DARKNESS had fallen over the Evenlode Valley as the Caithness family settled for the evening around an open log fire. The long, slightly faded drape curtains had been pulled tightly together, shutting out the driving rain.
It had been a good family Christmas, Lord Caithness had told friends. But that was to be tragically given the lie just a few hours later.
Now, after a relaxing day, the family was ready to enjoy a quiet evening at Shepherds Hill before the two children, Lady Iona, 15, and 12-year-old Alexander, returned to boarding school. Neither her husband nor the children thought it strange when, just after 6 pm, Diana, Countess of Caithness, suddenly rose and announced she was going upstairs.
Detectives believed that on leaving the sitting room, part of an additional wing at the rear of the white-washed house, the Countess crossed the large entrance hallway to a study at the front. In the room lined with old family books and papers reflectingher husband's political responsibilities in the House of Lords, she took the key to a cupboard which was bolted to the wall.
Quietly, she turned the key and removed one of her husband's six sporting guns, together with a cartridge, then closed the cabinet door. Beneath photographic portraits of her closest family, she cradled the weapon and made her way to the stairs.
Thick carpet deadened her footsteps as she headed for the landing. Downstairs, the sounds of her family could be heard. At the top of the landing she turned right and entered the master bedroom, which commanded magnificent views of 2.5 hectares of pasture attached to the property and then on to the rolling lush green fields and hills of the Cotswolds. The Countess cocked the weapon and lay on the bed. Some minutes later a single shot rang out, heard downstairs as a muffled bang.