A THREE-year-old girl was pushing her teddy in her favourite buggy when she was shot dead by a rampaging gunman, an inquest heard.
Little Sophie Martyn was killed alongside her father Lee, 43, as they walked the family dog on August 12, 2021, in Plymouth.
The girl's mother, Rebecca Martyn, said she started to worry for her husband and daughter after they had failed to return home and friends had told her about reports of a shooting nearby.
Mrs Martyn, a nurse, explained she had taken their son to a gymnastics class while her husband and Sophie walked their British bulldog.
Plymouth, Torbay and South Devon Coroner's Court heard Sophie had gone out wearing a white dress and had taken her favourite buggy with her to push along during the journey.
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"It was a purple scruffy looking buggy and Sophie will always place either a doll or a toy in it," Mrs Martyn said in a statement read by her barrister Dominic Adamson KC.
"I now know that Sophie had taken a teddy in the pram - a beige teddy wearing a white and green checked scarf with a white motif on the front.
"From knowledge of previous walks, she would push the buggy for a short while before giving up and one of us would have to carry it home."
The inquest heard that Mr Martyn and his daughter suffered fatal shotgun wounds in Biddick Drive after being confronted by Davison, who lived in the street.
Mrs Martyn said she sent a WhatsApp message to her husband at 6.13pm but he never read it and later did not return her calls when she heard about the shootings.
"I arrived home at 7.20pm to an empty house and I assumed Lee and Sophie were still out walking Mabel," she said.
"So, I called Lee on his mobile to check where they were, but he didn't answer. In total I called Lee nine times, but he never answered. I was starting to get worried."
The statement explained that she and her son went out looking for them and when they arrived at a cordon spoke to a police officer who took her details.
"At 7.43pm I arrived home and I received a phone call from the police to say that they were on their way to see me," she said.
"The police told me that Lee and Sophie had been fatally shot."
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Mrs Martyn added: "As a family man, he would have chosen to protect his family, if ever confronted with a violent situation.
"He loved being the fun dad, either playing building dens or watching films.
"He affectionately called Sophie 'Daddy's princess'.
"Sophie was a typical redhead, who was in charge, fierce and unwavering."
The little girl loved dressing up as characters from the Disney film Frozen.
The inquest heard Mr Martyn, who supported Everton, was a talented footballer and had trials as a youth with Bayer Leverkusen and Watford but decided after leaving school to get a job.
He trained as a carpenter and worked for a local yacht manufacturer.
Mr Martyn met his wife in 2006 and they married three years later
Stephen Washington, 59, and Kate Shepherd, 66, also died in the horror.
Davison also killed his 51-year-old mother Maxine before turning the gun on himself in Plymouth.
Kate's husband recalled how he discovered she had been shot when he went to look for her.
John Shepherd said he was concerned she had not returned home from a walk as their sons were visiting with their newborn grandchildren.
He told the inquest he messaged and called her but there was no answer so he went looking for her.
John tragically found his wife of 40 years dying on the ground.
He said: "There were screens around her, and I could only see her feet. I wasn't allowed to get any closer as they were busy working on her.
"I told a female police officer that my wife Kate had not returned home, I asked was it definitely her. I was told after a short time it was Kate."
Paying tribute to Kate, the grieving husband continued: "I have made thousands of decisions in my life, but the best by far was marrying Kate."
While Sheila Washington told the court her husband Stephen's final words to her were "see you in a bit, won't be long" as he left to walk the dogs.
She said shortly after she heard bangs before one of the dogs came running in the house shaking with her lead still attached.
Sheila added: "I am still finding it hard to come to terms with how Steve died and how he is no longer with us.
"Never could I imagine losing him in such horrendous circumstances."
Davison's family told the inquest today how they were "appalled" by the killer's actions that day.
His brother Josh told the hearing: "We are grappling to understand and manage our own health, emotions and bereavement following the incident.
"Even deeper than that, we think we share the feelings of despair, hurt and loss of the Martyn, Washington and Shepherd families knowing that it was a member of our family who was responsible for their loss.
"No words can describe the pain or heaviness of feeling this situation has caused.
"Our involvement in this inquest is to help prevent this from happening in future; an event like this cannot and should not ever happen again.
"If we had one wish, it would be that we could turn back time and allow everyone who had a part in the events leading up to this tragedy an opportunity to make changes to prevent it from happening at all."
The bloodbath unfolded just weeks after Davison's shotgun and gun licence had been returned by Devon and Cornwall Police.
Officers had removed the weapons in 2020 after the killer assaulted two teenagers in a park.
On August 12, 2021, Davison first shot his mum after a row broke out.
He then killed Lee and Sophie in Biddick Drive, Keyham, before blasting dog walker Stephen.
After killing Kate as she walked in a nearby street, Davison shot himself as armed police were scrambled.
The "wholly innocent" were all slaughtered in a rampage lasting just 12 minutes.
