A man found dead with his young son had been going through an acrimonious split with his partner, neighbours have claimed.
Chris Hall, thought to 52, was found with his son, also called Chris, aged six, at their home in Queen's Road, Poole, on Wednesday. Police said no-one else is being sought in connection with the incident and the cause of the deaths is not yet known.
Neighbours have told of their shock and distress at the deaths of the father and son, who were known as Big Chris and Little Chris. The house remains cordoned off by police as forensic officers carry out examinations of the scene.
A spokesman for Dorset Police said a post-mortem examination failed to establish the cause of death for either the man or the boy.
Friend Phil Haley, 38, said Mr Hall had been incredibly upset by the split with partner Rachel Edwards, 35, in March or April. He added that Mr Hall had also been experiencing "legal problems" with the cafe he ran with Ms Edwards at Nuffield Industrial Estate in Poole.
Mr Haley said: "He doted on his little boy, he meant everything to him. He was a lovely little boy, it's absolutely tragic, I don't know how they are going to explain it to the other kids at the school.
"It was a very difficult split-up, a lot of issues surrounding it made it very difficult for Big and Little Chris at home. She did end up with someone else, that was the trigger that upset Big Chris. He was a very good man. Before people think he was evil, that was the last thing he was. He had a lot of morals, a lot of people liked him.
"Chris must have felt that to get himself and Little Chris out of the situation he was in, that was what he felt he had to do. I'm not saying that was the right thing but that must be how he felt.
"He must have felt it was what he needed to do to protect Chris because doors kept being closed in his face and he felt his son was being taken away from him."
Another neighbour, who didn't want to be named, said: "It's a real shock. They seemed like a nice family but you never know what goes on behind closed doors."
