Latest news with #LukeD'Wit
Wales Online
28-04-2025
- Wales Online
Luke D'Wit now as true story of 'cold and calculated' killer told in Essex Millionaire Murders
Luke D'Wit now as true story of 'cold and calculated' killer told in Essex Millionaire Murders Luke D'Wit was found guilty of the murders of Carol and Stephen Baxter in one of the most complex criminal cases police have ever undertaken - their deaths are the subject of an ITV documentary Luke D'Wit was found guilty of murder The Essex Millionaire Murders chronicles a "cold and calculated" murderer who fatally poisoned a Mersea Island couple in order to take over their wealth, a criminal the police believe is one of the most menacing individuals they've come across. In March 2024, Luke D'Wit was convicted of the murder of Carol and Stephen Baxter. Now 35, D'Wit had killed the Baxters using fentanyl, disguising himself as a physician, and even forged a Will to guarantee he profited from their tragic end. His heinous act is examined in the two-part ITV documentary, set to broadcast this Monday and Tuesday (April 28 and 29) at 9pm. The intricate web of fabrications and deceit woven by D'Wit was eventually his downfall, in what detectives involved referred to as among the most complex cases they'd ever tackled. Under the guise of a doctor, D'Wit manipulated Carol Baxter's medications under the pretence of treating her autoimmune disorder, only to exacerbate her condition further. Stephen Baxter, 61, and his 64-year-old wife Carol, who were found dead sitting in their individual armchairs (Image: Family handout/PA ) On Easter Sunday (April 9) in 2023, the Baxters were tragically discovered dead by their children, in their residence on Mersea Island in Essex. They were found without any visible injuries or clear signs of how they died. It took weeks before a toxicological examination unveiled the true cause: death by fentanyl poisoning – with the couple's friend, 34 year old Luke D'Wit, being the last known person to see them alive, reports Essex Live. Article continues below Upon D'Wit's arrest, police discovered several fentanyl patches which he initially claimed belonged to his deceased father, later changing his story to say they were his grandfather's. They also found a bag containing metal tacks and pill casings, which investigators strongly suspect were given to Carol, resulting in her hospitalisation after x-rays revealed the tacks in her stomach. On Good Friday (April 7, 2023), D'Wit was the last person to see Carol and Stephen alive, leaving their home just before 8pm. He had administered a lethal dose of fentanyl to the couple, whom he had befriended, and even installed a camera in their home to observe their deaths. In his testimony, D'Wit claimed that he and Stephen were behind the fictitious personas, using these characters to make Carol believe she was receiving assistance for her health and mental wellbeing. However, under cross-examination, his narrative unravelled when messages between the fabricated characters and Stephen Baxter were read out, demonstrating that it was implausible for Stephen to have been involved in D'Wit's intricate scheme. Where is Luke D'Wit now? The nearly six-week trial at Chelmsford Crown Court concluded on March 20, 2024, with a jury unanimously finding D'Wit, from Churchfields, West Mersea, guilty of both murders. He was subsequently handed a life sentence, with a minimum term of 37 years before he can be considered for parole. Detective Superintendent Rob Kirby from the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate remarked post-trial: "There was no bloody murder scene. There was no obvious murder weapon. But Carol and Stephen Baxter's deaths were cold and calculated acts of murder carried out by a dangerous man who clearly planned to get away with it. "In all my years in policing, Luke D'Wit is one of the most dangerous men I have come across. I have absolutely no doubt that had he not been caught, he would have gone onto commit further murders. Luke D'Wit's police mugshot, who on Wednesday, March 20, was found guilty of the double murder of Stephen and Carol Baxter (Image: Essex Police ) "He would befriend people and purport to be an upstanding, helpful and kind member of the community. The reality is far more sinister. He is a cold, calculated murderer." Adding to his statement, Det Supt Kirby said: 'D'Wit went to great lengths to cover up his tracks. He deceived everyone who knew him, who welcomed him into their family homes and who relied upon him for help, or at least what they believed was help. What he didn't bank on was that our detectives at Essex Police were much smarter and determined to secure justice. Article continues below 'Those lies, and that deception, continued in the evidence he gave in court. Disgracefully, he based his defence on collusion between himself and Stephen Baxter. Stephen is tragically not here to defend himself but from everything we know about him, this could never have been the case. Thankfully, the jury saw through his fantasies and gave guilty verdicts.' The documentary series 'Essex Millionaire Murders' will be shown on ITV on April 28 and 29 at 9pm.
BBC News
28-04-2025
- BBC News
Luke D'Wit ITV documentary to show fentanyl murders in Mersea
The case of an IT worker who used fentanyl to fatally poison his family friends will be the focus of a two-part Baxter, 61, and his 64-year-old wife Carol were found dead at their home in West Mersea, Essex, in April were manipulated by Luke D'Wit, 38, who laced their medication with the opioid painkiller while using fake identities to control their Police said unmasking the killer, described as "nerdy weird" by the couple's daughter, Ellena Baxter, was one of its most complex ever was jailed for life with a minimum tariff of 37 years at Chelmsford Crown Court in March who is Luke D'Wit and how did he carry out the murders? Who is Luke D'Wit? With family ties going back generations on the insular island of Mersea, Luke D'Wit was seen as a pillar of the computer science graduate lived with his mother in a small semi-detached home in Churchfields, a stone's throw from the knew him as a quiet man who volunteered at a soup kitchen and helped to organise the town was why many refused to believe he orchestrated the murders of two millionaires in the desirable detectives uncovered D'Wit, who met the Baxters sometime around 2012 or 2013, was not the upstanding member of society he had disguised himself as. He was introduced to the couple through his work as a freelance web designer, and helped to create a website for Mrs Baxter's shower mat business, relationship evolved when D'Wit started keeping Mrs Baxter company on walks and at the gym. He also helped her take medication and performed odd this period, he faked a cancer diagnosis to gain the family's sympathy, his trial got to the point where "he was always there" with the Baxters, family friend Kate Dawson told the BBC. A web of false personalities When Ellena found her parents dead in their armchairs on Easter Sunday 2023, she immediately suspected carbon monoxide poisoning was to was not until post-mortem examinations took place that fentanyl and promethazine were found to be a significant factor in both deaths.A falsified will inside the couple's home in Victory Road, which named D'Wit as director of Cazsplash, led detectives to the his arrest, they began to uncover the extreme lengths D'Wit explored to control the manipulation mainly targeted Carol Baxter, who suffered from the thyroid condition Hashimoto's created a fake doctor, called Andrea Bowden, who gave Mrs Baxter advice about her condition and put her in touch with a wide network of pretend Baxter desperately wanted solidarity, and on one occasion, the couple drove three hours to a hotel to meet one of the false identities who cancelled on them at the last minute. Police seized 80 electronic devices at D'Wit's house, some of which had been used to create more than 20 false personas used for his of the devices found he was offering advice "with no clinical basis" while posing as Dr Bowden, prosecutors told the advice included taking smoothies that were rich in health benefits made by D'Wit, who Dr Bowden praised as a good they were cocktails of drugs and potions which made her far more unwell than she already told jurors D'Wit used Dr Bowden to enforce "this set of rules we had to follow" for her mother's the dementia-like symptoms and deterioration Mrs Baxter was suffering from were not typical of Hashimoto' were the effects of her being slowly poisoned by D'Wit, who ensured Mrs Baxter kept him updated on her decline via video messages she sent to Dr police investigation uncovered an email sent by D'Wit to the couple on the morning of their deaths, detailing a "liver cleanse recipe" they should explained how the fatal dose of fentanyl had been administered into their bodies.D'Wit then watched them die between Good Friday and Easter Sunday in a video stream he set up from a phone hidden in their property. Why did D'Wit carry out the murders? Sentencing D'Wit, the Honourable Mr Justice Lavender said he was motivated by a "desire to control others"."Deciding whether another person lives or dies is the ultimate form of control," he said.D'Wit used fentanyl patches prescribed to his late father, Vernon, to carry out the BBC revealed in July that detectives were also reviewing the deaths of D'Wit's father and grandfather in case he had killed them and avoided opened and unopened patches were found in a bag at his home by police, as well as metal same tacks were found during a scan of Mrs Baxter's stomach when she was alive."Your relationship with the Baxters and Carol Baxter's illness had led the Baxters to trust you to prepare supposed health drinks for her for some time," the judge said."This is what gave you the opportunity to do what you did." Mr Justice Lavender criticised D'Wit's "amateurish" attempt to create a will, which named him as their "dear friend".However, it was suggested the will was more of an afterthought rather than the ultimate judge said D'Wit maintained his grip over the family in the three months between the murders and his arrest by targeting did so by taking her out for dinner on the night he killed the Baxters, as well as arranging the funeral and using one of the false identities to console a final attempt at manipulation, he used a wheelchair throughout the trial in what prosecutors said was an effort to gain the jury's the killer, the judge concluded: "What you did was cruel and senseless."Essex Millionaire Murders airs on ITV1 at 9pm on both Monday and Tuesday. Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
