A man believed to have killed his wife and daughter then taken his own life was a doting father who would “go red if you swore in front of him”, a family friend has said.
Graeme Robson, 45, spoke after attending prayers in Oswestry for the McFall family.
Speaking outside St Oswald’s, where special prayers were held ahead of the usual service, Mr Robson dismissed rumours of financial problems that may have driven Mr McFall to kill his family.
He said he went out with Nicola Gilham, Mrs McFall’s daughter from a previous marriage, for around three years until they broke up two years ago.
He said: “I lost my mum and my dad moved to Spain so they basically became my family.
“I was close to Sue, Frankie and Hugh. They were like my family for the best part of three years.”
He said he had seen Frankie only last week when she had offered to buy him a drink last night to celebrate his birthday.
“She said, ‘I’ll see you on Saturday and buy you a drink’,” Mr Robson - who turned 45 last week - said.
“I don’t relate any of what has happened to Hugh as a father.
“He doted on Frankie beyond belief, she was a very clever girl, a very pretty girl.
“He would do anything for her. I think that’s the hardest part.
“He was very close to Nicola his step-daughter as well. He was just a really, really genuine bloke.
“If you swore in front of him he would go red. Anybody walking out of that church today would be thinking why or how.”
Mr Robson said he had not spoken to any family members since the shocking deaths but said the rumours of financial problems did not “ring true” to him.
“Two years ago before I split up with Nicola, they had literally no mortgage on the house and were thinking of moving.
“They got the house valued and it was worth about £300,000, I think.
“The debt thing just doesn’t ring true with me. They never wanted for anything, they didn’t struggle.
“They were very, very family orientated, all the money he spent was in the house.
“In my mind it doesn’t make sense, he wasn’t over-exuberant. He always looked after them.”
Mr Robson said Mr and Mrs McFall seemed “really happy”.