02/10/2012
'Tragic' Father Was IRA Bomb Survivor
A man who stabbed his children to death before committing suicide was a former IRA bomb survivor.
The body of former Army sergeant Michael Pedersen, 51, was found with those of his two young children next to a Saab convertible near Hampshire at 18:15 on Sunday.
The children's maternal grandfather, William Clifford, said: "We are obviously devastated and what we would ask is that you respect our privacy in this matter.
"It is extremely distressing and that is all I want to say."
Detective Superintendent Tony Harris, of Hampshire Police, said that the "tragic" incident happened while Pedersen was on an arranged visit with the two children from his estranged wife.
Pedersen had served in the Household Cavalry unit hit by an IRA nail bomb in Hyde Park in 1982, according to the Daily Telegraph.
His horse Sefton survived and was adopted as a symbol of the struggle against the IRA, later winning Horse of the Year.
The 1982 bomb attack was launched by the IRA as Pedersen's unit was taking part in a changing of the guard ceremony.
Four soldiers and seven horses were killed in the explosion, however Pedersen's horse Sefton survived, despite having sustained serious injuries. The animal was treated for its 34 separate wounds under eight hours of surgery. The horse survived and became famous for battling against the odds.
(IT/GK)
The body of former Army sergeant Michael Pedersen, 51, was found with those of his two young children next to a Saab convertible near Hampshire at 18:15 on Sunday.
The children's maternal grandfather, William Clifford, said: "We are obviously devastated and what we would ask is that you respect our privacy in this matter.
"It is extremely distressing and that is all I want to say."
Detective Superintendent Tony Harris, of Hampshire Police, said that the "tragic" incident happened while Pedersen was on an arranged visit with the two children from his estranged wife.
Pedersen had served in the Household Cavalry unit hit by an IRA nail bomb in Hyde Park in 1982, according to the Daily Telegraph.
His horse Sefton survived and was adopted as a symbol of the struggle against the IRA, later winning Horse of the Year.
The 1982 bomb attack was launched by the IRA as Pedersen's unit was taking part in a changing of the guard ceremony.
Four soldiers and seven horses were killed in the explosion, however Pedersen's horse Sefton survived, despite having sustained serious injuries. The animal was treated for its 34 separate wounds under eight hours of surgery. The horse survived and became famous for battling against the odds.
(IT/GK)
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