Fentanyl poisoning: The 'nerdy weird' killer who murdered an Essex couple – BBC
Stephen and Carol Baxter were discovered unresponsive at their seaside home in April
Luke D'Wit volunteered at a soup kitchen, helped with a town carnival and appeared willing and ready to assist anyone who needed it. In reality, the computer science graduate was a cold, calculating murderer described by a senior police officer as "one of the most dangerous men" he had ever dealt with. How was he caught?
Luke D'Wit went to elaborate lengths to win the trust of Stephen and Carol Baxter.
He used fake personalities to trick them into taking medication and visited their home so frequently that it came across as "nerdy weird", their daughter said.
It was all part of his ruse that would ultimately see him poison the couple with fentanyl, before rewriting their wills to make himself a major beneficiary.
It was just before 20:00 BST on 7 April 2023 when D'Wit double-locked the front door of Mr and Mrs Baxter's house on West Mersea, Essex, and began the short walk home.
D'Wit planned to settle in for the night and watch crime drama Beyond Paradise at the home he shared with his mum.
A CCTV camera on the Baxters' house showed him leaving the property after administering lethal doses of fentanyl
What his mum did not know was that the previous night, her son had poisoned the Baxters by administering lethal doses of the opioid painkiller fentanyl into their medication.
Mr Baxter, 61, and Mrs Baxter, 64, were slowly dying in their armchairs. The next day, they would be found dead by their daughter, Ellie.
The day after administering the fatal doses, D'Wit calmly took his mother out for breakfast and an ice cream.
The 34-year-old was on Wednesday found guilty of murdering the couple and is awaiting sentence.
D'Wit appeared to be a friendly member of the close-knit island community who gave his time to helping others.
A freelance website designer, he had grown close to the Baxters after building a site for their shower mat business, Cazsplash.
Heidi Cornish, who met D'Wit at a meeting of the Mersea carnival association, told the murder trial he "loves to be involved where people need help".
"He has a good sense of what's right and wrong," she added.
This video can not be played
Footage showed D'Wit calling at the home of the Baxters
And so it made sense that D'Wit, who kept Mrs Baxter company on walks and helped her take her medication, would run to the family house in Victory Road after they were found dead.
"I need to check on them," he told a police officer at the scene. "I always pop in."
Kate Dawson, a good friend of the Baxters, says his presence in and around the house – even after their deaths – was not unusual.
"He was never rude but just very odd, an odd character. He wouldn't say a lot but was always there, always," she explains.
"He'd just be sitting around having a cup of tea with them but he was always there."
The moment a suspected double murderer is arrested
Poisoning murder suspect 'practises false identity'
Man murdered couple with drug before re-writing will
The trial at Chelmsford Crown Court was told D'Wit's frequent visits over the years were far from friendly. He had sinister intentions and a plot of calculated manipulation was unfolding.
After the bodies were discovered, it was the catalyst for the next stage – to plant a fake will he had created in the house, giving him control of the Baxters' business.
"In hindsight, there's a lot of things that add up," Ms Dawson says. "But at the time I wouldn't have even thought about it."
Ellie Baxter said her parents were looking forward to enjoying life post-retirement
During the trial, the court heard D'Wit first met the Baxters sometime around 2012 or 2013 and became more involved in their lives over the years.
Mrs Baxter was suffering with the thyroid condition Hashimoto's and her mental state was deteriorating.
According to daughter Ellie, the autoimmune disorder was making her mum "do silly things".
So when a doctor from the United States offered her services and access to a wide network of fellow sufferers, it seemed to be the reassurance Mrs Baxter needed.
The only problem was that neither Dr Andrea Bowden nor the other sufferers were real. They were created by D'Wit to manipulate Mrs Baxter and to trick her into distancing herself from her family.
Police and paramedics were called to the Baxters' home on Victory Road on Easter Sunday 2023
The couple were found dead in the conservatory by their daughter
D'Wit, the trial heard, would help Mrs Baxter by making her smoothies that he claimed were rich in health benefits.
But those smoothies were, in fact, cocktails of drugs and potions that were making her far more unwell than she already was.
And during a hospital scan Mrs Baxter had for a stomach pain, a metal tack inside a medicine capsule was found in her system. Those same tacks would later be found at D'Wit's house.
On the night of 7 April, D'Wit administered fatal doses of fentanyl to the Baxters in what they thought was their medication.
The day after the Baxters were found dead, a new will was drawn up in their name. It detailed how their "dear friend Luke D'Wit" would be made the director and person with significant control of Cazsplash should they die.
It would be a key piece of evidence in bringing him down.
D'Wit created a will the day after the Baxters were found dead in an attempt to seize control of Cazsplash
When police visited D'Wit's home in July 2023, they found 80 electronic devices. Many had been used to communicate with the Baxters while posing as the fake personalities.
One even had images of the couple dead in their armchairs, taken by a hidden camera he had watched them die on.
And a bag found in his bedroom contained fentanyl patches, medication capsules and metal tacks.
But why would a murderer keep his weapons out in the open? Det Supt Rob Kirby, head of major crime at Essex Police, believes he was planning to strike again.
Det Supt Rob Kirby led tributes to Mr and Mrs Baxter alongside their children, Ellie and Harry
"He is, without doubt, one of the most dangerous men I have ever experienced in my policing career," the officer says.
"He fooled everyone. He befriended people, came across as a very amenable, helpful person.
"But in the background he was a cool, calculated killer who spent years planning the demise of Carol and Stephen Baxter.
"I have absolutely no doubt that had he not been caught, he would have gone on to commit further murders."
D'Wit was arrested at an office he was renting on the University of Essex's campus in Colchester and taken into custody in Chelmsford.
During his trial he gave evidence from a wheelchair, which prosecutor Tracy Ayling KC said was unnecessary and simply an attempt to attract sympathy from the jury.
This video can not be played
D'Wit was arrested at his office in Colchester
"D'Wit's downfall was the arrogance that existed within him," Mr Kirby adds.
"He didn't cover his tracks properly and he was deluded in thinking he could use fentanyl to kill two people, and that wouldn't be found to be suspicious.
"Unfortunately for D'Wit, the trail of fentanyl led straight back to him."
Follow East of England news on Facebook, external, Instagram, external and X, external. Got a story? Email eastofenglandnews@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp 0800 169 1830
Man murdered couple with drug before rewriting will
Murder accused had opioid patches in bag, court told
The moment a suspected double murderer is arrested. Video, 00:00:25
Poisoning murder suspect 'practises false identity' Video, 00:00:12
Alleged couple killer was 'nerdy weird', court told
Murder accused watched poisoned couple die – court
Man poisoned couple and rewrote will – court told
Pictured: The thugs who left families terrified after burgling their homes at night
Highways bosses confirm Bakers Lane is scheduled to open and end chaos this week
Braintree pumpkin patch enjoys third successful year for Halloween season
Walton's Remembrance Day parade will not go ahead despite Nigel Farage's offer to pay
New zebra crossing planned for Burrs Road to make road safer for school children
Long-standing south Essex shop shuts its doors after 44 years as owner 'semi-retires'
Reeves accepts tax-raising Budget likely to hit pay for workers
Chris Mason: A change-making Budget and a moment of jeopardy
Emergency teams race to find Spanish flood survivors as debris cuts off communities
How the Budget will affect you and your money
Is there a £22bn ‘black hole’ in the UK’s public finances?
Watch: Valencia floods aftermath 'like a disaster movie'
Scientists say climate change made Spanish floods worse
Sex, love and immortality: Behind the obsession with vampires
Ros Atkins on… Harris's struggle to distance herself from Biden
Repairing Scotland's historic 'Harry Potter' bridge
'How I led police to a thief and got my bike back'
We've collected 6,000 bricks – now we need to find them a new home
Who will crack and who will cope in the kitchen?
Thirty-two ambitious chefs battle it out to become the 2024 MasterChef: The Professionals champion
Olga Koch tackles the thorny issue of love
The award-nominated stand-up series is back to explore the world via computer science
Inside one of the UK’s most specialised police forces
Follow the work of officers covering 12,000 square miles of loch, glens, islands and mountains
How did a fatally wounded police officer save the day?
Laura Whitmore and Iain Stirling explore a movie-esque showdown at a 1920s New York diner
© 2024 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.
