Suspect named in study of five similar murder-suicide cases

A CONFIDENTIAL report has named a “prime suspect” in the case of a potential serial killer who may have been responsible for attacks over 15 years.

Similarities in five cases from 1996 to 2011 in the North West have been highlighted in a 179-page report, leading to the theory that a serial killer may potentially be responsible.

The incidents, across Cheshire, Manchester and Cumbria, involved a husband viciously attacking his wife before taking his own life and were recorded by coroners as murder-suicide.

A male suspect, who lives in the North, is identified by name in the report but cannot be named by the media for legal reasons, and strongly denies any involvement, The Sunday Times has found.

The report examines the deaths of Howard and Bea Ainsworth in 1996 and Donald and Auriel Ward in 1999, two miles apart in Wilmslow.

It also calls for a review of three more cases of couples found dead in their homes: Michael and Violet Higgins in Manchester in 2000, Kenneth, 77, and Eileen Martin, 76, in Trafford in 2008, and Stanley, 92, and Peggie Wilson, 89, in Kendal, Cumbria, in 2011.

In both Wilmslow cases the couples were discovered lying on blood-soaked beds in their nightclothes. Other similarities included the extremity of violence, with knives left in bodies; injuries to the head from a blunt weapon; and the women left with their nightdresses lifted.

In both Greater Manchester cases, the female victim was stabbed in the neck and suffered “blunt force trauma” to the head.

Cheshire Constabulary said it was aware of news articles suggesting a possible link. Det Chief Supt Aaron Duggan said: “These articles were based upon a report completed by a member of Police staff working in the Coroner’s Office in Cheshire. The report was not approved by either the Constabulary or the Coroner’s Office.

“The contents of the report and its conclusions are being considered by detectives.”