A man has been charged with the murder of a millionaire couple in Essex.

Stephen and Carol Baxter were found dead on Mersea Island, near Colchester, on April 9.

Luke D’Wit, 33, of Churchfields, West Mersea, Colchester, has now been charged with two counts of murder, one count of possession of a Class A drug, and one count of theft.

He will appear at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court on Saturday, Essex Police said.

Det Insp Lydia George, said: ‘This is a significant development in our investigation as we piece together the circumstances around the deaths of Carol and Stephen.’

A woman and a man have been released on bail, Essex Police added.

Emergency services had been called to the couple’s home on April 9.

At that stage, their deaths were being treated as unexpected and not suspicious and officers were working to establish the circumstances around their deaths.

But as a result of toxicology analysis led to further investigations.

An inquest heard that the couple’s daughter, who was with her one-year-old son at the time, found her parent’s bodies on April 9.

She immediately suspected carbon monoxide poisoning and threw open the bi-fold doors at the property.

But it emerged this week that a post-mortem examination gave a provisional cause of death for Mrs Baxter, 64, as combined fentanyl and promethazine toxicity with terminal bronchopneumonia.

Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic opioid which is similar to morphine but up to 100 times more potent.

It is a prescription drug that is also made and used illegally – often as a substitute for heroin.

At the inquest this week, the provisional cause of death for Mr Baxter, 61, was delivered as cardiomegaly and alcoholic liver disease with fentanyl intoxication.
The couple founded Cazsplash, which sells corner and curved shower mats, in 2012.

Mrs Baxter had run the business since its inception, having also worked in adult education, while Mr Baxter worked for a real estate firm.

The duo were also both keen members of West Mersea Yacht Club, in Coast Road, which flew its flag at half mast following their deaths as a mark of respect.

Mersea resident John Akker told the Gazette it was a ‘shock to locals’, adding: ‘It is very sad news.’

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