Bus driver & his sick wife ‘who barely left home' died with 2 dachshunds when car plunged 300ft off cliff at UK landmark
John and Lynn King were reportedly with their two Daschshunds when they drove off a cliff on Alum Bay, near to the Needles, on the Isle of Wight last Friday.
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The couple died instantly after their car plunged off the 300ft cliff
Credit: Solent
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The couple's silver Ford Mondeo left the road close to the world-famous coastal landmark
Credit: Solent
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It is understood that John, who drove for a local bus company, was a full-time carer for his wife
Credit: Solent
The couple's silver Ford Mondeo left the road close to the world-famous coastal landmark, killing the pair instantly.
It is understood that John, who drove for local company Southern Vectis, was a full-time carer for his wife.
According to locals, Lynn had rarely been seen out the house for two years.
Speaking to the MailOnline, one neighbour said: "She wasn't well, I don't know exactly what she was suffering from but I think it was serious.
Read more News
"John was effectively her carer. He was helping his wife to the car and their two Dachshund dogs were with them.
'His wife looked really, really frail. I was surprised to see her out of the house. She was hunched over quite badly and was finding it very difficult to walk."
Emergency services were scrambled to Alum Bay New Road, close to the coastal spot, shortly after 7.20pm on Friday.
Hampshire
and
Isle of Wight
Constabulary
confirmed on Sunday that two people died in the tragedy
.
Most read in The Sun
The force explained: "A car, which was being driven along Alum Bay New Road, left the road, came off the cliff top and came to rest in the water below."
Cops also closed the neighbouring Needles Landmark Attraction while emergency crews attended the site.
Responders were stood down in the early hours of Saturday morning.
In a statement released on Saturday evening, a police spokesperson said: "Formal identification has yet to take place, but their next of kin have been notified.
"As part of the ongoing investigation into the incident, on behalf of the coroner, officers have been carrying out enquiries at an address on Arctic Road, Cowes."
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Cops closed the Needles Landmark Attraction while emergency crews attended the scene
Credit: Solent
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Emergency services were scrambled to Alum Bay New Road shortly after 7.20pm on Friday
Credit: Solent
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Responders were stood down in the early hours of Saturday morning
Credit: Getty
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Sunday World
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He said the woman complied with that request but when she opened her eyes the accused threw hot chilli powder or flakes into her face attempting to blind her in the eyes. The woman went to get out of the car but discovered the door handle and the switch activating the window had been duct taped over so it was not usable. Mr Grehan told the jury that the accused had threatened to kill the woman and said he was going to kill her. Mr John then threatened her with a hammer he had in the car whilst she pleaded with him not to kill her, he added. The court heard further evidence will be that the only way the accused agreed to let the woman go was if she was prepared to say on a mobile phone video-recording that she had given him a sexually transmitted disease in 2021. Counsel said the woman had no contact "in any way, shape or form" with Mr John but that the accused had developed "a preoccupation", which she was unaware of. 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He said the woman had met the accused, who was also a health care worker, at a care home facility in April or May 2021. The detective said the woman and the accused sometimes worked together in the same shift but she didn't know him well. The woman left the health care facility but the accused continued working there. In October 2022, the detective said the accused had contacted the woman by phone looking for advice about a hospital, after her friend gave the woman's number to Mr John. The woman wasn't sure who the accused was but knew he was a former colleague and gave him advice during a brief telephone call. The woman had offered to help the accused with the application process for the hospital and he rang her again a month later. Around Christmas 2022, the accused called the woman to say he wanted to drop off gifts to her children and he met her when she got off the bus, said Mr Grehan. The witness said the accused arranged to call to the woman's house regarding filling out a church form at 8.30pm on May 21. The woman got into the car to fill out the form and didn't suspect anything. The accused then started to drive his car before pulling up on a footpath beside an industrial estate. The detective said when the car was pulled over the accused told the woman to close her eyes as he wanted to give her a surprise. When she opened her eyes the accused rubbed a handful of really hot chilli powder in her face, which stung her eyes and lips. The accused also had a hammer in one of his hands. The detective said when the woman tried to get out of the car she could see that everywhere was sealed with black sticky tape, including the door handle. The woman thought the accused was going to kill her and started preaching at him not to do so. The witness said the accused kept saying: "I'm going to kill you, say your last prayer". The accused told her he had never killed before but he was going to kill her. The accused told the woman that she had given him a sexually transmitted disease (STD) to which she told him that she had never slept with him. Mr John said he would only let her go on condition she said she gave him an STD. The accused proceeded to record on his mobile phone the woman saying she gave him an STD in 2021 despite never kissing or having sexual contact with him. He made another video of the woman saying she gave him a STD through kissing before dropping her home. The witness said gardai later found a black-handled knife inside the accused's driver's door as well as a hatchet, a lump hammer and containers containing a chilli like substance. Black duct tape and adhesive tapping were also seized from inside the passenger door as well as a Jerrycan containing flammable petrol. FORENSIC PSYCHIATRIST Consultant forensic psychiatrist Dr Stephen Monks, who was called on behalf of the defence, told Fiona Murphy SC that when he met with the accused in April and October 2024 the accused remained 90 per cent convinced he was deliberately infected with HIV by the victim in the case, despite medical evidence to the contrary. Dr Monks said the accused is suffering from delusionary disorder and depression, which are both mental illnesses. He said the accused's actions were directly driven by delusional thinking in response to the psychotic belief that he had been harmed by the victim. He said Mr John met the three criteria for a mental disorder under the Criminal Law Insanity Act 2006; namely that he did not know the nature and quality of his act, that he did not know what he was doing was wrong and that he was unable to refrain from committing the act. The trial continues tomorrow before Mr Justice Paul McDermott and a jury of seven men and five women.
