Grandfather of three murdered children writes remarkable letter saying he is 'proud' of his killer son-in-law

Ron Tocknell, father Ruth Fuller, 35, (pictured) insisted that her husband - who killed their three children in Shropshire - was a good father who raised them with 'love and joy and laughter'. Ceri Fuller, 35, is believed to have stabbed son Sam, 12, and daughters Rebecca, eight, and Charlotte, seven, to death in a secluded beauty spot before jumping 65ft to his death in a quarry in Shropshire.



This man MURDERED his children. He robbed them of their right to life. There are no excuses. What he did is despicable, horrific.

'I WISH YOU COULD HAVE KNOWN THEM': RON TOCKNELL'S MOVING LETTER 

'To most of you, Ceri, Sam, Becca and Charlie were strangers you read about in the press: strangers who touched your hearts.

'I wish you could have known them. You have felt a little of the pain of their terrible passing but you have never known the joy of their presence.I want to share a little of that with you. I want to introduce them to you. Ceri. Perhaps some of you feel anger toward him. You know him only as the man who did this.

'I know him as the man who fell in love with my daughter. I know him as the man who worked tirelessly to support the family he worshipped. 'I know him as the man who, together with my daughter, raised my beautiful grandchildren in an environment of love and joy and laughter.

 'I weep for my daughter’s pain, I weep for the loss of my grandchildren and I weep for Ceri’s pain and confusion in equal measures'

'He and Ruth taught them responsibility so that they always knew why they couldn’t always get their own way and they were able to accept these boundaries with understanding instead of resentment.

'I don’t think I ever heard the phrase ''because I said so'' in the Fuller household. When he played with them, it was never as an adult amusing the children.

'He would surrender himself to the joys of playing as if he, too, were a child. When he had to address misbehaviour, he did so with reason and never with punishment.

'Perhaps we will never understand the torment in Ceri’s mind that drove him to such an act but I know that this was not an act of malice or spite.

'I weep for my daughter’s pain, I weep for the loss of my grandchildren and I weep for Ceri’s pain and confusion in equal measures.

'There are no villains in this dreadful episode. There are only victims. He will always remain a man I am proud to have called my son-in-law.

'Sam. Sam was an astoundingly intelligent boy with a surprisingly sophisticated sense of humour.

'He was interested in so many things and ate life up with a spoon... Sam could hold his own in any conversation with adults and his sharp wit and humour always shone through.

'I am so grateful for the time that I had with him. Becca. Becca was the quiet one. Until very recently, she was intensely shy and introverted.

''Despite the nature of what occurred, there are no real villains in this terrible incident, only victims'

'She was also very camera-shy and I deeply regret that we had managed to get so few photographs of her, because the few we had managed to get are now all that we will ever have.

'In the last year or so, however, she began to blossom. She became more outward and able to communicate her thoughts. She was artistic and articulate and very much like her mother.

'In effect, we were only just beginning to know her when she was taken from us. She was just beginning to show her competitive streak and her will to accomplish. I was just beginning to know her and now the little I have is all that I have left to cherish.

'Charlie. Charlie is the youngest and the absolute opposite of Becca. Many of the photos I attempted to take of Becca wound up as photos of Charlie leaping in front of the lens. She was extroverted and assertive.

'Charlie found everything funny and was constantly laughing. Everything seemed to be a joy to her. These are the people whose horrific deaths you have read about. I hope this helps to balance the news reports with a little of their lives too.

'Despite the nature of what occurred, there are no real villains in this terrible incident, only victims. I would ask all to suspend judgment and find compassion for all.

The following passage was an abridged version of Mr Tocknell's open letter to the Gloucester Citizen newspaper

But what a beautiful letter. No anger or resentment whatsoever, just love for those he has lost. We may never know why this father took the lives of his children and then himself but clearly he was a very well loved and lovely father. My thoughts are with his family at a time of immense grief.