Man who stabbed fiancée when he found out about affair dies in police chase
A man who stabbed his fiancée 26 times when he found out she was having an affair died in a police chase after leaving his will at the crime scene, an inquest heard.
Sports massage therapist Ben Crosby, 46, bludgeoned a mum around the head with a baseball and stabbed her, at their family home. He murdered “lovely” Hull University physics student Becci Rees-Hughes, 37, on July 25th 2022, then left instructions for the distribution of his inheritance in a “prominent place” on the kitchen table.
This week a jury decided he died ‘accidentally” in the high-speed police pursuit, hours after the killing. They had heard how the killer fled after calling his parents to the scene, telling them he'd 'messed up'. Numerous police cars, including four armed response cars, were sent looking for him. During the pursuit he was speeding 84 mph on the wrong side of the road and collided with a van, leaving the driver with life-changing injuries.
Hull Coroner’s Court previously heard how Crosby discovered Becci had an affair with a chef at the pub where she'd been working. But Becci agreed to stay with Crosby and later got engaged.
The day before she died, Becci sent eight texts to her former lover, including one that read: “I can't get over you.”
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Ben Crosby died in a car crash near Hornsea following a short pursuit by police (Hull Live WS)However his father told the inquest during a trip to look at potential wedding venues his son told of his suspicions. He said: "He told me he was suspicious and he was sure she was still having an affair. She was always on the phone laughing and giggling.”
Mr Crosby and his wife were in bed early on July 25 2022 when their son rang saying he'd "messed up" and killed Becci. He told his Dad: "I can't do time. She flipped my switch."
They rushed to Beverley and found Crosby ashen-faced in a car outside. Becci's lifeless body was inside, slumped on a sofa. Crosby came back into the house and when his father said he was going to call the police, said: “I’m gone”.
Police at the scene where Ben Crosby crashed (Hull Live/MEN MEDIA)He cuddled his parents, telling them he was sorry. Mr Crosby Snr said: "It was heartbreaking seeing my son in such a state of distress. He was absolutely broken."
One of the officers pursuing Crosby was driving at 82 mph round the bend and saw "the VW was already on the wrong side of the road. It appeared to me it turned into the van."
He didn't see brake lights come on. Another saw the van driver move onto the verge, and the Volkswagen “run straight at it”. The driver said in a statement it looked like Crosby "purposely turned onto my side of the road".
Police and forensic officers going into their home in Hornsea (Hull Daily Mail/MEN MEDIA)He said: “I assumed the vehicle would correct its path but it continued towards me”. The van driver had to postpone his wedding which was to have been held the following month and has still not fully recovered.
Forensic collision investigator Nicholas Brady-Smith said: “Either the driver had some sort of distraction which led it to drift or it is an intentional act.” Crosby died at the scene while the van driver suffered fractures of the vertebrae, ribs and pelvis.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct watchdog later closed an investigation, with no further action taken. The inquest continues.
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