Abusive husband wrote 'karma is a b****' in suicide note before killing estranged wife and daughter

'Our world is a darker place because they have gone,' say family

The scene outside the leisure centre after the killings (PA)

An abusive husband penned a suicide note saying “karma is a b****” the night before he killed his estranged wife and daughter, an inquest has heard.

Lance Hart, 57, shot his wife, Claire, 50, and 19-year-old daughter, Charlotte, in a Spalding leisure centre car park, several days after she left him, a court was told.

He then killed himself. Lincolnshire Police are still investigating how he obtained the weapon, as he was not a firearms licence holder.

A court has heard how Mr Hart wrote a 12-page message after eating a meal of paella and red wine the night before the killings.

It was addressed “To whom it may concern” and was found on a USB stick in Hart’s car after the shooting.

"Revenge is dish served cold, karma is a b****," said one line in the note, Coroner Paul Cooper told the court.

Mr Cooper concluded the deaths of Charlotte and Claire were unlawful killings and Hart's was suicide, adding: "He knew exactly what he was going to do.

"It was a single-barrel shotgun, so it was not a question of him just shooting his wife, he then had to unload it, put another cartridge in and shoot it again.

"In my view, this was a cold, calculated, scheming man who went out and deliberately murdered his wife and daughter.

"If he had lived... he would have been charged with murder. Unfortunately he didn't live to face the consequences of his actions. He took his own life."

Mrs Hart had confided in a colleague at Morrison’s, Dale Pateman, that she was unhappy with her marriage.

Detective Inspector Helen Evans said: "Over the last two years, Claire had confided in Dale about problems she was having in her personal relationship with Lance Hart.

"She had described him as being a controlling and selfish man. Claire had told Dale she had become worn out by Lance's behaviour.

"Dale described Claire as beaming and really happy in the few days that had elapsed since leaving her husband."

When Mr Pateman was told the couple would be meeting on 19 July to exchange documents and photographs, he warned her to be careful, the court heard.

Mrs Evans said: "Claire told him she would be okay as she would have Charlotte with her."

The couple's sons Ryan and Luke said in a statement following the inquest: "Charlotte and our mum were our inspiration and purpose in life.

"They were the two most virtuous and beautiful people we have ever encountered. It is not possible to describe how unfairly and how cruelly they have been taken from us.

"Our world is a darker place because they have gone."

Additional reporting by agencies