WITH a lump in his throat, Detective
Constable Alan Ferguson can only
describe it as his darkest day.
Pulling up at the house he knew two young
children whose mother had been missing for
weeks were about to be told she was dead -
at the hands of their father.
They had nobody else to turn to, only their
grandparents he had just brought to
Hampshire from Finland after delivering the
news to them in person.
"Of all the dark days, that was the darkest.
There had always been hope until then," said
DC Ferguson, from Hampshire's major
crime department.
"How can words describe to two children
who have lost their mum because dad had
killed her? It was an emotional nightmare."
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Three weeks earlier Kirsi Gifford-Hull, 38,
had been reported missing by her husband
Mike, 43, who told them she had consumed a
lot to drink and had left their home in
Winchester in the middle of the night.
Left behind were the two children, a son
and daughter she adored, as well as the
cheating husband who spent his time meeting
women on the Internet.
Det Con Alan Ferguson
At the outset, a family liaison officer - in
this case DC Ferguson - was deployed
because two young children were involved
and distressed.
Initially working in Basingstoke, he was
picked to become an FLO, a tough job that
not everyone can do in Hampshire police,
but in which he still relishes the challenge.
"For a few days we were not dealing with a
suspicious incident, only a report that a
mother had gone from the marital home of
her own accord.
It's a succinct difference from the call you
can get at 3am to say go and see a family who
have suffered a tragedy, the circumstances
however are as difficult to deal with."
Arriving at the home of the Gifford-Hull
family, DC Ferguson found two young children
with nobody else to turn to, wondering
why their mum had left them.
"As family liaison officers we are walking
into an unknown arena. It's one thing stepping
into a job when you know the parameters.
We knew some of the story but didn't
have all the pieces of the jigsaw.
"We are there to listen and to pass information
from the investigation to the family but
also to elicit what you can as a detective and
help the inquiry.
"As an FLO, when you know you are
dealing with a murder inquiry you
have in your mind how you have to
tell a family that someone is dead.
This case was so different.We didn't
have a death and the children still
had hope and expectation that he
gave them that mum might still
return - that's what they had to hold
on to.
"For the first few days it was very
difficult. As a dad with children
you cannot but be
touched by the
innocence of
childhood in a
case like this.
But you still
have to be professional
and
maintain a line that cannot be crossed."
A challenging role, DC Ferguson found
himself having to build a relationship with
Gifford-Hull yet trying to maintain a professional
distance.
"It's a very fine line not to become too emotionally
involved, like in this case it would be
very easy to be attached to the children.
It's one of the hardest challenges I have
ever had.
"Kirsi's daughter Katrina didn't have a
very good relationship with her dad. She was
an innocent child. She cried uncontrollably
and was shaking with distress.
"With him (Gifford-Hull) I had to sit down
and let him have a few crocodile tears."
"I knew that there was something just
not right. Kirsi was a woman who
was devoted to her children,
according to him she had drunk a
lot and had gone in the middle of
the night. Gifford-Hull had gone
to excessive measures to stand up
that story he had made up in his
mind.
"It takes every professional
ounce of your experience to walk
into that arena, to deal with the
most distressed of families who are
angry and shocked. You are a
stranger walking into
their family and not
because you are
invited but
because circumstances
mean you
have to be
there."
As an FLO, his role was not just in
Hampshire - but saw DC Ferguson deployed
to Finland as part of the search for Kirsi,
where her parents and siblings lived.
It was during that trip that the phone call
came to say a body, believed to be hers, had
been found in woodland near Micheldever.
"I can remember it clear as day. It was
about 9.30pm when I took the call and I went
back to the hotel. I knew I had to get Kirsi's
brothers and sisters with me so I drove up in
the middle of the night and told her sister
first.
"I went to her parents' house about 3am
and as soon as they answered the door they
knew I was there for only one reason and I
stayed with them through the night."
He returned back to the UK with Kirsi's
grieving parents soon after.
Most difficult day'
"In my 30 years' service it was probably
one of the most difficult days. I took her parents
from the airport straight to where the
body was found and let them lay flowers. The
next morning I took them to where the children
were staying."
Later that night they visited Winchester
Cathedral - a place chosen by DC Ferguson
to help a family try and get some peace.
"That for me was the end of a very difficult
day. As they left Katrina asked if she would
ever smile again and the Canon wrapped
them in his gown. It was so moving.
"To do that you might say is spontaneous,
above and beyond, but as an FLO you do
what you can to make their plight easier."
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