Hertfordshire triple-shooting victim 'upset a lot of people'

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Detectives are today continuing the hunt for the killers who shot dead three men and left two women badly injured at a house in Hertfordshire.

Keith Cowell, 52, and his son Matthew, 17, were shot dead at their home late on Tuesday - along with Tony Dulieu, 33, of Billericay, Essex.

A 23-year-old woman and a 54-year-old woman were badly hurt in the attack in Plaw Hatch Close, in Bishop's Stortford, Herts. They were last night in a "serious but stable" condition in hospital where they are thought to be guarded by police.

Locals named the younger woman as Clare, Matthew Cowell's girlfriend. The older woman was said to be Keith Cowell's sister, Christine.

Police said a three-year-old girl, named by neighbours as Clare's daughter Angel, was unharmed and is being cared for by family members.

Officers said their inquiries into the attack at the house were "progressing".

Floral tributes have been left outside the house where the killings took place and friends have paid tributes - with many leaving messages in memory of Matthew Cowell on an internet website.

But some who claimed they knew the Cowell family painted a darker picture.

One man said Keith Cowell had "upset" a lot of people. A woman said she was "not surprised" by the shootings.

"He has upset a lot of families," said the man, who did not want to be named. "That's the sort of man he was."

Detectives would only say that the attack was "targeted", but sources said the victims were known to police.

Police said the families of the victims had asked not to be contacted by journalists.

Locals said the Cowell family had moved to Bishop's Stortford around two years ago. Before they had lived in and around the nearby town of Buntingford.

Keith Cowell is said to have worked on building sites and as a taxi driver.

Neighbours said he had also been involved in running a wine bar in Stevenage, Herts.

Matthew's sister, Charlotte, who is in her early 20s, was a member of a local youth council as a teenager, neighbours said.

A number of friends today left messages in memory of Matthew on the Gone Too Soon website.

One message read: "You was the most special person ever."

Another read: "I have got so many memories."

Copyright Press Association 2007.

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