“There were, among other things, rolls of duct tape, knives, cable ties, bin liners, a blindfold, plastic gloves, a gag, bleach, handcuffs, rope, twine matches and a hammer. This was a murder kit… The man who had put this kit together had recently separated from his wife. He had been stalking her and the police were aware of his activities… The average length of time between a separation and a homicide is just over a month…
Agatha Christie once said that if you want to get away with murder, kill someone who is expected to die…
…a few months before Edith’s murder, things started to change in Walter’s life. Edith began to get ill. Her illness meant there was some disruption to Walter’s routines. Edith could not always manage to be there at the right times, doing the right things. Doctors and nurses started to take some of the decision-making away from Walter. He began to get very irritable…Edith confided in her doctor and her best friend before her murder that she was finding him impossible to live with. She even said that she wanted to leave her marriage. After nearly fifty years she said she had had enough.
We know that they had started to argue and Edith was asserting herself more. We also know that he made plans to kill her. He had started sorting out all his financial affairs and made a new will. He planned to kill himself after killing her.
The murder of Edith was brutal and violent. He beat her with a hammer and a broom. There was evidence that she had tried to defend herself from the attack. This was not a mercy killing.
#InControl #JaneMonckonSmith
