Luke D’Wit, from West Mersea, Essex, has been sentenced to life with aminimum of 37 years for murdering acouple to steal their business.
Stephen Baxter, 61, and his wife Carol, 64, were found dead in their home on 9April 2023, and apost-mortem revealed they had died from lethal doses of the opioid fentanyl. Suspicion turned to D’Wit, 34, when officers found afake will naming him as the new director of Carol’s bathmat company. Investigators then discovered website designer D’Wit had been deliberately sabotaging Carol’s health. She had autoimmune condition Hashimoto’s disease, and astatement from Essex Police said, “D’Wit had created more than 20 [online] personas through which he would communicate with Carol… [including] afictional US-based doctor. Through the guise of the supposed doctor, D’Wit would direct Carol’s medical treatment, which led to a continued deterioration in her health.” He also pretended to be asolicitor to fake the will.
Chillingly, D’Wit, who’d worked as an IT consultant for the couple, set up acamera in their home and watched them die via an app on his phone. Sentencing him, Judge Mr Justice Lavender said he had been “on the cusp” of giving D’Wit awhole life order. He said, “You regularly mixed what were supposed to be health drinks for Carol. Iam sure that it was by means of one such drink… that you administered the drugs to Carol and Stephen without their knowledge.”
Senior investigating officer DI Lydia George said, “The significant sentence handed down to Luke D’Wit is entirely fitting for the pathological liar that he is.” And the couple’s daughter, Ellie Baxter, said in her victim impact statement, “[D’Wit was a] man so manipulative, he hacked his way into our lives over adecade ago, schemed and thoroughly planned my parents’ demise”.
US TEEN PLEADS GUILTY TO ATTEMPTED MURDER
A 16-year-old rapper has pleaded guilty to attempted murder after shooting a student on a school bus. A press release from State Attorney Aisha Braveboy detailed how Kaeden Holland, known as Baby K, “stormed” onto the bus with two others in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, in May 2023.
It states that Holland, who was 15 at the time, “pointed his gun at the young man and pulled the trigger three times. He attempted to shoot the victim in his head and chest… fortunately, the gun malfunctioned, and the victim survived.”
She went on to say, “This isn’t a drill rap or trap music video. This is real life,” adding, “It’s important for him, other young people, and everyone else to know that there are consequences to their acti
