Polo-playing former public schoolboy is charged with 3 OAP murders
A FORMER public schoolboy has been charged with the murders of three pensioners.
Alexander Lewis-Ranwell, 27, is accused of killing Anthony Payne, 80, who was discovered dead on Monday, followed within 24 hours by the bodies of identical twins Dick and Roger Carter, 84.
The victims, all bachelors, were found with head injuries in their homes in Exeter within a mile of each other.
Mr Payne may have tried to defend himself with an antique pistol, which was found near his body.
Lewis-Ranwell has also been charged with two offences of grievous bodily harm with intent. It is not known who the alleged victims are.
Known as Alby, he attended £ 30,000- a- year West Buckland School near Barnstaple in North Devon, and had a passion for playing polo.
Friends expressed ‘great shock’ at his arrest, claiming he was a ‘delightful lad’ who had been brought up in a wealthy middleclass family.
Lewis-Ranwell, of Croyde, North Devon, had been in a relationship with a 64-year- old widow until recently.
The mother- of-two, who had known him for years, is understood to have been diagnosed with terminal cancer.
Lawrence McClure, who rented a home from her, said she would regularly talk about her ‘ much younger’ polo-loving boyfriend who ‘was into horses’.
He added: ‘She went off travelling and a chap called Alex went with her. She was with him for a while and bought him horses and a horse box. She’s one of the nicest people you could meet.’
Another friend of hers, who did not want to be identified, said: ‘She had some money because she had a house in Spain that she sold, then she bought him some horses and a motor home with a horse box in it.
‘They were living a nice life for a while. She liked having the attention of a young man.’
Residents near the £ 500,000 home in West Malling, Kent, where Lewis-Ranwell’s grandparents lived while he was growing up, said he was a ‘gentleman’ around the elderly.
One woman, who did not wish to be named, said: ‘It’s a great shock. Alex lived up here for a long time. He always got on with older people. He sign went was I of always to any a gentleman. a problems private found him school. There with charming. him. was They He no were middle class. ‘His parents are also delightful. I cannot imagine what they are going through right now.’ A former friend described LewisRanwell as ‘a bit of a loner’, adding: ‘He never used to wear shoes and he would just wander about.’ Meanwhile, the best friend of Anthony Payne paid tribute to the pensioner yesterday – and described the moment he discovered his body.
Keith Baker, who had known him for 35 years, said Mr Payne had been living with him since September and only returned to his former home, where he was found dead, to feed his cat.
Mr Baker became worried when Mr Payne did not return to the house they shared, so he went to the property where his friend used to live and found his body.
The 68-year-old said: ‘I just hope he didn’t suffer. I hope he was knocked out with the first blow.
‘I went in and looked in his bedroom. The door was ajar. I had a glance around and just as I was walking out, just between the pillows and the wall, I saw his coat sticking out. I felt for a pulse but couldn’t get one.
‘If he was going to die I think he would have liked to die there with his cat. We became mates. We had both been in the Army so we had a bit in common there.
‘He was moving out in a couple of weeks. He was going to be happy in the twilight of his years.’ Mr Payne’s brother-in-law, Ronnie Teague, 73, paid tribute to the former builder, saying: ‘Tony was lonely, so that could have made him an easier target.
‘He seemed to drift in his own little world, but he was a down-toearth chap and he was always busy working. He was always on a building site. It was a big shock – I still can’t believe it.
‘He used to be an outgoing chap and go to the pub a lot. He was friendly with everyone, but did become more reclusive.
‘He was not the sort of person to make enemies. You would never have thought he would go this way. He was just a normal and friendly bloke.’
Lewis-Ranwell was due to appear before Exeter magistrates today to face three counts of murder.
‘I hope he didn’t suffer’