Daniel Boulton guilty of Bethany Vincent and Darren Henson murders

A man has been found guilty of murdering his ex-girlfriend and her nine-year-old son.

Bethany Vincent, 26, and Darren Henson - also known as DJ - were found stabbed to death at their home in Louth, Lincolnshire, on 31 May 2021.

Daniel Boulton, 30, was convicted after a trial at Lincoln Crown Court.

He had pleaded guilty to manslaughter mid-trial but had continued to deny murder, claiming he was suffering from a mental health condition at the time.

Jurors took less than 60 minutes to convict him of both murders, with shouts of "yes" from the public gallery as the verdicts were returned.

During the three-week trial, the court heard Boulton walked 28 miles to Ms Vincent's house on High Holme Road where he stabbed her nine times.

He then went upstairs to DJ's bedroom and stabbed him 14 times. Mother and child both sustained fatal injuries to the heart.

Boulton went on the run and was arrested about 24 hours after the killings following a manhunt.

Prosecutors said Ms Vincent had a restraining order against domestic abuser Boulton, including one issued about three months before the attacks.

However, he "repeatedly broke" these, the court heard, and continued to harass his ex.

The court heard Boulton developed a "hatred" for DJ, who was severely autistic, and had spoken of how he wanted to wipe out his ex's "whole bloodline".

He had bombarded Ms Vincent with 900 messages over the weekend prior to the killings, the court heard, and on the day of the attack had "loitered for hours" near her home.

Jurors heard a nine-month-old baby was found at the house when emergency services arrived at the scene, and the killer had left a note saying: "I, Daniel Boulton, take full responsibility for 182."

Boulton spent the night on the run and the next day he assaulted off-duty police officer PC Stephen Dennis, who spotted Boulton during a dog-walk near Hubbards Hill, Louth, and tried to detain him.

The fugitive was eventually cornered on a farm and Tasered by armed officers, jurors heard.

Through his defence barrister, Boulton claimed he was on "autopilot" at the time of the murders and had suffered a "loss of control".

He had told a psychiatrist of his desire to "Romeo and Juliet" his ex, adding: "I probably just wanted to kill myself."

Experts agreed the defendant was suffering from a dissocial personality disorder, but prosecutor Kath Goddard told the jury Boulton had planned and was "fully in control" of his actions.

Judge Justice Pepperall told Boulton he would be facing a life prison term when he is sentenced on Wednesday.

Lincolnshire County Council said a joint child safeguarding practice and domestic homicide review was under way and the findings would be published later in the year.

Chris Cook, independent chair of the Lincolnshire Safeguarding Children's Partnership, which is conducting the joint review with the Safer Lincolnshire Partnership, said: "The overall purposes of such reviews are to prevent or reduce the likelihood of similar incidents of domestic abuse and homicide/harm to children, to improve service responses in these areas and to identify any improvements that should be made by persons in the area to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and victims of domestic abuse."

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