Fentanyl murderer who poisoned married couple may have killed his own father who was found slumped in a chair and avoided detection, police fear – as review is launched

A convicted murderer who poisoned a couple with fentanyl may have killed his own father and avoided detection, police fear.

Luke D’Wit, 34, was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum of 37 years in March after using the opioid painkiller to fatally poison Stephen and Carol Baxter in West Mersea, Essex.

But in a surprising update, detectives are now investigating whether the killer was responsible for the death of his father, Vernon, who was prescribed fentanyl before he was found slumped in a chair at the family home in 2021.

Essex Police said officers ‘will not hesitate to act’ if they come across new evidence BBC reports.

Bodycam footage from April 9, 2023 of Luke D’Wit making statements to police in Mersea

D’Wit befriended and worked for Stephen Baxter, 61, and his 64-year-old wife Carol (pictured) before killing them

Luke D’Wit (pictured), 34, was jailed for life in March, with a minimum of 37 years

Detectives are also said to be looking into the death of D’Wit’s grandfather as part of their investigation.

MailOnline has contacted Essex Police for comment.

Det Supt Rob Kirby previously told the BBC he had “absolutely no doubt” D’Wit would have committed more subtle murders if he had not been locked up.

He also could not rule out whether the killer had targeted other victims before his conviction.

Det Supt Kirby said D’Wit was ‘one of the most dangerous men’ he had dealt with in his career.

D’Wit’s father was found dead in a chair at home in West Mersea in 2021.

The couple, Mr Baxter, 61, and Mrs Baxter, 64, were also discovered in their armchairs – by their daughter Ellie – at their West Mersea home on Easter Sunday 2023.

Chelmsford Crown Court heard how D’Wit had extracted the painkiller from patches originally prescribed for his father and retained the drug ‘in abundance’.

Police found a shipment of the opioid painkiller in a backpack at the home D’Wit shared with his mother in Churchfields, West Mersea.

“Until Luke D’Wit’s conviction, our single-minded focus has been on securing justice in connection with the murders of Carol and Stephen,” the Essex Police spokesman said.

‘As with any investigation of this magnitude, everything we have uncovered is being reviewed and should any evidence suggest that this was the case, we will not hesitate to take action.’

Stephen Baxter, 61, and his 64-year-old wife Carol (pictured) were found dead in their home

The millionaire tycoon’s husband and wife’s home in Essex, where their bodies were found

An undated photo released by Essex Police of officers at the house on Mersea Island in Essex

D’Wit befriended and worked for the Baxters before changing their will to make him director of their shower mat company.

He then created a series of fake online personas to manipulate them before killing them.

He had posed as a Florida doctor and member of a fake support group for Hashimoto’s thyroid disease, which Ms. Baxter suffered from.

D’Wit denied their murders but was found guilty by unanimous verdicts at Chelmsford Crown Court on March 22 after a trial that lasted more than a month.

He was sentenced to life with a minimum of 37 years by Judge Nicholas Lavender, who said D’Wit “ended their lives and brought sadness and misery into the lives of others.”

Mr Justice Lavender did not accept the prosecution’s claim that D’Wit’s behavior was sadistic because his victims were sedated when they died.

But he added: “I think it was possible that what motivated you was the desire to control others… deciding whether someone lives or dies is the ultimate form of control.”

A selection of undated video released by Essex Police, which includes footage of Luke D’Wit

A selection of Ring doorbell footage from April 7, 2023 showing D’Wit leaving the Mersea home

Ellie Baxter, the daughter of Stephen and Carol Baxter, will leave Chelmsford Crown Court in March

The judge also told D’Wit: “It is clearly possible that your motivation was a desire to control others.”

The defendant, who was wearing a blue, patterned short-sleeved shirt, appeared unresponsive as he sat in a wheelchair in the secure dock.

The judge said he was confident that D’Wit had “extracted the fentanyl from patches originally prescribed for your father, who died in 2021.”

He said these were ground into powder and given to the Baxters in a drink, which they took while trusting D’Wit to prepare “alleged health drinks.”

Det Sup Kirby said outside court: “In all my years in law enforcement, Luke D’Wit is one of the most dangerous men I have ever come across.

“I have absolutely no doubt that if he had not been caught, he would have killed more people.”

He said D’Wit “shamefully based his defense on a conspiracy between himself and Stephen Baxter.”

“Stephen is tragically not here to defend himself, but from everything we knew about him we know this could never have been the case,” said Mr Kirby, of the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate.

“Fortunately, today the jury saw through D’Wit’s fantasies and delivered guilty verdicts.”