What happened to Carol and Stephen Baxter and how did they die as ITV airs chilling documentary

Daily Mirror

29-04-2025

ITV documentary Essex Millionaires Murder tells the devastating story of Stephen and Carol Baxter who were poisoned by their employee and family friend Luke D'Wit
Last night, ITV aired the first part of two-part documentary Essex Millionaires Murder which tells the the true story of Carol and Stephen Baxter. The couple were found dead in their home in West Mersea, murdered by one of the most dangerous men Essex Police say they've ever come across.
Stephen, 61, and Carol, 64, were successful in business and were well respected in the community for their contribution to charity. However, the community were left devastated when they were poisoned by fentanyl by their close friend Luke D'Wit in April 2023.
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Luke worked for the couple at their shower mat company, Cazsplash. He had started working for the couple in 2012, before befriending them and visiting their home regularly.
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Throughout his time working for and befriending the Baxters, Luke had 80 electronic devices which he had used to record and monitor the pair.
Carol, who suffered from thyroid autoimmune condition, Hashimoto's disease, thought she was being helped by Luke. However, the smoothies he would prepare to "help" her were actually laced with drugs, making her condition worse.
In April 2023, both Carol and Stephen were poisoned with fentanyl after their drinks were laced by D'Wit. Although their deaths was initially treated by Essex Police as unexplained, it later transpired that the couple had deadly levels of fentanyl in their blood - which started a murder investigation.
Luke had set up hidden cameras to watch his victims die, and framed their daughter Ellie. Ellie discovered both her parents dead in their conservatory armchairs, and later found herself interviewed as a suspect.
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He had also created a fake will to appoint himself as director of the shower mat company. Working for the company as an, IT consultant Luke had made more than 20 fake accounts to communicate with Carol – including one being a US doctor, Andrea Bowden, who was experienced in Hashimoto's disease.
D'Wit was later sentenced to 37 years in prison. senior crown prosecutor of the Complex Casework Unit in the CPS East of England called his "levels of deceitfulness and manipulation deeply disturbing."
'Luke D'Wit was the last person to see Carol and Stephen Baxter alive and, in the beginning of the investigation, was treated as a witness. The evidence that was gathered showed the lengths to which he went to so he could gain the trust of the Baxter family and evade suspicion. The levels of deceitfulness and manipulation he used are extremely disturbing."