British Man Shot Dead With girlfriend On Beach Was 'In Wrong Place At wrong Time'

Inquest: Mark Fane De Salis and Lynn Howie were both found dead on a beach

A British expat shot dead with his girlfriend on a beach in Libya was 'in the wrong place at the wrong time', a coroner said. Mark Fane de Salis, 48, and his Kiwi girlfriend Lynn Howie, 47, were found face down in the sand alongside a picnic blanket and food.

Photographs on a camera recovered from the murder scene showed the couple had enjoyed a day visiting Roman ruins before relaxing on the beach. See more photos after this cut..

 Here comes Mark's photo

Execution Killing: British oil worker Mark Fane De Salis was killed in Libya

No motive has yet been found for the execution-style killings. Recording a verdict of unlawful killing at an inquest yesterday coroner Tom Osborne said Mark had been targeted at random. He said: "He was in Libya when it was still in a state of flux. This was a totally motiveless crime. "He was in the wrong place at the wrong time." Mr Fane de Salis was found dead on the beach near Tripoli on January 2 this year. He had been living in the North African country for six years and worked as a power station project manager.

 Motiveless Crime: No one has been brought to justice for the killing of Lynn Howie

 

Post-mortems showed both he and his girlfriend were shot in the back of the head from close range. Valuables were found on their bodies ruling out robbery as a possible motive.
The inquest in Ampthill, Bedfordshire, heard both Scotland Yard and Libyan police have failed to find the killers.

After the hearing Mark's family paid tribute saying he was a 'decent and incredibly loyal man, loved by many." They added: "He will be sadly missed by his family and friends.