Essex Millionaire Murders: Handyman's twisted web of lies who posed as fake doctor before poisoning couple

A man hired as a handyman spun a web of lies and deceit before using fentanyl to fatally poison a couple at their home. In March 2024, , who were found dead at their home in Essex in April 2023.

To locals, , though .

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After making a website for Carol’s business, D’Wit went on to befriend the pair and kept her company on walks, while at the gym and performed odd jobs for them. He also helped Carol, who suffered from the thyroid condition Hashimoto's disease, take her medication.

However, during the investigation it was revealed that D’Wit has created more than 20 personas to interact with Carol, including a fake doctor called Andrea Bowden. Andrea, it was claimed, had experience dealing with Hashimoto's disease and was on hand to give Carol information about her condition.

D’Wit also created a number of other fake personas who he led Carol to believe had been treated by Andrea. In a desperate search for kinship, on one occasion Carol and Stephen travelled for three hours to meet one of the personas, only for the meeting to be cancelled.

After police seized 80 electronic devices from D’Wit’s house, prosecutors told the court how he, through the persona of Andrea, had been giving advice that had “no clinical basis”. As part of this advice, the pair drank smoothies that had been made by D’Wit, believing them to be rich in health benefits.

However, this wasn’t the case and the drinks were laced with drugs that worsened Carol’s condition. Sadly Carol began deteriorating and started experiencing dementia-like symptoms and Andrea instructed Stephen to send videos of Carol so she could observe how she deteriorated through the day.

As Easter approached, Carol’s health condition became more fragile and her daughter Ellena became concerned when her parents stopped answering her calls. Out of worry, Ellena visited her parents’ home where she discovered her parents dead in armchairs in their conservatory.

Detective Inspector Lydia George of , the senior investigative officer of the case, noted how they initially thought it may have been carbon monoxide poisoning, though that was quickly ruled out. Toxicology results revealed both had been poisoned with the powerful opioid Fentanyl and Carol also had a double dose of the sedative drug Promethazine.

At D'Wit's house, police found copious amounts of drugs, including empty capsules that were split in half, syringes, a makeshift pestle and mortar which had remnants of crushed tablets, and Fentanyl patches. They also found a mobile phone that had been set up in the couple’s kitchen to record and monitor their moves.

The day after Carol and Stephen’s deaths, D'Wit created a fake will on his phone and made himself the beneficiary and inheritor of their shower mat business.

“Luke D'Wit visited Carol and Stephen on Easter Friday and was messaging them as this fake doctor while he was in the house with them, helping to make a 'medicinal drink' using a fatal dose of Fentanyl, before leaving at 8pm. A mobile phone had been set up in the kitchen to record and monitor them. He had watched them die,” explained Detective Inspector George.

The new two-part documentary, Essex Millionaire Murders, recalls the horrific story and includes footage from the front door security camera as Carol and Stephen’s daughter makes the tragic discovery.

Speaking about the impact D’Wit had had on her life, Ellena told : “Some days are better than others. From Mother’s Day to the end of this month is a very hard time because Luke drugged my parents on April 7 and took me for an early birthday meal the following day to Frankie & Benny’s.

“My birthday is on April 13 and I feel guilty celebrating it now, so I’ve moved it to May. It is a really difficult time, but my kids keep me going.”

Essex Millionaire Murders airs tonight on ITV at 9pm