Gracie Spinks murder-suicide coroner reaches final decision

20 November 2023 , 14:15

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Gracie Spinks was murdered as she tended to her horse (Image: Derby Telegraph/BPM Media)

The man who killed Gracie Spinks by stabbing her 10 times after he stalked her took his own life shortly afterwards, a coroner has ruled.

Michael Sellers was found dead in a field 150 metres away from where he fatally stabbed Ms Spinks at Blue Lodge Farm, Duckmanton, Derbyshire, on June 18 2021. In a hearing on Monday at Chesterfield Coroner’s Court, coroner Matthew Kewley said Sellers was “utterly obsessed” with his victim and had “carefully planned” the attack. Following the attack, the 35-year-old died by suicide, with his body found three hours after he had killed Ms Spinks.

Coroner Kewley said: “On June 18 2021, Michael Sellers murdered Gracie Spinks as she arrived at the horse field. It is most likely that he lay in wait for her arrival. This was not a spur-of-the-moment act of violence. Michael Sellers engaged in significant planning and preparation in the weeks leading up to the murder. His actions were premeditated and carefully planned. He effectively removed himself from any form of accountability for his actions towards Gracie Spinks. I am certain that he died by suicide.”

Michael Sellers died by suicide hours after the attack, a coroner has ruled (XBite/Facebook)

The inquest into Sellers’ death took place after a jury concluded on Thursday that he had unlawfully killed Ms Spinks by stabbing her 10 times after multiple serious failings previously admitted by Derbyshire Constabulary. These included how police handled Ms Spinks’ complaint about Sellers over stalking concerns, made in February 2021, and how it dealt with a bag of weapons found near Blue Lodge Farm in May that year. But the jury said it could not conclude whether these contributed to Ms Spinks’ death.

A black holdall, which Sellers was seen on CCTV placing into his car hours before his death, was found near his body, and a suicide note was later found in a bedside drawer. The officer said Sellers was born in Sheffield, lived with his family, and “did not appear to have any close friends and he had never had a girlfriend”. He had met Ms Spinks at the e-commerce firm, xbite, in 2020 but became “obsessed” with her after she declined to pursue a romantic relationship.

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None of Sellers’ family attended the inquest.

Callum Parke