Mr Harris said police were in the process of tracing the family of Mr Pedersen, who had two other children from a previous relationship, when his estranged wife raised the alarm.

He added that he was not looking for anyone else in connection with the deaths.

The bodies were found lying behind the car, he said.

He added: ''It's very isolated and there was a person walking yesterday who notified us to the presence of the vehicle but I do not anticipate anyone else would have seen anything.''

The children's mother was informed by a family liaison officer and was being provided with support, he said.