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

[dotr]

'A serial killer in our midst': Fears after 1990s Wilmslow killings reexamined
''A serial killer who murders vulnerable couples may have been active in the North West since the mid-1990s - and could still be on the loose - a shocking report has claimed.

According to a confidential document seen by the Sunday Times, two suspected double murders in Wilmslow, Cheshire, could have been the work of an offender unknown to the police.

The report, compiled by one of the most senior coroner's officers, raises serious concerns about two cases where husbands were previously thought to have murdered their wives before committing suicide.

After re-examining the cases using modern techniques, the report finds both cases were likely to have been double murders.

This weekend, Cheshire Police said they were conducting a review of the findings in the report, which was handed to the force last month.

They are also said to have alerted Greater Manchester and Cumbria Police - where some of the killings took place.''

 

[LadyL]

oh wow this could get interesting
someone thought they were getting away with it
now maybe they're nervous, if still alive

 

[Clair Louise]

That will be a blessing to their families to know that their father did not kill their mother and then themselves. Brings fresh grief but of a different kind.

 

[dotr]

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.''

 

[Clair Louise]

Gee, why were those cases ever deemed murder suicide? Who strangles themselves with a coathanger? How would you even do that?

 

[dotr]

Aug 23 2020 rbbm.
String of murders 'could be work of serial killer at large'
''A serial killer could be responsible for the multiple murders of pensioners, according to a confidential report leaked to the press.''

''The first two double killings happened in 1996 and 1999 only two miles apart. In both cases husbands were previously thought to have murdered their wives before killing themselves.

But after re-examining the cases using modern techniques, the report finds both cases were likely to have been double murders, the newspaper said.''

''The 179-page report calls on the National Crime Agency and Interpol to review cases in Britain and Europe to determine whether there are more related murders.

"This individual will not stop killing until someone or something stops him," the report is quoted as saying''

 

[RobinCAL]

Thank you for creating this @dotr . I really hope something comes of this. I'm shocked at the number of victims.

 

[Backstroke10]

Gee, why were those cases ever deemed murder suicide? Who strangles themselves with a coathanger? How would you even do that?

I don’t understand this either. Clearly these weren’t suicides. MOO

 

[Coveting]

Thanks for the thread on this, I saw this pop in the news yesterday and thought it all seemed like it may turn into something more, so interested to see where this goes.

Does anyone know when the most recent murder / suicide that they are looking into?

I am also shocked that some of these could ever be considered murder / suicide with those types of injuries.. I’m glad the coroners decided to flag it up and write the report.

 

[Tortoise]

Howard and Bea Ainsworth in Wilmslow were found dead in 1996, their blood-soaked bodies found in bed.

Wife Bea, 78, had been found in her nightie with a knife in her forehead and after being struck in the head by a hammer, with a pillow partially over her face, and her night gown pulled above hip-height.

While husband Howard, 79, was found beside her with his head in a bag.

Police ruled the case a murder-suicide after discovering a note allegedly written by Howard – despite no history of domestic violence between the two and the deaths leaving the victim’s family shocked.

[...]

Violet Higgins, 76, and her husband Michael, 59, were found dead in Didsbury, Manchester in 2000 – with these deaths said to be suspicious due to Michael being “incapable of violence” and as a suffered of Parkinson’s disease.

more at link

Murder-suicides in north west England 'could be serial killer on loose'



The report, written by Stephanie Davies, the senior coroner’s officer for Cheshire, is supported by evidence from her predecessor at the time of the first deaths and a US-based crime-scene analysis expert.

[...]

Similarities between the cases included the extremity of violence, with knives left in bodies at the crime scene; injuries to the head from a blunt weapon and stab wounds; and the fact that the women had been left with their nightdresses lifted.

The report, which Davies produced in her free time, examined police files and crime scene photographs and points to "a number of inconsistencies which do not corroborate the original manner of death of being murder suicide."

more at link

'A serial killer in our midst': Fears after 1990s Wilmslow killings reexamined

 

[Kasmeer]

The Sunday Times article is well worth reading for anyone who can, it's paywalled so I can't quote it (modsnip: removed reference to non approved site). I was interested to note at least a couple of the cases were couples who had previously talked about euthanasia/suicide pacts, which explains why investigators were more likely to believe that option - although given the level of violence involved I don't think it was the correct choice.

I found myself wondering if the potential killer could have personally known some of the victims, as it seemed they were well chosen to make murder-suicide more believable, even those who hadn't specifically talked about it had other factors which made it plausible; one had mental health problems, another was thinking of a divorce. Seems possibly more than just luck that each couple could actually fit the theory and so end up written off and not continue to be investigated as murder victims. If there was personal knowledge involved, I wonder who could get to know elderly people across a moderately wide area: social worker, doctor, meals on wheels, involved in some social club or other?

 

[dotr]

23 AUG 2020
The Didsbury and Davyhulme murder suicide cases that 'need reviewing'

A senior coroner's officer
Top left: Eileen and Kenneth Martin; top right: Violet Higgins; bottom left: Auriel and Donald Ward; bottom right: Michael Higgins (Image: M.E.N.)

''Ms Davies' predecessor noted the apparent similarities in the five cases before handing her the files, according to the Sunday Times.''

''Violet Higgins, 76, an ex-policewomen, was found dead alongside her husband Michael, 59, in Didsbury in 2000.''

 

[Legally Bland]

I haven't clicked on all the links, so apologies if already posted.
_____

26 Sep 2000

A verdict of unlawful killing on Mrs Ward and a verdict of suicide on Mr Ward was recorded by Cheshire coroner Nicholas Rheinberg at Macclesfield Coroner's Court.

Out of character

Mr Rheinberg said their deaths meant no one would ever know why Mr Ward had acted so out of character.

He concluded: "This in all respects was so alien to Mr Ward's whole personality - his whole life - not a single shred of evidence would suggest there was a time bomb waiting to explode."

BBC News | UK | Man 'killed his wife then himself'

 

[Legally Bland]

Hopefully these links work.

Jenkins, Russell. "Couple found stabbed to death in bed." Times, 29 Nov. 1999, p. 3. The Times Digital Archive, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/IF0502637779/TTDA?u=leedscl&sid=TTDA&xid=2e0876ab. Accessed 23 Aug. 2020.

"Killer's knife found." Times, 30 Nov. 1999, p. 2. The Times Digital Archive, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/IF0500243795/TTDA?u=leedscl&sid=TTDA&xid=d6c6eef3. Accessed 23 Aug. 2020.

 

[dotr]

oh wow this could get interesting
someone thought they were getting away with it
now maybe they're nervous, if still alive

Reminded of the (unrelated) Honey and Barry Sherman deaths, initially thought to be a murder/suicide and now deemed to be murders. posted this thread on that one..
Canada - Barry, 75, & Honey Sherman, 70, found dead, Toronto, 15 Dec 2017 #14

 

[dotr]

Aug 23 2020 rbbm.
Unsolved murder-suicides in northwest England could be work of serial killer
''In both cases, the husbands had been thought to have murdered their wives before killing themselves. But after re-examining the cases using modern techniques, the report finds both cases were likely to be double murders, The Sunday Times reports.

Similarities in the method of killing and the positioning of the bodies are signs of “signature behaviour” of a repeat killer, argues Stephanie Davies, coroner’s officer for Cheshire, in the report.
“This individual will not stop killing until someone or something stops him ... He will have meticulously planned each murder, ensured he left no forensic evidence and followed the cases in the media,” the report is quoted as saying.

In addition, Ms Davies believes the attacks were “out of character” as there was no history of domestic violence or psychiatric illness in either case, The Sunday Times reports.''

 

[RobinCAL]

Aug 23 2020 rbbm.
Unsolved murder-suicides in northwest England could be work of serial killer
''In both cases, the husbands had been thought to have murdered their wives before killing themselves. But after re-examining the cases using modern techniques, the report finds both cases were likely to be double murders, The Sunday Times reports.

Similarities in the method of killing and the positioning of the bodies are signs of “signature behaviour” of a repeat killer, argues Stephanie Davies, coroner’s officer for Cheshire, in the report.
“This individual will not stop killing until someone or something stops him ... He will have meticulously planned each murder, ensured he left no forensic evidence and followed the cases in the media,” the report is quoted as saying.

In addition, Ms Davies believes the attacks were “out of character” as there was no history of domestic violence or psychiatric illness in either case, The Sunday Times reports.''

This is incredibly disturbing!

 

[Deleted member 238128]

The Sunday Times article is well worth reading for anyone who can, it's paywalled so I can't quote it (I found it in the comments on a certain "red" social media website's unresolved mysteries section) but I was interested to note at least a couple of the cases were couples who had previously talked about euthanasia/suicide pacts, which explains why investigators were more likely to believe that option - although given the level of violence involved I don't think it was the correct choice.

I found myself wondering if the potential killer could have personally known some of the victims, as it seemed they were well chosen to make murder-suicide more believable, even those who hadn't specifically talked about it had other factors which made it plausible; one had mental health problems, another was thinking of a divorce. Seems possibly more than just luck that each couple could actually fit the theory and so end up written off and not continue to be investigated as murder victims. If there was personal knowledge involved, I wonder who could get to know elderly people across a moderately wide area: social worker, doctor, meals on wheels, involved in some social club or other?

Oh that is interesting. Alzheimers was mentioned re one I think, I wonder were there any common illnesses across the victims - anything that could link them to visiting one particular medical centre or doctor. What about their life insurance applications, or critical illness cover - any correlation between their providers?

 

[astheworldfallsdown]

I too can't understand how these deaths were ruled murder-suicides.

How terrible those poor men were labelled wife killers, so sorry for their families who up to now believed one parent murdered the other.

I hope it's not too late to catch whoever murdered these poor people.

 

[Skigh]

I wonder whether there are more cases which need to be re- examined.