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Minor M
  • 4 days ago
The.Essex.Millionaire.Murders.S01E02
Transcript
00:00Police are still questioning a man on suspicion of murdering a married couple who were found dead
00:15at their home in Essex. Stephen and Carol Baxter, both in their 60s, were found by a family member
00:22at West Mersey in April. Recent tests shows they'd ingested the synthetic opioid drug fentanyl.
00:30And a woman also arrested yesterday has been released on bail.
00:34After I was released, I realised that my friend Luke was, um, it was just a really dark time.
00:42I mean, I think I was still just piecing it together, and it was almost just like a story.
00:48It's still hard at this point to kind of really accept what had happened, because I was still living it.
01:00We are currently in interview room number three at Chancellor's Police Station, and the date is the 7th of July 2023.
01:20Could I please ask that you provide me with your full name and date of birth?
01:24Luke DeWitt, 15th of July 1989.
01:27Thank you very much.
01:28Throughout this interview, um, there is capability of it being remotely monitored.
01:33Um, a light will indicate as such, which is red.
01:36That is to tell you that this interview currently is being monitored remotely.
01:40Okay.
01:41I'm investigating the suspected murder of Carol and Stephen Baxter in the home address on the 9th of April 2023.
01:50The cause of death for Carol Baxter has been linked to fentanyl ingestion and promephicine, an antihistamine and fentanyl with Stephen Baxter.
01:59Fentanyl patches were also found within a bag in your workplace. In addition, you had regular contact with them and access to their home address.
02:09I believe these findings link you to the deaths of both Carol and Stephen Baxter.
02:14Okay.
02:15My understanding, Luke, is that earlier on today, upon opening a White Pesco carrier bag containing medication, you said that is my bag, my grandad's stuff.
02:29He died a few weeks ago. I was meant to return them to the pharmacy. Did you say that?
02:36No.
02:37Okay.
02:38I said it was my dad. The bag of the fentanyl patches was my dad's.
02:44Okay.
02:45He passed away two years ago and he used fentanyl. And when sorting at home, I just find patches.
02:53I put it in a bag, put it in my bag to take to the pharmacy. And then my grandad's was some of the other medication.
03:00I put that in the bag, all to go to the pharmacy to return to.
03:04Okay.
03:05Okay.
03:06So, to clarify, the medication belonged to grandad, the fentanyl belonged to dad?
03:09Yeah.
03:10Okay.
03:19We knew that Luke was always going to the Baxter's house.
03:23He became part of the family. Carol and Stephen considered him as an adopted son. He would take on the role, I suppose, of carer.
03:34We know that Carol's health had deteriorated over a period of time. Was that because of you?
03:40No comment.
03:44Whilst DeWitt was in custody, search teams were deployed to his home address.
03:48I was based over in the custody suite and received live-time updates from the officers during the search.
04:02And the phone just kept ringing.
04:04We found copious amounts of drugs everywhere.
04:16Empty capsules that were split in half. Syringes.
04:19There was, like, a makeshift pestle and mortar, which had remnants of crushed tablets in the bottom.
04:29And four doses of crushed up promethazine, sort of homemade and put into a capsule.
04:36Which, of course, is relevant because that's one of the drugs that Carol died of.
04:40And then, as the search went on, they'd found fentanyl patches.
04:52The fact that Luke DeWitt left all the tablets around his house, the fentanyl patches,
04:57the fact he was walking around in broad daylight with them, you know,
05:01as soon as we found it, he was very much the spotlight was on him.
05:04I'm going to go through the items that we found within the address.
05:11The first is of a split pill, which is empty.
05:14It's had the content of the pill removed.
05:18And the other is a small plastic grip bag with white powder inside.
05:25Tell me about both of these things.
05:27No comment.
05:30Do you know what that powder is?
05:32No comment.
05:37Throughout the interview, he just remained calm.
05:42He didn't say anything. He was just compliant.
05:45But I'm fazed by it all.
05:50Were you tampering with her prescriptions?
05:54No comment.
05:55Did you do that?
05:56No comment.
05:57Did you do that in order to kill her?
05:58No comment.
05:59Is this something that happened quickly?
06:01No comment.
06:02Or did you do it slowly?
06:04No comment.
06:05Over a long period of time?
06:06No comment.
06:07Slowly increasing the doses?
06:09No comment.
06:10Watching your friend deteriorate?
06:13No comment.
06:18We knew that Luke had fentanyl on him.
06:20However, there were still so many questions unanswered.
06:23What we don't know is how he poisoned the Baxters.
06:28Who was present?
06:30Who administered the fentanyl?
06:31In what form?
06:33And did he do it on his own?
06:35Carol?
06:36You're on video.
06:37This is going to Andrea.
06:38I have St. Luke instructions.
06:42Turmeric shot.
06:43I am sure Luke will make this up for you.
06:47Do you want a bath?
06:48Do you want a drink?
06:49Uh, yeah.
06:50That's it.
06:51You need something.
06:52You need something.
06:53I cannot reiterate how nasty this illness is.
06:55I have sent Luke instructions.
06:58Turmeric shot.
06:59I am sure Luke will make this up for you.
07:03Carole had been receiving a lot of support from a doctor in America, Dr. Andrea Bowden.
07:18She was suffering from Hashimoto's disease and this was affecting Carol an awful lot.
07:37It was something that was really, really taking over her life and also Stephen's life because Stephen was there supporting her and trying to, you know, trying to get her better.
07:49Okay.
07:50Are you feeling?
07:51I think that's fine.
07:52All right.
07:53You're on.
07:54Mm-hmm.
07:55Do you want to kind of lay down?
08:00You have to change the way that you live.
08:03It's that simple.
08:05Follow the rules and you will be well.
08:12That's your vitamin water in there.
08:15Luke was referred to as her mixologist.
08:18He would make these herbal drinks.
08:20She needed to take certain herbal medications.
08:23And everything was, if you do as I've suggested and follow the rules, you'll be cured.
08:31All right.
08:32Let's get some drink.
08:36It's amazing.
08:40Yeah, it tastes nice to be sick.
08:41Officers had been trying for so long to be able to identify Dr Andrea with no success, trying to just make contact.
08:56But it was like she was a ghost and didn't exist.
09:09Do you have any contact with anyone outside of the UK?
09:12No comment.
09:13Who is that person?
09:14No comment.
09:17Does the name Dr Andrea Bowden mean anything to you?
09:20No comment.
09:21Luke, all right, today, as you're aware, you've been interviewed numerous times today, and that case was sent up to the CPS for a charging decision.
09:43They have authorised charges, all right mate?
09:45I first came into the case when Luke DeWitt had been charged with murder, but I was asked to advise whether or not Eleanor, who had been arrested, should be charged with the murder of her parents.
09:59She's done something silly, I know, she's done something silly.
10:03I saw the footage, and it was apparent that Ele was extremely upset when she found her parents in that way.
10:11She was crying, she was hysterical, and I took the view that she had to be a very good actress in order to be like that, if she'd known that she was party to her parents' killing.
10:23But at that time, we were still waiting to check on her phone whether there was any correspondence between them before we could make a final decision.
10:38After reviewing all Eleanor's digital devices, it was agreed there was absolutely no evidence to suggest that Eleanor was involved in relation to the deaths of her parents.
10:49There was no evidence or communication between Luke and Eleanor that would suggest Eleanor had any knowledge of fentanyl, of the promethacine.
11:08There was nothing in those messages that would cause me concern.
11:12We approached Eleanor to see whether she would provide us with an evidential account and be a key witness in this case.
11:29We needed to speak to Eleanor to understand what she could tell us about the family dynamics, the dynamic of Luke.
11:36Because of a lot of that stuff, it was only her that would know that.
11:42Right, so there are lots of things in the investigation that you won't be aware of.
11:47And as a witness, I can't tell you, alright?
11:50But at the moment, it's really important. You just tell me what you know.
11:53So tell me about Luke. Was he a close friend? Was he like another brother?
12:00He was like a brother to me.
12:02Luke used to make all these shakes and...
12:06Did you see him make them?
12:08Yeah, he always used to make my mum a food and stuff like that.
12:11And yeah, he just...
12:14Like, she just had like a pill pot and he'd always give her these different medications.
12:18She'd just take...
12:20Was Luke saying you should try this or Andrew was saying try this?
12:22A bit of both.
12:24OK. Yeah. OK.
12:27It was a lot. It was difficult.
12:29And still at that time, I still didn't have any real evidence or any real knowledge about what had happened at all.
12:37That was also really difficult because I knew that they couldn't tell me.
12:41You know, a bit of me at the time was, well, it's my mum, it's my dad, you know.
12:46Surely I should have a right to know, but obviously it's just not how it works.
12:50You said about Dr Andrea.
12:52Yeah.
12:53How did she come into mum's life?
12:55As far as I'm aware, Luke helped my mum kind of found her online or something.
12:59And she then decided that, or she knew another couple of people in England that were going through the same thing as my mum.
13:10And it would be important for my mum to talk to them about it as well.
13:13OK. It was that email group.
13:15WhatsApp.
13:16A WhatsApp group.
13:17OK.
13:18Mum was very sociable and when this WhatsApp group was created, it was a relief for her, you know.
13:46It's hard when you're not well. I mean, how do you go out and mingle with people and, you know, have a good night?
13:55I mean, especially when you don't know how you're going to be in an hour or two's time.
13:59You know, her life was very, very limited.
14:01I remember her being able to rant and talk about all the problems that she's having.
14:12You know, they were all on the same page or, oh, I've got an email from Dr Andrea this morning.
14:17Have you got one? And then they could talk about that.
14:20My one little treasure advice for you is to listen to whatever Andrea says.
14:25Whatever she says, just do.
14:31Carol would always ask for a FaceTime or a group FaceTime.
14:36That never materialised.
14:38There was an incident where Karen Stephen had arranged to meet Linda and her husband and they didn't show up.
14:48They then received a message to say that Linda had died.
14:53Um, and part of that was a contributing factor that she hadn't followed the rules.
14:59her the rules.
15:02Ah.
15:03She was really sad, really sad, you know, she'd almost given up at this point.
15:33I mean, mum aged 10 years.
15:38Sorry?
15:40I'm Steve.
15:42But then also, it really, really worried my dad, because to actually have someone that you're liaising with die as a consequence of not following these rules, as not doing as they're told, as, you know, it really scared him.
15:57And I think that made my dad and I kind of put pressure on them rules a bit.
16:03Let's get you safe. Let's get you in the room, mum.
16:07We were all just really desperate, and I think, you know, it was just our last chance of hope at this point.
16:12Tony informed me of what happened to Linda.
16:16Why do some ladies not listen?
16:21What are you trying to do, Carol?
16:23Can we try and get you into bed?
16:25As Carol was becoming increasingly unwell, Stephen took over the role to try and communicate with Dr. Andrea.
16:46Stephen was beside himself and didn't know where to turn to.
16:55It's now five o'clock.
16:57I was going to pop out and get some food, but I can't leave Carol on the road.
17:01This is you, Carol.
17:05You've got frozen chips out and put them on the face of your iPad.
17:12This is what we're hearing with, darling.
17:15This is you thinking you're just having a rest in the afternoons,
17:18because the following morning you wake up and you can't remember.
17:23This is why you've got to stick to the rules.
17:29Don't really know what to do, to be the least.
17:34I think I can't stop now.
17:36Got the message.
17:36Got the message.
17:53The evidence on Luke was growing daily.
17:59At the conclusion of all our house searches,
18:01we had recovered about 18 mobile phones from Luke's address and 10 laptops.
18:09All that had to be gone through and understood,
18:14which was a massive amount of work.
18:23I had the team increase to 34 detectives,
18:29but it still took 12 officers five months to review all the digital data.
18:40So when I was reviewing one of Luke DeWitt's phones,
18:44part of that process was ensuring that every application installed on that device was reviewed.
18:49Initially, I was only able to view, I think, four or five documents.
18:55And these documents were sort of flyers for the Mersey Carnival
19:00and other non-related documents.
19:06But later through my examination of the device,
19:09I discovered one of the applications on there was a Mail.com mail app,
19:14which is basically an email platform.
19:18When I looked at the application, there it was.
19:27Andrew Bowden's email account,
19:30which had been used in the communication with Carol,
19:33was logged in on the application on Luke DeWitt's phone.
19:37I was then able to really take a deep dive into all of the sent messages
19:51and all of the content that that account received.
19:55All the way back to the very first welcome email.
20:05And we were able to get the time and the date that he created that email address.
20:09It was clear to us that Luke DeWitt was Dr. Andrea.
20:18The discovery that Ruben had made massively changed the case.
20:29This isn't just a case of murder.
20:34This is a case of Luke DeWitt posing as Dr. Andrea
20:38and controlling and gaslighting and grooming the whole family.
20:47I just don't know what is coming.
20:49I just feel like there's something coming and I don't know what's coming.
20:51I don't know, I'm starting to feel really ill.
20:53I love singing.
21:21I've always loved singing.
21:22You know, I used to really, really sing a lot
21:24and now it's kind of more of just, it's just something I like doing.
21:27I sing in the shower.
21:29Mum's listened to me sing my whole life.
21:32So mum being mum,
21:33had sent over some singing videos to her new friends
21:36in this WhatsApp group.
21:37Yes!
21:38Oh, I love, I don't live.
21:49Cheryl said, oh, I have a sister Jenny who is working within the theatre industry.
22:03So that then led to Jenny messaging me.
22:09Her and a few of her friends were setting up a business.
22:13It would basically be like an agency backing vocalists.
22:18When you have kids, I mean, you devote your whole life to your children.
22:26And it's, you know, my singing kind of did take a back seat and it was just really exciting to think that, actually, this is a really good opportunity for me to get back into it all.
22:37Jenny would give me advice and just that bit of confidence that could actually push me in the right direction.
22:58Yeah, she was a really big part of my life at that point.
23:00So, after your parents died, obviously after the initial shock and grief, the singing side of things, did you start doing that again?
23:19Er, no.
23:21OK.
23:23Did you feel that Jenny was supportive for you?
23:25Um, post?
23:26Yes.
23:27Yeah.
23:28Yeah.
23:32I was talking to Jenny a lot, erm, multiple times a day, erm, especially when Mum and Dad did pass.
23:46I just felt very alone, really, you know.
23:50And Jenny would message me and check in on me.
24:01She helped me with what to do in terms of the house and the funeral and, you know, it was just a bit of sense, almost.
24:10Erm, yeah, it was just, it was, it was a really difficult time.
24:20Did you trust Jenny?
24:21Yeah.
24:22What would you consider Jenny to be?
24:23Erm, voice of reason.
24:24Just, you know.
24:29Because Jenny was close with Mum, I said, come to the funeral, it would be really nice if you and Cheryl could both be there.
24:33I've never met you, can you send me a picture of your face so I can actually recognise you?
24:45She said, yeah, yeah, no, of course, I'll do it later.
24:47Busy right now.
24:48And got to the funeral and afterwards, when we were all standing outside, Luke came up to me and I was like, oh, you know, it's just amazing.
24:53Of course, I'll do it later. I'm busy right now.
24:55And I got to the funeral, and afterwards,
24:58when we were all standing outside, Luke came up to me,
25:01and I was like, oh, you know, is Jenny and Cheryl here?
25:03And he's like, yeah, oh, no, they've had to go, though,
25:06because Cheryl had another appointment at the hospital for her leg,
25:10or she was in pain with it, so they've headed off.
25:13And I was like, oh, a bit like, OK,
25:15but they've just come to my parents' funeral and not said anything.
25:18So I thought that was weird, and I thought it was quite rude, to be honest.
25:21And then at the funeral, Luke, like, oh, you know,
25:23I just said bye to Jenny, you know, they was here.
25:26And apparently they were sat right...
25:27Luke said they were sat right at the back.
25:30So how would Jenny know Luke?
25:33Could you say that Luke's gone to speak to her?
25:36Because apparently, not that my mum's ever said this,
25:39but apparently Luke had met Jenny and my mum at the house
25:45and come in for a cuppa or something with Cheryl.
25:48Right. But you only know that.
25:50How?
25:53I don't know.
25:54I was from Luke.
25:56What?
25:56Just to clarify, I said, Luke said he'd met.
25:59Sorry, it's so scrambled on my head.
26:00I mean, God knows how you guys are.
26:06We were aware at this point that Eleanor herself had been manipulated,
26:12and we suspected she might not know that,
26:14but we couldn't tell her anything about what we knew about Luke
26:18and what Luke had been doing.
26:19So Luke said he'd met Jenny and Cheryl were at the house.
26:24Yeah.
26:25What house did he mean?
26:26My parents' house.
26:27But I never actually met her.
26:29Yeah.
26:31After Luke's arrest, I was still trying to reach out to Jenny
26:36and get her advice and her perspective on things.
26:39And did you ever speak to her after you were arrested?
26:42No.
26:43Oh, at any...
26:44I could not get hold of her at all.
26:45Did you try?
26:46Yeah.
26:47How did you try?
26:48I tried to find her number, tried to call her on WhatsApp,
26:50tried to send her an email, tried to get an email from her from Andrea,
26:54who also doesn't reply to me now.
26:55I just can't get hold of her.
26:56I've just called her.
26:57And I'll just get hold of her.
26:57I'll just get hold of her.
26:58I could not get hold of her at all.
27:01Did you try? How did you try?
27:03I tried to find her number, tried to call her on WhatsApp,
27:07tried to send her an email, tried to get an email from Andrea,
27:11who also doesn't reply to me now.
27:13I just can't get hold of her.
27:16My life is just so confusing now.
27:19I really don't know kind of what is real.
27:22I don't know what isn't real.
27:24It's just getting really like...
27:26OK.
27:30After Arya was born,
27:33it was like my body and my brain wasn't protected anymore
27:36and I was finally able to see everything for what it was.
27:41I had a massive moment of realisation,
27:46which made me question everything.
27:49And it's like a domino effect,
27:51because if one thing, you know, one person or one thing
27:54isn't real or true, then it means that something else isn't.
27:58And it was just trying to figure out where the last domino is.
28:01When does this stop? Where does it start?
28:06Because if Jenny's not real, then Cheryl's not real.
28:09And they're in the same group as Linda.
28:11And they're all from Dr. Andrea.
28:13So then it was just like a realisation of, you know,
28:18my life has been a lie for years now.
28:23Right.
28:24I started to realise that actually,
28:40Luke has most likely done this.
28:45Cos he was just always around.
28:48Always there.
28:49And I could never see it before,
28:52because we were in a bubble.
28:59We had a whole support system.
29:01We had a doctor, we had friends,
29:03and when no-one else could understand,
29:06you know, the people that we would turn to for advice
29:09or how to deal with mum or, you know, the next step
29:12would be this whole entire support system
29:14that had ultimately been laid out by Luke.
29:22Hello, Carol.
29:23Hi there, Carol.
29:24Hi, Carol.
29:25Good morning, beautiful Carol.
29:26How are we doing?
29:27How was your walk, Carol?
29:28How was your walk, Carol?
29:29Carol, are you there?
29:30Carol, are you OK?
29:32So Cheryl's fake, her husband's fake.
29:34They have two children.
29:35Those two children are fake.
29:37Cheryl has a sister, Jenny.
29:40Jenny has a husband and two children.
29:42Those other three people are then all fake.
29:46Hi, Carol.
29:47It's Jenny.
29:48It's Cheryl's sister.
29:49Yes.
29:50Oh, it's so nice to finally speak to you
29:52after all these messages we've been doing.
29:55Within the download of his phone,
29:57that showed us multiple voice notes
29:59and they are him trying to put on a female accent.
30:05Oh, hello, my dear.
30:07Hi.
30:08Hi, Carol.
30:09It's nice to speak to you.
30:10Yes.
30:11This is Sandra.
30:12How are you?
30:13Is this Ellie?
30:14My name's Jan.
30:15I think we've spoken before.
30:20We just continued to be shocked at the level of detail Luke went to
30:24to make these people seem real, you know, creating whole life stories,
30:28whole families, email addresses, contact numbers.
30:32It was a whole world he was involved in.
30:35And no one would have suspected it was him because he'd known them for such a long time.
30:43He had their ultimate trust.
30:45However, there were some messages that suggested Stephen had potentially a hunch.
31:00Stephen had started to question the validity of some of Andrea Boden's clients.
31:09He asked Luke directly in text message.
31:19He would write messages to Dr. Andrea about Luke.
31:24He felt he was talking freely and confidently to the doctor of his wife, not thinking for one moment naturally that was Luke.
31:37At that point, the messages become more pointed from Dr. Andrea.
31:43She becomes quite aggressive, implying that Stephen is a bad husband.
31:51He's not looking after Carol.
31:53Then the WhatsApp group was sending messages to Carol.
32:02Luke DeWitt just kept pushing these characters and these pulse personas, basically teasing, torturing them all.
32:11It was just cruel.
32:17These messages were sent literally a couple of days before they died.
32:21Yet, we were still trying to work out exactly how he poisoned Carol and Stephen.
32:28There was a piece of the jigsaw missing.
32:32And it was really quite late in the investigation when my team found a now significant piece of evidence involving a new persona, Dr. Mandel.
32:43Dr. Mandel.
32:44New Ochre, Sydney
32:45Dr. Mandel.
32:46Dr. Mandel.
32:47Dear, Carol, thank you for signing up to my Couple's Liver Recovery Programme.
32:49Dear Carol, thank you for signing up
33:06to my couple's liver recovery programme.
33:11It is the number one liver healing clean you can do.
33:16Do it with your partner.
33:18You are both on this journey together.
33:23Step one, clear and repair.
33:27Dr Mandel.
33:32OK. Great, thank you.
33:40I was completing a further review of Luke DeWitt's device
33:44near to the end of the investigation,
33:46and I discovered a new email address for a Dr Alan Mandel.
33:54Carol had signed up for her and Stephen to engage in this liver recovery plan.
34:00The actual creation of the email address was about a week before the discovery of the Baxters at their home address.
34:09Up to that point, it was quite clear how Luke DeWitt was accessing Carol with regards to her medication,
34:17but we weren't too sure how he would have done the same with Stephen.
34:29Stephen had a medical problem with his liver.
34:32He was keen to get better, but he wouldn't ordinarily have taken any sort of drinks or remedies as such.
34:41However, because this Dr Mandel sold it, it was a liver cleanse to improve the liver,
34:48and it's effective and it's the best way.
34:50That's why I believe Steve would participate, because he wanted to get better, and he was doing it with Carol.
35:00There are a series of emails between Dr Alan Mandel and Carol.
35:05This has to be done correctly, in capital letters, and with the right mixture.
35:22If you are not sure you are doing it right, then stop, in capital letters, and ask a friend.
35:29And then at 10.15, Carol replies,
35:41Hi, Alan, yes, just started. We'll let you know how it goes.
35:46What was quite clear to me was that the drink had been consumed in the morning by both of them.
36:03But we also know that Luke DeWitt was present at the address at that time.
36:08And we know that because Luke told us that in his very first statement.
36:14He said that he was there from mid-morning,
36:23which would have corresponded with the timings that they have started the liver recovery programme.
36:33We suspect that the drink was then used to administer the fatal dose of fentanyl.
36:39At 10.42, Carol replies,
36:45My husband is really light-headed, almost immediately.
36:50He said it is cheaper than alcohol.
36:53Smiley face.
36:59Not only was Luke DeWitt present when they are consuming that drink,
37:04he is also replying to them via email, possibly beside her, as Dr. Mandel.
37:14At 10.51, Alan Mandel replies,
37:18It's hard, but it's for the best.
37:21I identified some images on Luke DeWitt's device.
37:51which showed the Baxters in their chairs between 4 o'clock in the afternoon and 5 o'clock.
37:58They were clearly incapacitated.
38:01It was clear from that that a mobile phone had been set up in position in the kitchen to record,
38:10which then allowed Luke DeWitt to go elsewhere,
38:15either in the property or even leave the property,
38:18and still be able to monitor what is happening in that room on a secondary device.
38:25The only reason I can think of as to why he's done that
38:29was to watch them effectively die.
38:33But we know that he comes back to the address
38:41because we then have footage of him finally leaving the address
38:45just before 8 o'clock in the evening.
38:48He closed the door behind him and then double-locks the door.
38:51And then he walks away in the direction of his home.
39:06Man's been in court charged with the murders of a couple found dead at their home in Essex.
39:1033-year-old Luke DeWitt from West Mersey
39:13appeared at Chelmsford Crown Court.
39:14He's back in custody and is scheduled to appear in court again in September.
39:21We were very confident that this is the person that had been involved in their death.
39:26But I was quite surprised at the number of people questioning
39:31how we had come to this conclusion that this very nice young man
39:36was now in charge for a double murder.
39:40They thought that we've got the wrong person.
39:42And he had, I think it was in the region of 30 or 40,
39:47offers of character witnesses at trial,
39:50which I've never heard of that amount before.
39:56Mersey's a very tight-knit community.
39:58And Luke, on the outside, did seem very plausible.
40:01You know, he would help locally.
40:02He was Santa one year, which makes me feel a bit sick now, actually.
40:07But when you have someone that's the ideal citizen,
40:11and then you have people that had a bit of a bumpy start,
40:15you know, my family have had troubles.
40:17And, you know, we have had police rounds of the house.
40:19And I think, you know, it's easy to assume,
40:23especially when it got out that I had been arrested.
40:26You know, I mean, people would look away from me,
40:30and, you know, people were rude,
40:32and, you know, all these little rumours, Chinese whispers.
40:35And I was quite worried, actually, you know,
40:37because, I mean, you don't know what people are going to believe.
40:43Obviously, they had no idea what evidence we had.
40:46And I'm not saying that those relationships
40:49that he had with those individuals were not genuine and not real.
40:54However, that was not the person
40:57within the home of the Baxters on the 7th of April.
41:07The trial of a man accused of murdering a couple in Essex
41:10with poison has begun.
41:12Luke DeWitt is accused of poisoning Stephen Baxter
41:15and his wife, Carol, at their home in Mersey Island last Easter.
41:19Prosecution claimed that he invented many characters,
41:22manipulating them in the years before they were killed.
41:26From the moment of his arrest,
41:28Luke DeWitt has consistently denied murdering the couple.
41:35When you prosecute, the first concern is not motive.
41:40It is whether or not this is the perpetrator.
41:45I had thought when I was going to cross-examine him
41:50that he would be trying to charm the jury
41:53and basically say, I'm a caring person
41:55and I wouldn't do any of this sort of thing.
41:58Whereas, in fact, he was abrupt
42:01and somewhat difficult.
42:06In fact, he tried to say that Stephen
42:08had asked him to create the personas
42:12and that Stephen knew that they were fake,
42:15but it was a device by Stephen in conjunction with Luke DeWitt
42:20to make Carol feel happier about taking the medication.
42:27To hear Luke talking about Stephen
42:30in the way he did at trial was disgusting.
42:34To me, it was Luke's last thrill
42:39of being able to torture the family.
42:42He knew they were there
42:43and he was still trying to cause distress.
42:53First tonight, a manipulative killer
42:55branded one of the most dangerous Essex detectives
42:57ever came across
42:58has been jailed for life.
43:00There was no bloody murder scene.
43:07There was no obvious murder weapon.
43:10But Carol and Stephen Baxter's deaths
43:13were acts of murder carried out by a dangerous man.
43:17I have absolutely no doubt in my mind
43:19had he not been caught,
43:21he would have gone on to kill further people.
43:23Upon sentencing, the judge said Luke DeWitt
43:31had to serve a minimum of 37 years in jail
43:34before being considered eligible for parole.
43:38The prosecution made the claim
43:40he created a fake will after they died
43:43to try and take control of their company.
43:47Initially, we thought the main motive
43:49for their deaths was financial.
43:54But the fake will wasn't a viable will
43:56and actually, he wouldn't have benefited at all.
43:59So the motive wasn't financial.
44:03It was something else.
44:06The judge said Luke DeWitt brought grief and misery
44:09to the whole of the Baxter family
44:11and he said Luke DeWitt's main motivation
44:13was a desire to control others.
44:19Can I have Axel's toy?
44:21Can I have Axel's toy?
44:23I believe I'm filming this one.
44:27See Luke texting away.
44:31He was actually typing on his phone
44:32and the date and time for this video.
44:35I actually have an email from Dr. Andrea.
44:40He is sitting there messaging me as Dr. Andrea
44:44whilst I'm filming my mum for Dr. Andrea
44:48who is Luke.
44:52But he wants a video for later as well.
44:54I just can't get my head around it.
44:58It's just a game to him, isn't it?
45:01You know, he's made his move
45:03and he's just watching everything fall apart.
45:07It's just sad knowing that he had that much control
45:17over my whole life, over my mum, over my dad.
45:21I'm a rather bold personality.
45:24You know, I don't take a lot of crap
45:25and, you know, I've just witnessed someone
45:30literally kill my parents in front of me,
45:33you know, draining the life out of my mum for years
45:35and I just didn't see it.
45:37It's, you know, it makes me question.
45:39Am I really aware?
45:41Am I really, you know, it makes you question a lot.
45:46And the trust I have for people
45:48is absolutely next to none.
45:52I mean, it's a horrible way to learn it
45:54but a lesson has been learnt.
45:57You know, you really, you can't trust people.
45:59You don't know what's going inside people's heads.
46:01You really don't know.
46:02It's a horrible feeling like this
46:05but, you know, I mean, I've got to protect my family.
46:10We are still in survival mode
46:12and we're just trying to get into the normal routine
46:14of life again.
46:16Big jump for mummy!
46:19Wow!
46:21Jump, jump, jump.
46:22Ah!
46:23Just try and remember what life is like,
46:27you know, without all of this murder
46:29and horribleness and
46:30just enjoy the breeze in my hair
46:33and the sun on my face
46:34and just, just try and calm down for a bit
46:37and just let my family heal
46:39so we can just move on and be better.
46:42But, I mean, there's no plans set in stone at the moment.
46:46We're just trying to heal.
46:46We're just trying to heal.
47:16We're just trying to heal.
47:18We're just trying to