Parents and boy, six, were found dead in house blaze hours after mum sent cryptic text to in-laws saying goodbye
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A mum sent a cryptic 'goodbye' text to her in-laws just hours before she, her husband and child died in a deliberate house blaze.
One of the parents deliberately poured petrol around the bedroom to start the fire that killed the family.
However, the coroner could not make a decision on which of the parents started the blaze and recorded open verdicts on them both.
The six-year-old son was ruled out as the arsonist, with the coroner ruling he had been unlawfully killed.
Tiago Nunes, 30, his wife Adriana, 41, and six-year-old Tiago junior, known as Tito, were all found burned to death on a bed inside the farmhouse which burned all night without anyone realising what was happening.
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Days after the fire it was reported Adriana had sent a number of cryptic messages to her sister-in-law Cecilia Nunes, 44.
In the messages she appeared angry that her family had missed her birthday, reported The Sun.
Cecilia said: "She texted me. The message said ‘goodbye’, but I deleted it because I was very upset.
"Another said ‘thank you very much family for my birthday’."
"I think that’s strange because we didn’t send any birthday message. I can’t believe what happened."
Detectives found a hatchet and scythe in the room, as well as the remains of the family's two pet cats.
The inquest was told Mr Nunes had access to cans of petrol and diesel at the farm and during the night one of the containers was taken inside the farmhouse in Reigate, Surrey.
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Forensic evidence given to the coroner in Woking, Surrey, heard petrol had been sprinkled around the bedroom as little Tito slept on the bed and it was then set on fire.
The inquest was told that the fatal fire happened on January 24 last year - a day after Adriana's birthday.
She had previously tried to commit suicide and had been the mother of another child in Chile, who her ex-partner refused to allow her to see.
The child killed herself aged 16 years, the inquest was told.
Mr and Mrs Nunes had settled in Reigate and had young Tito. They all lived together in the isolated rented farmhouse in Trumpet Hill Road.
After their deaths a JustGiving website page was set up to raise money to send the three bodies back to their home country of Portugal.
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Their Little Stanton Farm Cottage had burned all night and was razed to the ground before the alarm was sounded by Mr Nunes' boss, farmer Adrian Smart, the next day when the father failed to arrive for work.
Mrs Nunes worked as a cleaner and their little 'Tito' attended North Downs Primary School.
Giving evidence, Tiago's sister, Manuela Nunes, said her sister-in-law had struggled with depression after feeling "guilty about leaving her daughter behind", and on one occasion had taking an overdose.
"Adriana called me many times to say she hadn't the will to live any more," she told assistant coroner Christopher Sutton-Mattocks.
"I would always try to encourage her and tell her that God had given her another chance to be a mother so take the chance and do the best you can, and you're a great mum."
Miss Nunes, who described how her brother adored his son, said Mrs Nunes had told her on many occasions that she wanted to kill herself.
"Tiago had told me once that if something ever happened to Adriana he wouldn't have the will to live and they would probably all go together," she said.
The inquest heard how Mr Nunes, who had worked for Mr Smart as gardener, was heavily in debt at the time of their deaths.
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Earlier, Mr Smart told the inquest at first he did not realise something serious had happened when he went to check on the family at around 11am.
"Because the walls were standing it took me a moment or two to realise there wasn't a roof," he said.
"I went in through the front door and to the bedroom where they slept. I saw a charred bed but I didn't see any body parts, and I actually clung to the belief, somehow or another, that somehow they got out."
In a locked and alarmed shed there was supposed to be two five litre white Jerry cans containing petrol and diesel, which Mr Nunes had access to, the inquest was told.
However, when police asked Mr Smart to check their contents he found one of the cans was empty.
Neighbour's and witness described hearing an explosion at about 1.38am and seeing a glow in the distance.
A fire investigation found that such was the force of the explosion it caused a 100kg window to be blasted 15-and-a-half metres outside, and the bedroom's adjacent wall to collapse.
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Surrey Fire and Rescue fire investigator Paul Risbridger said petrol had been detected in three different areas of the bedroom.
"We concluded the cause of the fire was deliberate ignition of petrol vapour," he said.
"The fact there was petrol in the bedroom while there are people in the bedroom where there is no reason for petrol to be there, there was no other cause to the fire."
The remains of light green Jerry can were also found in the kitchen.
Detective Chief Inspector Paddy Mayers, of Surrey Police, said that it found Tito was asleep next to his mum at the time of the explosion.
"The conclusion was the fire was ignited from within the room and whoever caused or ignited that fire was in that room, and if there was a third party they would have been killed at the time of that explosion," he said.
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Delivering his conclusion, Mr Sutton-Mattocks found the six-year-old had been unlawfully killed and recorded open verdicts for Mr and Mrs Nunes.
"Someone in the family poured petrol in the bedroom and ignited it, quite why will never become clear," he said.
"I agree with the police's evidence of ruling Tiago Jr out. He'd have to get out of bed, go fetch the petrol and poured it without either parent stopping him doing so.
"I reject that as a possibility. He was only six-years-old and he could not be party in any joint decision, even if he had been, on the account of his age.
"For Tiago and Adriana, I am unable to reach any conclusion which of the two of them ignited and caused the explosion."
In a statement after the hearing, the Nunes family said it was difficult for them to understand what happened that terrible day.
"Even after today we still have many questions that are simply unable to ever be answered and sadly we are told we will have to forever suffer the torment of never knowing for sure," they said.
"Their passing leaves us all with a huge hole in our hearts that will never heal. They are, and always will be, missed so much.
"We ask that we be left to grieve for our loved ones in peace and that our privacy be respected during this incredibly difficult time."