Crime Monthly

‘FENTANYL POISONER’ JAILED FOR 37 YEARS

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Luke D’wit, from West Mersea, Essex, has been sentenced to life with a minimum of 37 years for murdering a couple to steal their business.

Stephen Baxter, 61, and his wife Carol, 64, were found dead in their home on 9 April 2023, and a post-mortem revealed they had died from lethal doses of the opioid fentanyl. Suspicion turned to D’wit, 34, when officers found a fake will naming him as the new director of Carol’s bathmat company. Investigat­ors then discovered website designer D’wit had been deliberate­ly sabotaging Carol’s health. She had autoimmune condition Hashimoto’s disease, and a statement from Essex Police said, “D’wit had created more than 20 [online] personas through which he would communicat­e with Carol… [including] a fictional Us-based doctor. Through the guise of the supposed doctor, D’wit would direct Carol’s medical treatment, which led to a continued deteriorat­ion in her health.” He also pretended to be a solicitor to fake the will.

Chillingly, D’wit, who’d worked as an IT consultant for the couple, set up a camera in their home and watched them die via an app on his phone. Sentencing him, Judge Mr Justice Lavender said he had been “on the cusp” of giving

D’wit a whole life order. He said, “You regularly mixed what were supposed to be health drinks for Carol. I am sure that it was by means of one such drink… that you administer­ed the drugs to Carol and Stephen without their knowledge.”

Senior investigat­ing officer DI Lydia George said, “The significan­t sentence handed down to Luke D’wit is entirely fitting for the pathologic­al liar that he is.” And the couple’s daughter, Ellie Baxter, said in her victim impact statement, “[D’wit was a] man so manipulati­ve, he hacked his way into our lives over a decade ago, schemed and thoroughly planned my parents’ demise”.

A 16-year-old rapper has pleaded guilty to attempted murder after shooting a student on a school bus. A press release from State Attorney Aisha Braveboy detailed how Kaeden Holland, known as Baby K, “stormed” onto the bus with two others in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, in May 2023. It states that Holland, who was 15 at the time, “pointed his gun at the young man and pulled the trigger three times. He attempted to shoot the victim in his head and chest… fortunatel­y, the gun malfunctio­ned, and the victim survived.” She went on to say, “This isn’t a drill rap or trap music video. This is real life,” adding, “It’s important

US TEEN PLEADS GUILTY TO ATTEMPTED MURDER

for him, other young people, and everyone else to know that there are consequenc­es to their actions. It doesn’t matter how old you are.” Holland pleaded guilty to attempted firstdegre­e murder and use of a handgun in commission of a crime of violence. He is due to be sentenced in May and faces 25 years in prison.

 ?? ?? Doorbell footage showed D’wit leaving the Baxter home two days before
they were found dead
Stephen and Carol Baxter
He spoke to the police outside on the day the bodies were
discovered
Doorbell footage showed D’wit leaving the Baxter home two days before they were found dead Stephen and Carol Baxter He spoke to the police outside on the day the bodies were discovered
 ?? ?? Footage from the bus attack
Footage from the bus attack
 ?? ?? Kaeden Holland
Kaeden Holland

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