Moment murderer is arrested after gunning down daughter's ex and dad

23 October 2023 , 13:04

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This is the moment a widower was arrested by armed cops on the motorway after shooting dead a father and son in two villages six miles apart.

Stephen Alderton, 67, was jailed for life with a minimum of 25 years after blasting his daughter's ex-boyfriend Joshua Dunmore, 32, in the chest with a Beretta shotgun at his home in Bluntisham, Cambridgeshire, on March 29 this year. He then shot Josh's dad Gary at his home in nearby Sutton half an hour later.

He tried to flee in his campervan, but was pulled over on the M5 near Worcester in the early hours of the next morning. Footage shows officers shouting "put your hands where we can see them" as he exits the vehicle and holds up his hands.

He then slowly walks towards the cop, who is pointing a gun at him, and gets down on the ground where he is handcuffed. He later told officers: "Sometimes you have to do what you have to do even if it's wrong in the eyes of the law."

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Footage shows Alderton being arrested on the motorway

The former chartered quantity surveyor had written in previous text messages that he would "override any court decision" and there was "always a plan B". He is also said to have claimed in a message he had "a shortlist of people he intended to murder".

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The defendant, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to murdering Joshua and Gary. Following today's sentencing, a family member of the two deceased swore and shouted "rot in prison", followed by brief applause, as Alderton was led to the cells. Other relatives wept as they filed out of the courtroom.

During the trial, prosecutor Stephen Gair told how the murders came two days after a family court hearing. He said: "We say it's clear that the events were triggered by an ongoing family court case between this defendant's daughter Samantha Stephen, nee Alderton, and her former partner Joshua Dunmore.

Moment murderer is arrested after gunning down daughter's ex and dad

Joshua Dunmore (right), 32, and his dad Gary (left) were both shot dead in March this year (PA)

"This concerned a request to move their child from the jurisdiction of the court by emigrating to the USA." He said that Mrs Stephen and Mr Dunmore's relationship ended shortly after their son was born and in 2020 she married her current partner, Paul Stephen.

Mr Gair said Mr Stephen, a US national, served with the US Air Force and was due to be redeployed back to the USA. He said they "sought permission of the family court and Joshua opposed the application", adding: "There was a hearing on March 27 2023 and it would appear (the child) wouldn't be removed from the jurisdiction."

Former chartered quantity surveyor Alderton (Terry Harris)

He was jailed for life with a minimum of 25 years (PA)

Adrian Langdale KC, mitigating for Alderton, said Alderton's wife died in December 2019. Mr Gair said Alderton sold his home and was living at the time of the offences in a motorhome on a site in Willingham, Cambridgeshire.

Mr Gair said that Alderton was "rapidly identified" as a suspect after the shootings due to the family court case and sightings of the white Peugeot. His motorhome was picked up by police using ANPR (automatic number plate recognition) cameras.

He was stopped by armed police from the West Mercia force on the M5 near Worcester at about 1.30am on March 30, police said. Mr Langdale said the defendant wrote in a letter: "I'm not the person that this conflict and the family courts have driven me to become.

The murder scene in Cambridgeshire earlier this year (Phil Harris)

"I've never been a violent person, I do not have a criminal record. I've been a respectable, law-abiding citizen all my life. What happened to me on March 29 I do not know." Josh was described by family at the time of the murders as a devoted father and loving uncle, while his dad was remembered as a "gentle giant".

In an earlier victim impact statement, Gary's mum Jane Phillips said: “Both were killed in the most vicious, cowardly way with no opportunity for self-defence.” Mandy Seamark, Joshua's mother, said in a statement that “words cannot describe the devastation” of Alderton's actions.

Gary and Joshua's loved ones made no comment as they left Cambridge Crown Court following Alderton's sentencing on Monday.