The Essex Millionaire Murders - Does Crime Pay?

On 09 April 2023, the Baxters were found dead in their home by their daughter, Ellie.

Toxicology reports later revealed that both Stephen and Carol had been poisoned with lethal doses of Fentanyl, an opioid painkiller.
D'Wit lived nearby and worked for and befriended the Baxters. 

In addition, using multiple electronic devices, he posed various fictitious personas, including a fake doctor named Andrew Bowden.  He used these identities to manipulate Carrol's medical treatment and gain control over the couple. 

Using a further fake persona under the guise of another medic, D'Wit persuaded Stephen and Carol Baxter to undergo a so-called 'liver cleanse'.  Sadly, this contained the fatal doses of drugs, which led to their deaths.

The day after Stephen and Carol's death, D'Wit created a forged Will naming himself as a director and 'person of significant control' of the Baxters' successful business, Cazsplash.

The forged Will created by D'Wit was a key piece of evidence in his conviction. 

It helped to highlight that he had a motive for the killing: to benefit financially from the estate.

As the Baxters did not draft the Will and it was fraudulent, it held no legal standing.
 
The legitimate estate and business interests of Stephen and Carol were preserved for the proper beneficiaries in accordance with the couple's true testamentary wishes.

Even if D'Wit had been named as a beneficiary in a legitimate Will that had been prepared based upon the Baxters' wishes during their lifetime, he would still not have been able to benefit from it, given his involvement in the couple's deaths. 

In England and Wales, the Forfeiture Act 1982 precludes persons guilty of unlawful killing from acquiring a benefit from a consequence of the killing.

Tragic cases like this are very rare.  However, they can serve as a reminder that human beings will sometimes go to unusual lengths in the interest of financial gain. 

Perhaps the best we can do is try to have our affairs in order, including where our estate should pass when we pass, in good time before we think our time is up.