Princess Anne: My sadness over shooting tragedy on Boris Johnson estate 

Princess Anne expressed her sadness yesterday after learning a dog breeder who worked for her had been shot dead in the cottage where Boris Johnson grew up.

The Queen’s daughter said Debbie Zurick, who was allegedly shot by her estranged husband, will be ‘sorely missed’.

John Zurick, 67, is suspected of killing his 56-year-old wife with a shotgun at the cottage on Saturday afternoon after he discovered she had a new boyfriend.

He then turned the weapon on himself and currently remains in a critical but stable condition in hospital.

Princess Anne, 69, has expressed her sadness after learning a dog breeder who worked for her, Debbie Zurick, had been shot dead in the cottage where Boris Johnson grew up (pictured second right with the Queen’s daugthter is John Zurick who allegedly shot his wife)

Police forensic teams were yesterday combing the property, which is on the Prime Minister’s family estate in Somerset, and the surrounding area for clues.

Three police cars were also spotted outside a neighbouring house owned by the Prime Minister’s sister Rachel Johnson.

The Prime Minister spent a large part of his childhood on the surrounding 500-acre estate in Winsford, near Minehead, and is said to have had his first experiences with fox hunting there. It is believed Mr Johnson still visits the estate.

Mrs Zurick moved to Ireland last year after becoming ‘exasperated’ with her husband, friends said. During her stay, she started a relationship and planned to make the move permanent.

She had been secretary of the Working Clumber Spaniel Society – of which Princess Anne is president and patron – for more than 20 years, but last month a statement on its website said Mrs Zurick was retiring from the role with ‘immediate effect’ because of her move to Ireland. 

Mr Zurick, 67, is suspected of killing his 56-year-old wife (pictured together) with a shotgun at the cottage on Saturday afternoon after he discovered she had a new boyfriend

Mr Zurick, 67, is suspected of killing his 56-year-old wife (pictured together) with a shotgun at the cottage on Saturday afternoon after he discovered she had a new boyfriend

Forensic teams were combing the property, which is on the Prime Minister¿s family estate in Somerset, and the surrounding area for clues on Tuesday

Forensic teams were combing the property, which is on the Prime Minister’s family estate in Somerset, and the surrounding area for clues on Tuesday

Princess Anne bonded with Mrs Zurick over their passion for gun dogs. Last year Mrs Zurick trained a puppy called Sedgehurst Millie for Anne. In August, a statement from the society on social media said the puppy would soon be ‘living in the Princess’s kennels’. 

Last night a spokesman for Anne said: ‘The Princess Royal is saddened to hear of the death of Mrs Debbie Zurick. She will be sorely missed as secretary of the Working Clumber Spaniel Society.’

On the society’s website, Mr Zurick tells how he once trained Anne’s dog Sparkle but received a rebuke from the princess when the hound failed to bring back a pheasant.

In an interview put up last year, he said Anne left a message on his answer phone machine complaining Sparkle had buried the dead bird. He claimed the princess said: ‘If I wanted an undertaker then I would have asked for one.’

Avon and Somerset Police are investigating how Mr Zurick was able to get hold of the shotgun he allegedly used to kill his wife of 30 years. The force yesterday admitted it had seized all the licensed guns on a previous visit to the cottage last month as part of a ‘separate investigation’.

A spokesman said: ‘We’re satisfied that no firearms licensed to any of the occupants remained at the premises following this visit.’

The constabulary said it had referred itself to the police watchdog over ‘prior police contact with those involved’. Friends yesterday said Mr Zurick had started drinking heavily after his wife left the marital home last year.

Princess Anne bonded with Mrs Zurick over their passion for gun dogs. Last year Mrs Zurick (pictured with one of her canines) trained a puppy called Sedgehurst Millie for Anne

Princess Anne bonded with Mrs Zurick over their passion for gun dogs. Last year Mrs Zurick (pictured with one of her canines) trained a puppy called Sedgehurst Millie for Anne

A farmer in Winsford who knows the Zuricks said: ‘They seemed perfectly happy to us but a few weeks back John told my wife that they had separated.

‘He didn’t explain the reasons but he said it was amicable and that he would be staying in the cottage. Then we heard that Debbie had moved to Ireland.

‘John had been drinking a lot and a few weeks ago he drove his car into the ford in the village and abandoned it.’ In a separate incident, Mr Zurick was allegedly found to be more than two times the drink-drive limit while riding a motorbike near his home on February 5. When arrested, he was found to have 78 micrograms of alcohol to 100 ml of breath in his system. The legal limit is 35. Mr Zurick is due in court on March 12 to face a drink-drive charge.

As recently as November, Mrs Zurick appeared to be heavily involved in the couple’s breeding and training business, posting updates about training sessions on Facebook from Ireland.

A friend of the Zuricks fought back tears, saying: ‘Nobody saw this coming at all.’

The woman, who did not want to be named, met the couple through the local gun dog scene. She said: ‘John really, really loved Debbie. I don’t know what caused their split but it was all very sudden. Debbie was with him as recently as November, then the next minute we found out she had gone.

‘When I think of Debbie I will remember her always smiling. She was a fun person to be around.’

A villager added: ‘Lots of people around here have bought dogs off the Zuricks. One of my friends did recently. Part of the terms of the contract was that he would bring the dog back to them for training. That’s not going to happen now.’ The couple bought the cottage and some adjoining land from the Prime Minister’s father Stanley for £440,000 in 2013.

Stanley Johnson owns much of the surrounding farmland and lives in a 14th-century farmhouse on the Nethercote estate with his wife Jennifer. The farmhouse closest to the Zuricks’ cottage is home to Rachel Johnson and her husband Ivo Dawnay.

A fourth property is owned by the Prime Minister and his brothers Leo and Joe. It is often rented to holidaymakers, locals said.

Another Winsford resident said: ‘The cottage is on the Nethercote estate and all the properties along the track had belonged to the Johnson family. I was surprised the Johnsons sold up to the Zuricks as they previously had that whole valley to themselves.’

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