West Mersea man watched couple die after fentanyl poisoning, court told

A man used an app on his phone to watch a married couple dying, having allegedly poisoned them with the opioid painkiller fentanyl, a court heard.

Stephen Baxter, 61, and Carol Baxter, 64, were discovered unresponsive at their seaside home in Essex on 9 April.

Luke D'Wit, their employee and friend, had photos on his phone of the couple in their armchairs, where they were found dead by their daughter.

Mr D'Wit, 34, denies murder, Chelmsford Crown Court was told.

A jury heard Mr D'Wit, of Churchfields, West Mersea, claimed to be like an "adopted son" to the Baxters.

Their daughter Ellie Baxter arrived at the couple's home in Victory Road, West Mersea, on Mersea Island, on Easter Sunday and saw her parents dead inside the conservatory, the court heard.

Toxicology reports later showed fentanyl had been a factor in both deaths.

Tracy Ayling KC, prosecuting, said Mr D'Wit had installed a "mobile security surveillance application" on his phone.

She said this allowed him to monitor a camera from another device.

Ms Ayling said that police who analysed the defendant's phone found images of Mr and Mrs Baxter "in their armchairs" on the afternoon of 7 April, with one timed at 17:14 BST.

She told the court doorbell camera footage captured Mr D'Wit walking towards the Baxters' home "looking at a phone" that day.

"The prosecution case is that he was looking at these images of the Baxters in their conservatory sitting in their armchairs," the prosecutor said.

"The same chairs they were discovered in by [their daughter] Ellie [Baxter] two days later."

She said the couple "did not move at all" after the images were taken, as if they had done so, a pacemaker fitted to Mrs Baxter "would have recorded it".

Addressing the jury, Ms Ayling asked: "Why was Mr D'Wit watching Mr and Mrs Baxter in the conservatory?

"Was he watching them die? Both were already incapacitated.

"Was this when Mr D'Wit made everything pristine, cleaning up the cups and not leaving any trace?"

She said Mr D'Wit did not leave the couple's home until 19:55 on 7 April, when he was captured by a doorbell camera.

Mr D'Wit told police he left the Baxters' address at 19:55 that day, and that Mrs Baxter was asleep and Mr Baxter was in the kitchen, saying he would make some dinner.

Ms Ayling added: "He was the last person to see them alive.

"He watched them dying on his phone."

The jury earlier heard the defendant had "rewritten their will and stolen Carol's jewellery, among many other things, to benefit from their deaths".

The trial, expected to last six weeks, continues.

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