Crossbow killer broke into loft to ambush victims
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A CROSSBOW killer lay in wait for a neighbouring couple after breaking into their home through a dividing wall in the loft, a relative said yesterday.
Anthony Lawrence, 55, shot dead 30-year-old father-of-three Shane Gilmer and seriously wounded pregnant Laura Sugden, 27, who fled bleeding from a neck wound.
Lawrence, who had upset the couple by smoking cannabis and playing loud music, then fled the semi-detached home, sparking a two-day police hunt that ended on Sunday when his body was found in his camper van at Hacktheir ness, on the North Yorkshire Moors.
The relative, who asked not to be named, said Lawrence sought revenge on the couple last Friday night because he blamed them for his impending eviction after they told his landlord of his huge cannabis use.
The couple, of Southburn, East Yorkshire, had also angered him a year ago when they complained about him making excessive noise when their children were in bed.
The relative said: “Recently, Shane and Laura could smell cannabis in kids’ bedrooms coming from next door. They reported him and the murderer was to be evicted for this.
“He told the couple that he blamed them for him being evicted.
“He removed part of the dividing wall in the loft and cleaned up so nobody would notice.
“We don’t know how long ago he had done that or how many times he had been inside their house.”
Miss Sugden, who is recovering in hospital, said her heart aches for Shane.