Luke D’Wit has been accused of the double murder (Picture: PA)
An alleged double murderer who ‘poisoned’ a married couple with fentanyl and rewrote their will has claimed he created fake identities after being asked by one of the victims.
Millionaires Stephen Baxter, 61, and his 64-year-old wife Carol were found dead by their daughter Ellie at their home in West Mersea, Essex, on Easter Sunday last year.
Luke D’Wit, 34, of the same town, has since been accused of working for and befriending the couple before poisoning them with the opioid painkiller fentanyl.
Prosecutors allege D’Wit created a fake will for the Baxters on his phone, making himself a director of their shower mat firm – Cazsplash – just a day after they were found dead on April 9, 2023.
They also say D’Wit created false identities, including a doctor to talk to Mrs Baxter about her illnesses.
At his murder trial at Chelmsford Crown Court on Monday, the IT worker admitted doing this, but said Mr Baxter had asked him to, and that they would communicate by text or email.
He has also been accused of creating a fake will on his phone for the couple (Picture: PA)
One of the fake personas was ‘Cheryl’ – a made-up patient of Dr Andrea Bowden, who was another fake identity created to speak with Mrs Baxter about her thyroid condition.
Speaking of ‘Cheryl’, D’Wit told jurors: ‘Steve had the idea that she needed someone to talk to and air all her grievances to, and it might get some of her anxiety away. We created someone for Carol to talk to.’
When asked about the fake ‘Dr Bowden’, the defendant said: ‘The actual mechanics was me, but it was instructions from Stephen.’
D’Wit claimed another identity, named Jenny, a theatre producer who could help the couple’s daughter Ellie, 22, with a career as a vocalist, was also Mr Baxter’s ‘idea’.
He said Mr Baxter would use another fake woman’s identity to encourage his wife to go on trips with him because they ‘didn’t always get on’.
Another made-up doctor was created to advise Mrs Baxter about her ‘gut problems’, the defendant said.
Stephen and Carol Baxter were both found dead (Picture: East Anglia News Service)
D’Wit denied any ‘sinister’ motive behind the communications and identities, saying they were used by Mr Baxter to improve his wife’s health and their relationship.
Prosecutors have said the defendant used the false identities to make recommendations to Mrs Baxter with ‘no clinical basis’, in order to manipulate her.
D’Wit, describing the moment he saw the Baxters in their home after their deaths, said they were both ‘grey’ and there was ‘discharge’ coming from Mrs Baxter.
He said he had arrived at the house and saw the conservatory door had been smashed, while Ms Baxter was inside calling for an ambulance.
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D’Wit said he had collected medicines from around the house for the first responders, denying that he saw or took any fentanyl patches.
Jurors were told that he saw the couple alive in their home on April 7, saying he spoke to Mr Baxter about the company.
Last month it was revealed D’Wit used an app on his phone to watch the couple dying.
Tracy Ayling KC, prosecuting, said D’Wit had installed a ‘mobile security surveillance application’ on his phone.
She said this allowed him to monitor a camera from another device.
D’Wit denies murder and the trial continues.
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