Magdalen Deaths: Village in shock at double tragedy

Flowers have been left on Stow Road in Magdalen. Picture: Ian Burt (Image: Archant 2016)

Usually a quiet and peaceful village, yesterday it was the scene of police activity as forensics experts carefully examined the bungalow and garden where the two bodies were discovered.

Stow Road was closed to the public with only neighbours and those living within the cordon allowed to enter and leave the area. The house was sealed off to enable forensics officers to examine the scene.

Residents tried to carry on with their everyday lives; parents took their children to the local primary school while others were out walking their dogs. Yet many simply couldn't help but glance over at the police and media presence at the scene.

Officers are expected to remain in the village for another couple of days while detectives continue to piece together what exactly happened between Stephen Muncaster, 47, and his wife Allison, 48, late on Monday night.

Forensic officers at the scene of a firearms incident in Magdalen. Picture: Ian Burt (Image: Archant 2016)

One neighbour said: 'I personally thought Steve and Alli came across as nice people.

'We didn't have much to do with them, but they were friendly as neighbours.

'I know everyone in the village is upset and shocked by this.'

He added: 'Magdalen is a lovely place to live; living in the countryside is peaceful and those who live here seem kind and friendly.

'I'm sure that if anything had happened to any of us, Steve and Alli would've been there to help.'

It was those neighbours who initially alerted the emergency services to reports of hearing gunshots and a woman screaming.

When the police arrived, Mr Muncaster's body was found in the front garden and Mrs Muncaster was discovered in the house.

Another resident said he had heard a commotion between midnight and 1am, while another added: 'Who'd have thought it in Magdalen?'

Neighbour Will Smith, 18, a student, said: 'To have all of this going on here in Magdalen is mental.

'It's the quietest village ever – nothing ever happens here usually.'

As well as the forensic work at the scene, officers will also be speaking to neighbours who heard the commotion for the investigation.

Specialist police family liaison teams are also comforting the family and keeping them updated with any further developments.

Det Supt Paul Durham, from the Joint Norfolk and Suffolk Major Investigation Team, said: 'I can only imagine what the communities in and around Magdalen must be feeling.

'However these difficult circumstances are described, two people have died in tragic and violent circumstances.

'It must be difficult for residents to comprehend but I would like to reassure them that nobody else is involved.'

Magdalen is less than 10 miles south of King's Lynn on the west bank of the River Great Ouse.

It had a population of just 729 in 304 households in the 2011 census. It has one pub called The Cock.

•Who were Stephen and Allison Muncaster?

Neighbours of Stephen Muncaster and his wife Allison knew very little about the couple – except that Mr Muncaster was related to the multi-millionaire lottery winner Michael Carroll.

One neighbour in Magdalen said: 'We heard they were related to the lottery winner – but we never asked about it.

'To be fair, it was really none of our business anyway.'

Mr Muncaster remarried after splitting from his wife Kelly. When they were a couple, they often appeared alongside Mr Carroll after he hit the lottery jackpot in 2002.

Mr Carroll happened to be living with them in the Magdalen bungalow when he won the cash.

However, Mr Muncaster shied away from the public eye when he married Allison.

In the village, little was known about their personal lives.

Nobody seemed to know how they first met or where either of them worked.

Now officers, as part of their inquiry, are finding out more about the couple to piece together the events in the build- up to the incident.

Det Supt Paul Durham said: 'Part of the investigation is to get a really clear picture of who they are.

'All I can say at the moment is that they are local people who have lived in the address together and they have been part of the community for some time.'

He added: 'We will be looking further into their background to find out more and more about them because it is going to help us explain what possibly led to last night's incident.'