Luke D'Wit: IT worker convicted of murdering married couple Stephen and Carol Baxter after fentanyl poisoning

A man has been found guilty of murdering a married couple with fentanyl after he changed their will to name him as a director of their company. Luke D'Wit, 34, had befriended and worked for Stephen and Carol Baxter, aged 61 and 64 respectively, before they succumbed to the fatal poisoning on Easter Sunday last year.

The couple were found by their daughter Ellie at their home in West Mersea in Essex. D'Wit arrived at the scene and told responders that he was a friend of the couple before giving them a false account.

He wasn't initially a suspect for police, until the fire service ruled out carbon monoxide poisoning as a cause of death, and a toxicology report showed that fentanyl contributed to both deaths. Prosecutors also found a fake version of their will on his phone in which he was named as a director of their shower mat company in the event of their death.

It was found that the IT worker had manipulated the Baxter's with a series of fake profiles online. These characters included a doctor from Florida and members of a fake support group for the thyroid condition Haishimoto's, which Mrs Baxter suffered from. He also posed as a solicitor, a persona he used to create the fake will.

The court also heard that D'Wit has kept a close eye on the couple, even installing a "mobile security surveillance application" on which he monitored the living room and watched them die. Images found on his phone also showed two pictures of the pair in the armchairs in the living room on April 7, at the same time Mrs Baxter's pacemaker began to fail recording any further movements.

He was eventually arrested at his workplace. When officer arrived to take him into custody, opened and unopened fentanyl patches were found in his bag.

Tracy Ayling KC, prosecuting, said that D'Wit had killed the Baxters “calmly, coolly and in a way which had been entirely planned, maybe for some while”. He was also labelled by Detective Superintendent Rob Kirby, of the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate as "one of the most dangerous men I’ve ever experienced in my policing career”.

He said: “He would befriend people and purport to be an upstanding, helpful and kind member of the community. The reality is far more sinister. He is a cold, calculated murderer. D’Wit went to great lengths to cover up his tracks. He deceived everyone who knew him, who welcomed him into their family homes and who relied upon him for help, or at least what they believed was help.

He added: “D’Wit’s downfall was the arrogance that existed within him. He didn’t cover his tracks properly and he was deluded in thinking that he could use fentanyl to kill two people and that wouldn’t be found to be suspicious.”

Ellie Baxter, the couple's daughter, said that her parents had been "taken" from her and her family. Their son, Harry Baxter, added: “Luke D’Wit completely destroyed everything we held close to our hearts and every memory and future dream we could have shared."