Pemberton family photo from the 1980s

Julia Pemberton, 47, and her 17-year-old son William Pemberton were apparently killed by her estranged husband Alan, 48, at their family home, before he turned the gun on himself.

Daughter Laura survived, as she was away from the �1m family home in Slanting Hill, Hermitage, Berkshire, when the incident happened on Tuesday.

On Saturday the 19-year-old Cambridge University student spoke out for the first time about her parents' stormy marriage leading up to the triple tragedy.

My father moved out of the house following a court injunction after he threatened to kill my mother Laura Pemberton

In a statement issued through the Catholic Diocese of Portsmouth, Miss Pemberton said: "First of all I want to say that we were a loving family and words cannot express how I feel or how much I miss them.

"I want to make clear the following: My parents' marriage had been in difficulty for a number of years.

"My father moved out of the house following a court injunction after he threatened to kill my mother. This was over a year ago.

"My mother's diagnosis of cancer and the subsequent successful operation did not play a part in her decision to end the marriage.

Neighbours say the family moved to Hermitage three years ago

"The sale of the house was on the order of the divorce court.

"From the explanation provided by the police it appears that my brother William was killed whilst trying to protect my mother."

Miss Pemberton thanked police for their "kindness and consideration" and said she hoped the media would allow her and the rest of her family their privacy.

Other relatives trying to deal with the triple death tragedy had previously said that the row was triggered by Mrs Pemberton saying she wanted a new life and that she had put the house in the leafy village of Hermitage near Newbury on the market.

Armed police had surrounded the property on Tuesday night after receiving a distressed call from Julia Pemberton saying there was a man with a gun, but when they stormed it hours later, all three were dead.

Post mortem examination results released by Thames Valley Police on Friday said Mrs Pemberton and her son died from gunshot wounds to the chest and stomach, and Mr Pemberton, from Bronze Ash, near Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire died from a gunshot wound to the head.