UK UK - Serial killer preying on elderly couples, could be on the loose since mid-1990's

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SolVic said:
Okay, let’s go over these cases and see where the cops went wrong.

View attachment 277257
NAMES: Howard and Beatrice Ainsworth
BODIES FOUND: April 28, 1996
DETAILS: Howard bludgeoned Beatrice with a hammer and stabbed her with a bread knife. He then suffocated himself with a plastic bag tightened by a ligature.
ALLEGED MOTIVE: A suicide note was written, but it didn’t really mention a motive. The couple had joined a right-to-die group six years earlier.
RED FLAGS: Beatrice’s body was found in a rather odd position, as if she had been moved. Only a tiny amount of blood was on her. The knife was shoved into her skull with sheer force — something that the 78-year-old Howard wouldn’t have had the strength to do. The hammer had been washed in a sink, which doesn’t make sense if he was about to kill himself. A second hammer was found at the scene, as well as another ligature. The bag on Howard’s head was covered in blood, implying that he was already wearing it when he killed his wife. A bottle of pills was left on the floor, but the medication hadn’t even been prescribed to the couple. Finally, Howard could’ve been forced to write the suicide note. These details don’t make any sense for a murder-suicide. Also, Howard and Beatrice firmly believed in dying with dignity, but the extremely gruesome crime scene contradicts this.

View attachment 277250
NAMES: Donald and Auriel Ward
BODIES FOUND: November 26, 1999
DETAILS: Donald bludgeoned Auriel with a ceramic hot water bottle, stabbed her with the shards, and suffocated her with a pillow before he slit his throat and stabbed himself in the heart.
ALLEGED MOTIVE: It was concluded that Donald had a disturbed mind. He had also expressed concern over a test for prostate cancer.
RED FLAGS: Donald didn’t have a history of mental illness; there was literally nothing to indicate that he was a ticking time bomb just waiting to go off. He stabbed himself after he slashed his throat, which seems unlikely for a 73-year-old to do (though I guess it depends on how deep he cut it). There were also stab wounds to his groin. (Because that’s totally something I would do to myself before committing suicide. Don’t question it, guys. Just assume that I’m into *advertiser censored* and ball torture. Don’t think for maybe one second that I was murdered.)

View attachment 277251
NAMES: Michael and Violet Higgins
BODIES FOUND: February 21, 2000
DETAILS: Michael bludgeoned Violet with a rolling pin and stabbed her in the neck with a pair of scissors, then strangled himself with a coat hanger.
ALLEGED MOTIVE: Reportedly, Violet had threatened to put Michael in a home due to the fact that he was suffering from Parkinson’s disease.
RED FLAGS: Michael had Parkinson’s. It would be difficult for someone with this disease to pull off such a despicable act. There’s also the fact that he was somehow able to throttle himself to death; he would’ve passed out before he could finish himself off.

View attachment 277256
NAMES: Kenneth and Eileen Martin
BODIES FOUND: November 10, 2008
DETAILS: Kenneth bludgeoned Eileen with a blunt instrument and cut her neck and wrists; he then slit his throat, slashed his wrists, and hanged himself.
ALLEGED MOTIVE: Eileen suffered from dementia and Kenneth just couldn’t put up with her anymore, especially after finding out that he was now ill.
RED FLAGS: 77-year-old Kenneth cut his throat. Then his wrists. And then he hanged himself. Even if he wasn’t an old man, I’m pretty sure it’d be difficult for him to do that to himself.

View attachment 277255
NAMES: Stanley and Peggy Wilson
BODIES FOUND: February 18, 2011
DETAILS: Stanley beat Peggy, strangled her, and then stabbed her in the neck. He proceeded to stab himself in the neck.
ALLEGED MOTIVE: Stanley was mentally ill and paranoid. He simply had an episode that ended tragically.
RED FLAGS: Stanley, who was 92 years old, somehow overpowered his wife and did this disturbing stuff to her.

There are probably other details that I forgot to include or got wrong. Feel free to correct me.

The most obvious red flag in all five of these cases is the brutality. Regardless of your partner’s age, why would you choose such a slow, bloody, absolutely disgusting way to kill them and yourself? It doesn’t add up.
Click to expand...
A little update to this: Howard had injuries on his face. Also, his wife was suffering from a stomach virus or something like that. A doctor told them that it’d go away in 24-28 hours. I doubt Howard killed her over that. In addition, their pubic regions were exposed.
 
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dotr said:
Fears serial killer could be at large as cops re-examine 'murder-suicides'
23 AUG 2020
''Which cases are being examined?
Donald and Auriel Ward (73 and 68 respectively)

The bodies of Donald and Auriel Ward were discovered on November 26, 1999, in Wilmslow, Cheshire.

Auriel had been struck over the head and stabbed in the neck, while Donald had had his neck cut open and had been stabbed in the chest.

They were found in bed dressed in pyjamas and a nightdress.

Kenneth and Eileen Martin (77 and 76 respectively)

The bodies of Kenneth and Eileen Martin were discovered on November 10 in 2008 in Davyhulme, Greater Manchester.

They were found in their garage.

Eilen had suffered head injuries and cuts to her head and neck.

Kenneth, meanwhile, was discovered hanged and his throat had been cut.

Stanley and Peggy Wilson (92 and 89 respectively)

The couple were found on February 18, 2011 in the town of Kendal, Cumbria.

They were - like the other couples- found dead in their bedroom.

Peggy had sustained a blow to the head as well as cuts to her neck.

Stanley was discovered with cuts to his neck and body.

Michael and Violet Higgins (59 and 76 respectively)

Michael and Violet Higgins were discovered on February 21, 2000 in Disbury, Manchester.

Violet was found in her bed wearing a nightdress, after being beaten over the head and stabbed in her neck.

Michael was found in the spare bedroom and had cuts to his neck.

He had also been strangled with a coathanger.

Police initially concluded that both discovered of the cases were murder-suicides.

The coroner's office for Cheshire at the time, Christine Hurst, reportedly said the cases didn't feel "right" and was "appalled at the level of violence" - as well as the eerie similarities between them.

On her retirement in 2017, she passed the cases to her successor Stephanie Davies who has filed the new report.

Now, Coroner Davies has challenged the rulings of the two cases as murder-suicides - citing a number of inconsistent factors in the evidence.

In her new report, she calls on the National Crime Agency and Interpol to conduct an urgent review of the cases.''
Click to expand...
None of the cases read like murder-suicide to me. Who stabs themselves to death, especially with multiple stab wounds not on the wrists? I can think of much less painful ways to go than stabbing. And the strangulation by coat hanger after cutting one's throat...that just defies common sense. If someone were able to twist a metal coat hanger, he'd be applying greater pressure with each turn on a fresh cut, and ever so slowly cutting off oxygen. That sounds terribly painful and not self-inflicted. AMOO
 
AgoraphobicSleuth said:
I dug this up today, some more interesting information in regards to the Higgins case.

DEVOTED husband Michael Higgins bludgeoned his wife Violet to death after she threatened to leave him and put him in a home, an inquest heard today.

Mr Higgins was also found dead near his ex-policewoman wife's body at their heavily blood-stained home in Didsbury, Manchester.

[...]
Daniel Higgins said his brother, who was suffering from Parkinson's Disease, had told him that his 76-year-old wife Violet, a former Greater Manchester police officer, was leaving him.

Again, the level of violence and horror just doesn't seem to me like it should've been so easily dismissed as a Murder-Suicide. None of the hallmarks are there and there's so much conflicting evidence that it wasn't so cut and dry.

'Man Beat Wife to Death'
Click to expand...
I'd be interested to know from family and friends how Parkinson's was affecting his body, and if it would be possible even, in their opinion, for him to strike her with such force?
 
RenPoly said:
Interesting hypothesis. Superficial similarities for sure, in the progression and nature of the incidents.

Devil's Advocate:
(1) I'd suggest you could strangle yourself with a coat hanger, twist and tighten, then leave it in place.
(2) "77-year-old Kenneth cut his throat. Then his wrists. And then he hanged himself." If the first two cuts were ineffective (blunt knife, shallow cuts), the hanging then doesn't seem quite so unlikely.

Do you have the geographical locations for these crimes? Pointers to finer points of case details?
Click to expand...
He'd have to slowly twist a metal coat hanger enough to completely cut off oxygen. He'd have to twist that coat hanger as it began to put pressure on and maybe further lacerate the cut on his neck, and all while bleeding from both wrists. I'm just not buying it. MOO
 
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

“Gray Murder”: Characteristics of Elderly Compared With Nonelderly Homicide Victims in New York City

Objectives. We compared characteristics of homicides among New York City residents aged 18 years and older from 1990 to 1998 to determine differences in demographics, cause and place of death, and presence of illicit drugs and alcohol in the deceased’s ...
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

“Gray Murder”: Characteristics of Elderly Compared With Nonelderly Homicide Victims in New York City​

Robert C. Abrams, MD, Andrew C. Leon, PhD, Kenneth Tardiff, MD, MPH, Peter M. Marzuk, MD, and Kari Sutherland, MA
rbbm. 2007
''By contrast, relatively little attention has been given to victims of homicide aged 65 years and older.5,6 Geriatric homicides may be overlooked because of investigators’ presumption that advanced age and chronic illness provide sufficient explanations for most deaths.7 However, a better understanding of what has been termed “gray murder”7,8 might contribute to the recognition of geriatric deaths as homicides. Clarification of the characteristics of elderly homicide victims could also inform the development of preventive, age-sensitive interventions by physicians, social workers, and adult protective service or law enforcement agencies.''


''Additional studies are also needed to provide more detailed information on the risk factors for geriatric homicide.22 For example, many older persons live with a family care-giver or an unrelated home-health aide. Both situations involve the potential for elder abuse; the family caregiver may be an overstressed individual with economic gain to be had from killing the victim, and the home-health aide in New York City is typically a poorly paid immigrant with significant language and cultural differences from his or her employer. Because elderly homicide victims are frequently killed in their own homes, an understanding of the dynamics of relationships with various kinds of caregivers may offer clues to the risk factors for geriatric homicide.''

''These data on geriatric homicide were gathered to describe the characteristics and circumstances of the death of victims of the most extreme form of elder abuse and to distinguish them from younger adult victims. The findings underscore the vulnerability of some of society’s most fragile individuals, namely, elderly persons living in the community, whether alone or with a family or unrelated caregiver. Elderly women in particular appear to be at risk for victimization in their own homes.''

2009
''Between 1995 and 1997, in the territories of Southern Italy, there were fifteen murders of elderly women over the age of 70 years old. Initially, however, not all the murders were attributed to a single serial killer. The majority of the victims were stabbed multiple times in the neck, except for three cases in which the cause of death was manual strangulation. There was evidence of sexual assault in only one of the cases.''

people.com

Police Thought Deaths of 22 Seniors Were from Natural Causes — But Now They Suspect a Serial Killer

Billy Chemirmir "used his healthcare experience to his advantage, targeting and exploiting seniors, some of the most vulnerable people in our community," then-Plano police chief Gregory W. Rushin alleged in 2018
people.com people.com

''Police Thought Deaths of 22 Seniors Were from Natural Causes — But Now They Suspect a Serial Killer​

Billy Chemirmir "used his healthcare experience to his advantage, targeting and exploiting seniors, some of the most vulnerable people in our community," then-Plano police chief Gregory W. Rushin alleged in 2018
By Steve HellingDecember 03, 2020''

''A Kenyan immigrant with permanent resident status in the U.S., Chemirmir is being held in the Dallas County Jail on $11.6 million bond, pending a 2021 trial date.
For the families of his alleged victims, their grief is mixed with anger about how this could have gone on for so long. For one thing, most of the deaths were attributed to natural causes simply because the victims were elderly. "You expect someone to die at a senior living facility," says Paul Abramowitz, whose 82-year-old mother, Joyce, was found dead in 2016. "This was the perfect crime."
 
Atoz said:
Man stating he's there service the boiler maybe? Either way, it's easier to stake out potential victims in their own home at that time of year due to the early sunset and daylight saving.

You have to wonder why these were dismissed as murder suicides. Would the police ever just nudge a case in that direction in order to tie it up if they had no leads? It might help their statistics. Or is that too suspicious of me?
Click to expand...

It's not unknown for the classification of crimes and a subsequent 'clearance' to be of importance when it comes to the all important statistics.
 
Kemug said:
I'm trying to be open-minded about all this. But aren't coroners meant to give their opinions? Otherwise why have them? And this lady is a Senior Coroner, not some learner. Was she meant to lie, to say something that she had doubts about? I believe that there is serious doubt about murder-suicide in at least some of these cases. My husband's elderly uncle and aunt killed themselves in a suicide pact - but there was no violence involved at all. They did it to spare each other suffering. I find it hard to believe that a spouse wishing to spare him/herself and partner from further suffering would inflict so much violence on theirself and their partner, that just doesn't make sense. And I'm not going to say MOO. I would think it's obvious.
Click to expand...
It's important for accuracy to highlight that Stephanie Davies is NOT a Coroner. Coroners are independent judicial officers

Stephanie Davies is a Coroner's Officer. Coroners Officers are appointed to assist the Coronor with investigating the circumstances of a death and other administrative duties.

Former police officers were frequently appointed as Coroners Officers, but now they may be individuals with clinical experience/training such as former nurses or paramedics.

This development is somewhat concerning. It seems as though Ms Davies may have valid concerns but has ruffled a few feathers in the way she went about investigating in her own time and has allegedly disclosed information from police systems without authorisation.....unlawful use of systems is big trouble.

It sounds very harsh, but the police, will progress every transgression by police employees, particularly if criminal offences may be involved.

The police are endeavouring to restore faith from the public on the back of all the appalling crimes committed by serving and retired officers and police staff. Not to mention other shocking incidents that seem to keep on making the headlines. In short the police will seek to demonstrate the moral high ground.

West Midlands Police sacked their Deputy Chief Constable for an unfortunate error of judgement which had potentially very serious consequences. He ended up in court and pleaded guilty. There are no favours....no matter who you are. Honesty and integrity is everything

I suspect she may have raised her concerns but they were dismissed out of hand. So she took matters into her own hands.

I pass no judgement either way as I don't know all the facts. I am just trying to provide some explanation and balance to that bastion of superb journalism.....the Daily Mail.
 
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These cases and a possible link are new to me. Just been playing 'catchup'.

FWIW my tuppence ha'penny. I'd like to know for starters:

1. Estimated time of deaths
2. Any signs of forced entry/damage to doors/windows (killer known/trusted by victims or not)
3. Any indication of theft or searching (poss motive)
4. Any significant forensic evidence recovered, which comes from a third party
5. What official services/tradespeople provided for the victims in their home
6. Individuals that would benefit from death of victims (e.g. equity release scheme reps, other beneficiaries)
7. Items left at the scene not believed to belong to the victims

I appreciate that if the initial conclusion was murder/suicide then some of these may not have been assessed or only in a cursory way.

Since many of these victims were in their nightwear and found in bed I would certainly be looking at the receipt of home care services or contact with NHS medical services. This is on the assumption that an evening/early morning call from a domiciliary care worker/clinician would be an expected occurrence. The estimated times of death could feed into this hypothesis.

The reality is that if these deaths are connected then the opportunity to let the forensic scene examination do the talking has long gone.
 
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Whitehall 1212 said:
These cases and a possible link are new to me. Just been playing 'catchup'.

FWIW my tuppence ha'penny. I'd like to know for starters:

1. Estimated time of deaths
2. Any signs of forced entry/damage to doors/windows (killer known/trusted by victims or not)
3. Any indication of theft or searching (poss motive)
4. Any significant forensic evidence recovered, which comes from a third party
5. What official services/tradespeople provided for the victims in their home
6. Individuals that would benefit from death of victims (e.g. equity release scheme reps, other beneficiaries)
7. Items left at the scene not believed to belong to the victims

I appreciate that if the initial conclusion was murder/suicide then some of these may not have been assessed or only in a cursory way.

Since many of these victims were in their nightwear and found in bed I would certainly be looking at the receipt of home care services or contact with NHS medical services. This is on the assumption that an evening/early morning call from a domiciliary care worker/clinician would be an expected occurrence. The estimated times of death could feed into this hypothesis.

The reality is that if these deaths are connected then the opportunity to let the forensic scene examination do the talking has long gone.
Click to expand...
If I remember correctly (I don’t have the articles at the moment, sorry…), the Ainsworths were killed the day before their bodies were found. The Wards had been killed four days before their bodies were found. The Martins were killed on the same date of their bodies being discovered.

Ainsworths: April 27, 1996
Wards: November 22, 1999
Martins: November 10, 2008
 
SolVic said:
If I remember correctly (I don’t have the articles at the moment, sorry…), the Ainsworths were killed the day before their bodies were found. The Wards had been killed four days before their bodies were found. The Martins were killed on the same date of their bodies being discovered.

Ainsworths: April 27, 1996
Wards: November 22, 1999
Martins: November 10, 2008
Click to expand...
Thanks. Unfortunately the info I'd like to know, that I'm sure we'd all like to know, is probably not in the public domain.

The police may have ruled out any connection between the killings for reasons known only to them.

However, if the police have failed to identify the possible connections at the time and therefore properly investigate these case as double murder by persons unknown, are we confident that the police would admit as much?

Sadly, for many reasons I have very little confidence that the police are open and honest about their mistakes. They only seem to front up when the evidence is staring them in the face and they can't wriggle out of it with meaningless rhetotic.

Only once there is an entirely independent body, which can investigate police complaints, misconduct and poor service delivery and that has the teeth to do so, without fear or favour, will the police service be forced to clean up from the top down with absolute purpose.

Priti Patel and Sadiq Khan recently failed by appointing a Met senior officer as the new Commissioner. All Met senior officers are tainted by association. It needed a new slate.....an opportunity missed.
 
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SolVic said:
If I remember correctly (I don’t have the articles at the moment, sorry…), the Ainsworths were killed the day before their bodies were found. The Wards had been killed four days before their bodies were found. The Martins were killed on the same date of their bodies being discovered.

Ainsworths: April 27, 1996
Wards: November 22, 1999
Martins: November 10, 2008
Click to expand...

The Ainsworths were discovered on Sunday April 28 1996. The last person to see Bea Ainsworth alive was GP Dr Redhead from the Kenmore Medical Centre who visited her at home on the Friday before. Howard Ainsworth was last seen alive by neighbour Margaret Farror on the Saturday lunchtime in the garden.

The Wards were discovered on Friday November 26 1999. They were last seen alive by James Allen, a local handyman, who had been working on flagging their driveway, on the afternoon of Monday November 22. Later that day, Allen spoke to Donald Ward on the phone, and at 7pm Auriel Ward phoned one of her grandsons. These were the last communications.

That the Ainsworths and Wards were both registered patients at the Kenmore Medical Centre, did stick out for me as someone from there would know both, and a fair bit about their health.
 
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SolVic said:
Okay, let’s go over these cases and see where the cops went wrong.

View attachment 277257
NAMES: Howard and Beatrice Ainsworth
BODIES FOUND: April 28, 1996
DETAILS: Howard bludgeoned Beatrice with a hammer and stabbed her with a bread knife. He then suffocated himself with a plastic bag tightened by a ligature.
ALLEGED MOTIVE: A suicide note was written, but it didn’t really mention a motive. The couple had joined a right-to-die group six years earlier.
RED FLAGS: Beatrice’s body was found in a rather odd position, as if she had been moved. Only a tiny amount of blood was on her. The knife was shoved into her skull with sheer force — something that the 78-year-old Howard wouldn’t have had the strength to do. The hammer had been washed in a sink, which doesn’t make sense if he was about to kill himself. A second hammer was found at the scene, as well as another ligature. The bag on Howard’s head was covered in blood, implying that he was already wearing it when he killed his wife. A bottle of pills was left on the floor, but the medication hadn’t even been prescribed to the couple. Finally, Howard could’ve been forced to write the suicide note. These details don’t make any sense for a murder-suicide. Also, Howard and Beatrice firmly believed in dying with dignity, but the extremely gruesome crime scene contradicts this.

View attachment 277250
NAMES: Donald and Auriel Ward
BODIES FOUND: November 26, 1999
DETAILS: Donald bludgeoned Auriel with a ceramic hot water bottle, stabbed her with the shards, and suffocated her with a pillow before he slit his throat and stabbed himself in the heart.
ALLEGED MOTIVE: It was concluded that Donald had a disturbed mind. He had also expressed concern over a test for prostate cancer.
RED FLAGS: Donald didn’t have a history of mental illness; there was literally nothing to indicate that he was a ticking time bomb just waiting to go off. He stabbed himself after he slashed his throat, which seems unlikely for a 73-year-old to do (though I guess it depends on how deep he cut it). There were also stab wounds to his groin. (Because that’s totally something I would do to myself before committing suicide. Don’t question it, guys. Just assume that I’m into *advertiser censored* and ball torture. Don’t think for maybe one second that I was murdered.)

View attachment 277251
NAMES: Michael and Violet Higgins
BODIES FOUND: February 21, 2000
DETAILS: Michael bludgeoned Violet with a rolling pin and stabbed her in the neck with a pair of scissors, then strangled himself with a coat hanger.
ALLEGED MOTIVE: Reportedly, Violet had threatened to put Michael in a home due to the fact that he was suffering from Parkinson’s disease.
RED FLAGS: Michael had Parkinson’s. It would be difficult for someone with this disease to pull off such a despicable act. There’s also the fact that he was somehow able to throttle himself to death; he would’ve passed out before he could finish himself off.

View attachment 277256
NAMES: Kenneth and Eileen Martin
BODIES FOUND: November 10, 2008
DETAILS: Kenneth bludgeoned Eileen with a blunt instrument and cut her neck and wrists; he then slit his throat, slashed his wrists, and hanged himself.
ALLEGED MOTIVE: Eileen suffered from dementia and Kenneth just couldn’t put up with her anymore, especially after finding out that he was now ill.
RED FLAGS: 77-year-old Kenneth cut his throat. Then his wrists. And then he hanged himself. Even if he wasn’t an old man, I’m pretty sure it’d be difficult for him to do that to himself.

View attachment 277255
NAMES: Stanley and Peggy Wilson
BODIES FOUND: February 18, 2011
DETAILS: Stanley beat Peggy, strangled her, and then stabbed her in the neck. He proceeded to stab himself in the neck.
ALLEGED MOTIVE: Stanley was mentally ill and paranoid. He simply had an episode that ended tragically.
RED FLAGS: Stanley, who was 92 years old, somehow overpowered his wife and did this disturbing stuff to her.

There are probably other details that I forgot to include or got wrong. Feel free to correct me.

The most obvious red flag in all five of these cases is the brutality. Regardless of your partner’s age, why would you choose such a slow, bloody, absolutely disgusting way to kill them and yourself? It doesn’t add up.
Click to expand...

It has been said, in the case of the Ainsworths who were in favour of euthanasia, that it was an over-violent end if that was what happened.

It made me think of this case that has been at court this week. Here the wife was terminally ill, but surely cutting her throat was an extreme end to choose?

www.dailymail.co.uk

Husband shared last drink with his terminally-ill wife in their garden

Graham Mansfield, 73, walked free from court on Thursday after being convicted of the manslaughter of his 71-year-old wife Dyanne.
www.dailymail.co.uk www.dailymail.co.uk
 
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