A British woman's missing tot, three, has been discovered dead inside a burned out car near to the body of his father following a suspected murder- suicide.
Hunters made the devastating discovery of the young boy's body in a burned out car in the mountains near Santa Margarida da Serra, 80 miles south of the city of Lisbon in Portugal.
The Mirror reports that the German man has been named locally as “famous designer” Clemens Weisshaar. His child has been named locally as Tasso.
The mother has not yet been named.
The man, 40, whose body was next to the vehicle, had a gunshot wound to his head.
His son was said to have been reported missing by his mum a week ago after her ex-partner failed to return him following a weekend visit.
Local reports describe the unnamed mum as a British expat based in Lisbon.
Portuguese daily Jornal de Noticias, which named the father, said he and his wife had separated in July.
Reports said the mum had moved to Lisbon with their child after the split.
Her ex had reportedly not seen the little boy until the end of last month when he went to the Portuguese capital and “promised” to return him on November 1 after spending some time with him.
Police in Portugal are understood to have been searching for the missing father and son since the start of the week when the child’s mum went to police.
It is not yet clear if the German father lived in Santa Margarida da Serra and how long he and his son had been dead.
An autopsy due to be performed later today is expected to determine the exact time of death.
A worker at a restaurant in a village nearby, who described the German man and his ex-partner as occasional customers, told Jornal de Noticias: “Sometimes they came in with the little boy and other times it was just him.
“He wasn’t a person who spoke a lot. Good morning and good afternoon and that was it.”
Clemens Weisshaar has been described by magazine Forum as “the leading edge of a new generation of digital designers.”
He first trained as a metalworker before studying design in London.
Along with his business partner, he founded Kram/Weisshaar in Munich and Stockholm in 2002.
Kram/Weisshaar’s work has been exhibited worldwide and can be found in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Centre Pompidou in Paris and the Vitra Design Museum in Weil am Rhein in Germany.
Among the company’s creations is a razor-thin table embedded with hidden circuitry so you can cook dinner and keep plates warm and drinks cold while you dine.
Portugal’s Judicial Police are leading the investigation.
A spokeswoman for the PJ at its press office in Lisbon said: “We have no comment to make at this stage.”
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