Today - cross-examination continues
10:43am
Day 13 Underway
We are back underway here as Luke D'Wit takes to the stand for a second day of questioning.
The court is much less busy today and there are bout eight people in the public gallery.
10:47am
Pause
Tracy Ayling KC starts her questioning of D'Wit but the defence solicitor, Adam Davis KC, wishes to rase a point of law with the judge, Justice Lavender.
The jury leaves the court.
10:52am
Back underway
The jury returns and Mrs Ayling KC, prosecuting, continues her questioning of D'Wit.
She argues that Stephen Baxter did not know who was behind the fake personalities and had no idea they were created by D'Wit.
D'Wit claims he and Mr Baxter made the personalities together to help Carol Baxter deal with Hashimoto's thyroiditis.
10:59am
Texts from Stephen Baxter
Mrs Ayling KC reads out a text sent by Stephen Baxter to the fake personality, Dr Andrea Bowden.
She asks: "As far as that [text] is concerned, are you suggesting that was Stephen Baxter writing to himself with details of Carol's day?"
D'Wit replies: "Yes. Andrea - me or Steve - would reply and we would show the messages to Carol so she would read them."
Mrs Ayling: "[These messages] are Stephen Baxter genuinely believing that Andrea Bowden exists, and telling her how bad things are how good things are [with her health]."
D'Wit: "Incorrect."
11:08am
'He knows everything about us and the family'
Mrs Ayling KC reads a text sent from Stephen Baxter to Andrea Bowden.
It reads: "Regarding Luke, he has worked for Carol for about ten years. He is her IT guy. He has been pretty much running the business. He is not an innovator - he just about keeps it ticking over.
"He knows everything about us and the family, both good and bad. He has recently got a girlfriend and says she is the one. He is super smart but a stereotypical IT geek. He is a little different in a nice caring way, but on the spectrum.”
D'Wit tells the court that that text was was written by Carol and Stephen Baxter together.
11:30am
'He did have hygiene issues'
Mrs Ayling KC reads out a message sent by Stephen Baxter to Dr Andrea Bowden.
It reads: "Luke did have hygiene issues [but] Carol saw him as a son."
The prosecution argue Mr Baxter would not have sent this message to Dr Andrea Bowden had he known that D'Wit was in fact behind the Dr Bowden fake persona.
She says: "Stephen Baxter would not have sent this to you, would he - about your personal hygiene issues, if he knew you were Andrea Bowden.
"Why did this need to go in a message?"
D'Wit: "This was all to do to get Carol to get to like me and Steve again."
Mrs Ayling KC: "That is not an explanation about these messages. It’s just nonsense, and you are just lying about it because you can’t get round the fact these messages were sent by Stephen Baxter to Andrea Bowden, believing her to be real.
"He would not have said these things if he had known it was you."
D'Wit: "No."
11:47am
'These messages are inexplicable'
The cross-examination of D'Wit continues as Tracy Ayling KC reads out another text from Stephen Baxter to Dr Andrea Bowden.
It reads: “[D'Wit] is really different. He has a habit of popping up going back to before Carol was ill. He was always asking Carol what she is doing of where we are going - like he is checking on us.
“We tell him we are going out. If for some reason we change our minds, surprise surprise, it’s always Luke. When he is in the house, he doesn’t know when it’s time to leave.
“When Carol was working in the warehouse, we would go out for breakfast three times per week. We always paid. Luke has never offered. On the whole, we are OK with that. If they are out together, Carol always pays. If they are out to the shop and bring food back, Carol always pays.
“She’s got a bit fed up with him overall. I seem to be able manage Luke much better. Carol has got too close to him over the years so I tend to deal with Luke now. It works better.”
Mrs Ayling KC: “What’s that all about?”
D’Wit: “Carol had at that point [got up with me]. I usually would always pay and Steve would pay me back. In Carol’s mind, she thought she was always paying for things.”
Mrs Ayling KC: “I’m going to suggest that Stephen Baxter is sending this to Andrea Bowden, giving info about you he would never have done if he had known Andrea Bowden was you.
“That’s right isn’t it?”
D’Wit: No.
Mrs Ayling KC: “He wouldn’t have told you were always around and being a bit of a pain.”
D’Wit: “No, but Carol would have.”
Mrs Ayling KC: “Then why doesn’t this message say ‘Hi it’s Carol’?
D’Wit: “Because that’s not what they did.”
Mrs Ayling KC: “You really are just making it up aren’t you, Mr D’Wit. These messages are inexplicable. You have no reason for them other than that you were Andrew Bowden.”
1:10pm
The Tack and the Tablet
The case moves to the subject of a black bag which was found in D'Wit's house when it was searched last year.
D’Wit has argued that the black bag containing tacks and open plastic tablets belonged to the Cazsplash business and had nothing to do with him.
The court has heard how, in February 2022, Mrs Baxter had gone to hospital complaining of stomach pains. It eventually transpired that a tack Mrs Baxter had ingested was the cause of the pain.
The prosecution say D’Wit was responsible for this, arguing he altered Mrs Baxter's medication by opening a pill and placing a tack inside for her to ingest.
The prosecution argue that the bag containing empty pills and tacks, found in D'Wit's room, proves their case.
D’Wit argues this bag belonged to the Cazsplash business and that he took the bag home after the Baxters died.
Tracy Ayling KC, prosecuting, asks: “We can see in that bag there are tacks and open plastic tablets. What are those doing in the bag at the end of your bed?”
D’Wit: “I collected that bag from Cazsplash, from the office area [in the warehouse] after Carol and Steve had passed away.”
Mrs Ayling KC: “But you must have looked inside it first before you took it home.”
D’Wit: “I don’t think I did. I just knew that’s the bag we took the laptop in, so I just took it back with me.”
Mrs Ayling KC: “You didn’t check if the laptop was inside?”
D’Wit: “No, it was on the desk.”
1:22pm
Prosecution: ‘Cazsplash was failing because of fake personalities’
The court heard earlier in the trial that
Cazsplash was ‘a failing business’ by 2023.
The prosecution has argued the reason the business was starting to fail was because D’Wit didn’t have time to run the business. Tracy Ayling KC argued he was “so busy writing false personality emails” to run Cazsplash, and Mrs Baxter couldn’t run the business because her health was failing.
Tracy Ayling KC said: “You were running Cazsplash down because you were so busy writing false personality emails that you weren’t able to run the business.”
D’Wit: “Incorrect.”
Mrs Ayling KC: “And that you were so busy dosing Carol up that she couldn’t run the business either.”
D’Wit: “Incorrect.”
2:28pm
Good Friday 2023
Tracy Ayling KC, prosecuting, is going through the events which took place on Good Friday last year, when the Baxters were last seen alive.
D’Wit says he went into the Baxters’ house in Victory Road at 5.45pm on Friday, April 7, so he could discuss new business for Cazsplash with Stephen Baxter.
Mrs Ayling KC said: “You had been there all morning, it was Good Friday, you told Ellena Baxter they wanted some peace and quiet and needed lots of rest. Why were you returning at all?”
D’Wit: “I just told you. Steve told me to come back to discuss new ideas.”
Mrs Ayling KC: “There was nothing to discuss, was there.”
D’Wit:” Incorrect.”
Mrs Ayling KC: “You returned to the house to see if they were still alive.”
D’Wit: “No.”
2:35pm
D'Wit: 'It was manners to close the door quietly'
Ring doorbell footage is shown of D'Wit leaving the Baxters' address in Victory Road at 7.55pm on Friday night.
The prosecution say D'Wit had gone to check whether the Baxters were still alive.
D'Wit is asked why the ring doorbell footage shows him closing the front door quietly.
He said: "Because someone was sleeping."
Tracy Ayling KC: "Why did you lock the door when you left?"
D'Wit: "The door was hard locked, meaning the key had been turned many times on the inside, so once I was out, I relocked the door to the same standard it was already locked at."
Mrs Ayling KC: "You didn’t need to lock the door if Stephen Baxter was inside."
D'Wit: "It was just manners to re lock the door to how it was."
Mrs Ayling KC: "Stephen doesn’t show you to the door. He doesn’t say 'cheerio, see you tomorrow'. You locked the door because you didn’t want anyone to disturb the Baxters who were already on their way to being dead."
D'Wit: "No."
3:01pm
D’Wit ‘transferred £6,000 to himself from Baxters’ bank account’
D’Wit is now accused transferring himself several thousand pounds to his bank account by using the Baxters’ phone after they had died.
The prosecution say that before leaving their address at 7.55pm on Good Friday, D'Wit used Mr Baxter's device to transfer £6,000 to himself.
Tracy Ayling KC, prosecuting, said: “You were using their devices, unlocking them, walking them around, looking at them... at 6.14pm, the HSBC mobile banking is launched on the handset belonging to Stephen Baxter.
“Were you looking at his mobile banking?”
D’Wit: “No.”
Mrs Ayling KC: “His laptop is being used and his Nationwide mobile banking is launched at 4.20pm until 4.22pm.”
D’Wit: “Correct”
Mrs Ayling KC: “Whilst you were discussing the business, why would he go on his banking app?”
D’Wit then explains Mr Baxter went on his app so he could repay a loan to D’Wit concerning the Cazsplash business.
3:32pm
D’Wit: ‘There was a poor decision I made on April 9’
After Stephen and Carol Baxter died, D’Wit tells the court he continued to operate the fake personality known as Jenny Trencher – the theatre producer who had been helping Ellena Baxter’s singing career.
D’Wit has admitted it was “a poor decision” to continue operating the account after the Baxters died.
Tracy Ayling KC: “You see, you had Ellena Baxter well under control by now, hadn’t you, after her parents died.”
D’Wit: “No.”
Mrs Ayling KC: “You took advantage of her belief in Jenny Trencher even after her parents died.”
D’Wit: “No.”
Mrs Ayling KC: “Why did you need to be Jenny Trencher after the Baxters had died?”
D’Wit: “There was a poor decision I made on April 9 when she said ‘I need to tell Jenny’ and I could tell she needed to talk to her.
“That was a poor decision on my part to reply and not delete [the Jenny Trencher account].”
Mrs Ayling KC: “You’re giving her advice as Jenny. Why not give advice personally?”
D’Wit: “Sometimes I wasn’t always listened to. I thought, ‘she does listen to Jenny’ so I thought I could help her.”
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Mersea murder trial Day 13 - live updates as D'Wit faces prosecution
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