Teacher in murder quiz was having affair with sex shop girl - Telegraph.co.uk

They gave the impression that she could not cope with being a mother and had gone to the Canary Islands, leaving behind her children, Isobell, three, and Joseph, one.

Mr Stewart, a sales and marketing consultant, said: "There has been a very substantial deception, in terms of her mobile phone and Facebook entries. It was a huge act to keep people thinking she had travelled abroad."

He said one text read: 'I'm fine. Having a good time in the sun,' but there was no verbal communication.

"I last saw Marie on 19 December and had a father-daughter chat, but there was nothing unusual about it," he said.

"Marie had been suffering from a mild degree of post-natal depression following the birth of Joseph, but nothing too much. She was a loving mother and was a quiet, caring person. Andrew was a fantastic dad to the children. He was a charming bloke and we thought the relationship was going well."

Mr Stewart said he spent Christmas Day with Mr Lindo, the two children and Miss Stewart's sister Katie, 26, at the house in Perseverance Place, Holmfirth.

Miss Stewart, who had been married before, worked as a teaching assistant at Holmfirth High School.

Her father added: "All our family had been contacting the police because we were concerned about her.

"Two officers had visited Perseverance Place three weeks ago, but nothing came of it. They were attempting to establish Marie's well-being. Following that visit, I received a text from Marie's phone claiming that she was 'OK' and to stop interfering and leave her alone."

Katie Stewart said her sister became aware of Angela Rylance, from Barnsley, in early December.

"A friend of Marie's told her about what was going on and showed her Angela's Facebook status, which read that she was 'in a relationship with Andrew Lindo'," said Katie.

She added that, after her sister's disappearance, she had visited the Holmfirth house daily to care for her niece and nephew while Mr Lindo went to work as a music teacher at the Take 2 Centre in Barnsley. According to neighbours, his new girlfriend's red Vauxhall Corsa was regularly parked alongside his Peugeot in the driveway from a few weekends ago.

Miss Rylance, who has worked at Cocktails Adult Store and a cheque exchange shop, lists Mr Lindo as one of her 178 friends on her Facebook page, which currently states her interests as "men" and says she is "in a relationship".

Mr Stewart recounted the moment last year when Mr Lindo proposed to his daughter. "The previous Christmas Andrew came to me and asked permission for Marie's hand in marriage. There was no wedding date set but she wore his engagement ring with pride," he said.

"The whole family is just numb at the moment."

• A 28-year-old man was last night charged with the murder of Marie Stewart, West Yorkshire Police said.