Deaths ‘linked to serial killer’
CORONER’S OFFICER CALLS FOR MURDER-SUICIDE CASES REVIEW AFTER BOMBSHELL REPORT CLAIMS
A SENIOR coroner’s officer wants two murder-suicide cases in Greater Manchester to be reviewed by detectives to see if they are linked to two Cheshire cases she believes could have been the work of a serial killer.
A bombshell report claims a murderer who preys on vulnerable, elderly couples could actually have killed two couples in Wilmslow in the 1990s, according to a document seen by the Sunday Times.
The unknown murderer could still be at large, it is claimed.
A further three cases treated as murder-suicide two in Greater Manchester and one in Cumbria - should be reviewed to see if they’re linked to the Wilmslow cases, chief coroner’s officer for Cheshire Stephanie Davies wrote.
Cheshire Police are reviewing the report - and say they have alerted Greater Manchester Police and Cumbria Police.
Ms Davies calls on the National Crime Agency and Interpol to review cases in
Britain and Europe to determine whether more deaths could be linked.
“This individual will not stop killing until someone or something stops him,” the report reads.
Ms Davies’ predecessor noted the apparent similarities in the five cases before handing her the files, according to the Sunday Times.
The deaths of Howard and Bea Ainsworth and Donald and Auriel Ward in Wilmslow in 1996 and 1999 - were treated as murder-suicide by police. In both cases, the victims were found in their blood-soaked beds in their nightwear.
The report notes apparent similarities in both cases including the ferocity of violence; knives being recovered; and the fact the women were left with their nightdresses lifted.
In both Greater Manchester cases, a woman was stabbed in the neck and suffered ‘blunt force trauma’ to the head.
In both cases, the authorities ruled the woman was killed by the husband, who then took his own life.
Violet Higgins, 76, an ex-policewoman, was found dead alongside her husband Michael, 59, in Didsbury in 2000.
Their inquest was told ‘devoted’ Mr Higgins, who suffered from Parkinson’s disease, bludgeoned his wife to death after she threatened to leave him and put him in a home.
Mr Higgins’ brother said he didn’t believe Michael was capable of violence - and at first thought someone had broken into the couple’s home.
The deaths of Kenneth Martin, 77, and his wife Eileen, 76, were also treated as murder-suicide. They were found dead at their home in Davyhulme, Trafford, in 2008.
An inquest was told Mr Martin killed his wife and then himself because he could no longer cope with caring for her as she was seriously ill.
Nazir Afzal, former chief prosecutor for the north west, said: “We could potentially have a serial killer in our midst. There needs to be a proper review of these cases and others which carry similar hallmarks.”
A spokesperson for Cheshire police said: “As with any case that has been closed, where new information comes to light it is reviewed and acted upon if appropriate. We have notified Greater Manchester police and Cumbria constabulary.”
The M.E.N. has contacted GMP for comment.