Children died alongside father in car fire, say police

A man is believed to have killed himself and his four children, aged from three to 12, by setting fire to their car.

Officers are studying a note left by the dead man, Claude Mubiangaita, 38, asking his wife to forgive him for "everything I have done". The five bodies were found early yesterday inside a Nissan Primera on a trading estate in West Ham, east London, after the car was reported to be on fire.

After a post-mortem examination, police said that all five died from severe burns and inhalation of fumes, dismissing the possibility that they died before the fire started.

The note to Mr Mubiangaita's wife, Chantalle, read: "I didn't want you to see me going around as a mad person. Forgive me for everything I have done. You know everything behind it.

"There is a complicity with you and your sister. That's why I am giving you freedom to do your thing and look after your sister's kids because I am taking mine with me."

A friend of Mr Mubiangaita, Cino Mangono, said he found the note after rushing round to the dead man's house in Forest Gate, east London, at 2am yesterday when he learnt of the deaths.

Mr Mangono said that Mr Mubiangaita and his wife arrived in Britain from Congo in 1990. They had two daughters, Alpha and Cyndy, and two sons, Kio and Aaron.

Mr Mangono said the marriage had seemed "rock solid" until the couple's relationship turned stormy about six months ago.

The couple separated, and Mrs Mubiangaita, whose maiden name is Vieme, lived with the children in Upton Park, east London.

Mr Mangono, a singer, said: "When I heard the news [of the deaths], I went round to the wife's place, then I went to his place.

"I saw two envelopes, one to his younger brother and one to his wife, Chantalle. I opened them and read them. I made a copy of the two letters."

He continued: "Claude was a very kind but secretive man who would never even say if he was sick. He would never tell me about his matrimonial problems. We used to think that their marriage was rock solid.

"But everything came out when his wife's sister came over. The problems started six or seven months ago when she came over from Africa.

"They were very lovable kids. They were very good kids. They would treat you with a lot of fun.

"They were really in love with their father. He would take them everywhere. His life was his kids."

Scotland Yard said that the name of the dead man and the children would not be released until they had been formally identified.

Detective Superintendent Jim Osbourne of the Serious Crime Group East said: "One line of inquiry would be that this was a murder-suicide. While we have not formally identified the bodies, we believe we may know the identities of the deceased."

Det Supt Osbourne confirmed that police were looking into the marital history of the dead man and the couple's childcare arrangements.

It was unlikely that anyone would have witnessed the car being set on fire on the industrial estate in the early hours, Det Supt Osbourne said. But he added that he was hopeful that closed-circuit television cameras would have caught the incident on film.

The bodies were examined yesterday by Dr Mike Heath, a Home Office pathologist, and forensic science experts.