Michael Atherton
| AKA | |
| DOB | 1969 |
| Occupation | Taxi Driver |
| Kill Total | 3 |
| Kill Place | Hordem, Co. Durham |
| Kill Date | 1 Jan 2012 |
| M.O. | Stabbing |
| Victim | Susan McGoldrick Allison Turnball Tanya Turnball |
Michael Atherton disliked his girlfriend's sister, Alison Turnbull and blamed her for his arrest in 2008 following a family row. On New Years eve he had gone out saying that she should not be there later the next day,, unfortunately she arrived at the house before he had left.
Three others managed to escape, including 19-year-old Laura McGoldrick, who escaped from an upstairs bedroom window, she suffered minor injuries. This all happened at Atherton's family home in Horden, near Peterlee, County Durham
Police confirmed the murder weapon was a shotgun, legally owned by Atherton, and registered on his firearms certificate.
Durham Police said that Mr Atherton had been out drinking locally in the hours leading up to the shootings at the house in Greenside Avenue.