An Irish mother and her disabled daughter were shot dead in a suspected murder-suicide in Spain. It is understood the family had been living in Spain for ten years.

The bodies of the mother and daughter were found in a bedroom of their apartment in Mijas, on the Costa Del Sol, and the husband’s body was found in another room.

British man Phillip Wood, 56, is thought to have killed his wife Shelia, 54, and daughter Sophie, 27, before turning the gun on himself, the Daily Mail reports.

Police are working on the theory that the deaths were a murder-suicide. It is understood he left a note explaining that the daughter’s disability had become too much and had pushed them to the edge.

Their British landlord made the grim discovery on Wednesday when he went to the property to find out why rent had not been paid.

A Guardia Civil spokeswoman said the family had been renting the property.

“The latest information we have is that the owner of the house had not heard from the family for a few days and had not been paid,” she said.

“He went to the house today and when there was no reply at the door, he went inside. Inside he saw the man dead on the sofa and immediately called the Guardia Civil.

“When officers inspected the house they found the wife and the daughter dead in a bedroom.

The initial hypothesis at this early stage of the investigation is that this was a murder-suicide.”