Man 'poisoned married couple with fentanyl and rewrote their will', court hears

14 February 2024 , 14:29

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Stephen and Carol Baxter died at their home in West Mersea, Essex (Image: East Anglia News Service)

A man poisoned a married couple who were like “adoptive parents” to him with an opioid painkiller and rewrote their will on his phone the next day, a court heard.

Luke D'Wit, 34, worked for and befriended Stephen and Carol Baxter of Mersea Island, Essex, who ran a company called Cazsplash. Mrs Baxter, 64, had designed a type of bathmat which reaches around a curved corner shower. She and her 61-year-old husband were found dead by their daughter, Ellie Baxter, and her partner on Easter Sunday last year.

Tracy Ayling, prosecuting, told proceedings D'Wit was the "beneficiary of a very odd will", whose terms including "our dear friend Luke D'Wit is to be the person of significant control" for Cazsplash. She said the prosecution’s case was D'Wit was responsible for poisoning them. D'Wit, of Churchfields, West Mersea, denies murdering Mr and Mrs Baxter and told police during interview that he was "like an adopted son to both of them"..

Ms Ayling said: “They were found by their daughter and her partner dead in their conservatory, sitting in their individual armchairs. There was no obvious reason for their deaths but as their bodies were examined it was revealed they had been poisoned by a drug called fentanyl. It's difficult to imagine any scenario when two individuals who are not prescribed fentanyl could accidentally contaminate their food with this drug.”

Carol Baxter designed a bath mat which reaches around shower cubicles (East Anglia News Service)

The prosecutor said a will "was created by Luke D'Wit on his phone on April 10 at 6.54am" the day after Mr and Mrs Baxter were found dead. She added: “He had rewritten their will and stolen Carol's jewellery, among many other things, to benefit from their deaths.”

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Ms Ayling said there was no suicide note and the home seemed neat and tidy. She said their daughter called the ambulance service at 1.10pm and all three emergency services attended, including the fire service who ruled out carbon monoxide poisoning. The prosecutor said that a toxicology report of June 29 2023 indicated a factor in both deaths was the drug fentanyl.

In both cases, their stomach contents were analysed and suggested the drug was ingested, although it was not conclusive. Mrs Baxter, who had a thyroid condition and a pacemaker, was also found to have the antihistamine drug promethazine in her system. In a 999 call played to the court, the couple's daughter can be heard screaming as she told a call handler "I need an ambulance right now."

The couple's home in Essex (East Anglia News Service)

D'Wit is later heard taking over the call, as Ms Baxter weeps in the background, and D'Wit tells the call handler "I'm a friend". Ms Ayling said the defendant lived "a couple of minutes away" from Mr and Mrs Baxter. The prosecutor said D'Wit appeared "very calm and plausible" in the call. She said D'Wit "was the last person to see them alive".

She added: “Mr D'Wit wasn't seen as a suspect but in fact provided statements to police as a witness. He said Carol was asleep and Steve was standing in the kitchen saying he was going to do something for dinner.” She said D'Wit left but officers later discovered he left “Carol and Stephen incapacitated at that time".

The trial, estimated to last six weeks, continues.

Antony Clements-Thrower