Arrest after West tycoon dies in double stabbing
AMURDER probe is under way after one of Britain’s richest men was found stabbed to death in his country mansion.
Sir Richard Lexington Sutton, an 83-year-old Baronet, was attacked inside his £2 million home in north Dorset on Wednesday night.
A woman, in her 60s, also suffered knife injuries in the bloodbath that happened at Moorhill, a large detached property in the hamlet of Higher Langham, near Gillingham, Dorset.
Police received a call from a member of the public concerned for the welfare of the occupants of the house. When they got there they found Sir Richard with fatal knife wounds.
Nothing could be done to save him and he was pronounced dead at the scene at 9.15pm.
The female victim was airlifted to the Southmead Hospital in Bristol. Her condition was described as “critical”.
Immediate police investigations identified a Range Rover linked to the attacks that was spotted travelling eastbound on the A303. It was tracked by police as it sped across Wiltshire, Hampshire, Berkshire and Surrey before it was stopped in Hammersmith, west London.
A 34-year-old man from the Gillingham area was arrested on suspicion of murder. He was subsequently taken to hospital for treatment to injuries that are not believed to be life-threatening.
Police have confirmed the suspect is known to the victim.
Sir Richard has been described as an “old English gentry landowner” who was worth an estimated £301 million and was at number 435 on the Sunday Times Rich List.
He owned a huge portfolio of hotels, property and farms across the country.
A spokesman for the Sir Richard Sutton Limited (SRSL) said: “We are deeply saddened and devastated by the sudden death of Sir Richard Sutton, announced this morning.
“Sir Richard was a caring, generous and warm family man, who genuinely regarded those who worked for him as part of his extended family.
“Sir Richard was passionately devoted to both his company and its people, setting the highest standards for quality in the hotels, farming and property interests within the group.
“His loss will be felt by everyone within the company, those who have worked with him previously, and his family who have lost an incredible individual.
“Our thoughts are with the Sutton family at this tragic time.”
Yesterday three police vans were seen at the entrance to a long drive which leads to the remote property, while forensics officers were observed inside.
A neighbour said: “The Suttons live there. They have two grown-up children and grandchildren.
“It is just awful. You would never imagine something like this could happen. They are lovely people.”
A local farmer said: “I saw a search helicopter with a spotlight overhead last night and then an air ambulance landed.
“The people who live there are an old English gentry landowner and his wife.”
Another neighbour said they were aware of police helicopters flying over the house for a number of hours.
Their family has been informed and the Dorset coroner has been notified of the death.
Detective Inspector Simon Huxter, of Dorset Police’s Major Crime Investigation Team, said: “Our thoughts are with the family of the man who sadly died and the injured woman at this extremely difficult time and they are being supported by specially-trained officers.
“We will be carrying out a full investigation to establish exactly what happened at the address in Higher Langham and I would appeal to anyone who saw or heard anything suspicious in the area on the evening of April 7 to please contact us.”
Sir Richard Lexington Sutton, 9th Baronet, was head of the Sutton family, which owns land in Dorset, Berkshire, London and Lincolnshire and Aberdeenshire.
He inherited his title and estate from his father in 1981.
In total he and his family own close to 7,000 acres of land across the UK – more than double the amount owned by the MoD.
The landowner, who is divorced from first wife Fiamma Sutton, has two children, David, 61, and Caroline, 55, and five grandchildren.