Woodmancote shootings inquest: Mother killed with girls was 'one in a million'

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Kelly Fitzgibbons (left) and Emma Ambler (right)Image source, Emma Ambler
Image caption,

Emma Ambler (right) said nobody made her laugh as much as her twin sister, Kelly Fitzgibbons (left)

The twin sister of a woman who was shot dead along with her daughters by the girls' father has described her loss as "incomprehensible".

Kelly Fitzgibbons, 40, and Ava and Lexi Needham, aged four and two, were killed by Robert Needham, 42, at their home in Woodmancote on 29 March 2020.

Needham then turned the gun on himself, an inquest in Horsham heard.

In a tribute read out by assistant coroner Bridget Dolan, Emma Ambler said her twin was "one in a million".

A photograph of the three was put on display while tributes were read.

Image source, Emma Ambler
Image caption,

Ms Fitzgibbons was devoted to her daughters Ava, four (right) and Lexi, two (left)

Miss Ambler wrote: "Kelly and I had an idyllic and happy childhood and we would spend hours playing together, making up dance routines and plays to show the family.

"Nobody made me laugh as much as Kelly. She was an amazing sister.

"We always said we couldn't live without each other so her loss is still incomprehensible to me and our father.

"She really was one in a million."

Image source, Emma Ambler
Image caption,

Emma Ambler said she struggled to comprehend losing her twin sister

She said Ava and Lexi were Ms Fitzgibbon's "whole world" and she was "so proud of those beautiful girls".

Ava was "beautiful and angelic", she wrote, while Lexi was "cheeky" with "signature Fitzgibbons curly hair".

Meanwhile, tributes were also read out on behalf of Needham's family, describing what happened as a "diabolical tragedy".

The inquest continues.

Image source, Emma Ambler
Image caption,

Kelly Fitzgibbons's life revolved around her beloved daughters, her sister said

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