Inquest into brutal deaths of three Exeter pensioners to be held

An inquest will be held into the deaths of three pensioners who were killed in their homes in Exeter by a paranoid schizophrenic five years ago after a coroner deemed subsequent investigations into their deaths 'insufficient' for there not to be a coronial public inquiry.

Alexander Lewis-Ranwell, 32, battered Anthony Payne, 80, with a hammer and bludgeoned to death 84-year-old twins Dick and Roger Carter with a shovel in February 2019, due to delusional thoughts they were part of a paedophile ring.

The deaths came just hours after Lewis-Ranwell had been released from custody for attacking an elderly farmer with a saw. It was his second arrest in the space of 24 hours, and took place just seven hours after he had first been released.

After a trial, a jury at Exeter Crown Court found the former scaffolder, from Croyde, North Devon, not guilty of murder by reason of insanity – meaning that because of his mental illness he did not know at the time of the killings what he was doing was wrong.

A judge imposed a hospital order with restrictions, with Lewis-Ranwell detained at the high-security Broadmoor Hospital. He later sued G4S Health Services (UK), Devon & Cornwall Police, Devon Partnership NHS Trust and Devon County Council , claiming all four were negligent in their treatment of him. Proceedings are ongoing.

At a pre-inquest review hearing held today, November 14, at Exeter Coroner’s Court, senior coroner Philip Spinney confirmed he had made the decision to resume inquests into all three pensioners deaths and that they will be held as an Article 2 inquest – a hearing with a wider scope where there is the potential that an official body is in part responsible for the deaths.

He told how he had looked at independent reviews into the deaths, including one jointly commissioned by NHS England and the Torbay and Devon Safeguarding Adults Partnership (TDSAP) following a number of homicides committed in Devon by people who all had a history of mental health illness.

The report writers made 17 recommendations, including improving access to clinical history and other agency records, after highlighting failings and missed opportunities relating to his care.

Mr Spinney said: "It is my judgement that this report does not sufficiently scrutinise the acts and/ or admissions of that state agencies involved in the care of Mr Lewis-Ranwell during his two periods of detention at Barnstaple Police Station and whether those actions caused or contributed to the deaths of Roger and Dick Carter, and Anthony Payne.

"In particular, the individual actions were not scrutinised in sufficient depth and police staff were not interviewed. The focus of the review was more broad and focused on systems rather than individual actions.

"It is my view these reviews and the findings of the criminal trial are not sufficient to discharge the enhanced procedural duty under Article 2."

The inquest is not expected to be held until the beginning of 2026 and will last between three to four weeks. The public hearing will allow the bereaved families to actively participate in the proceedings and also allow the coroner to exercise his duty to issue a Prevention of Future Deaths report, if deemed necessary.

The broad scope of the inquest will focus on an overview of Lewis-Ranwell's past medical history, the circumstances of his detention in custody twice in February 2019, what information was known and provided to police on each occasion, and the steps taken to involve mental health professionals.

The scope will also include assessments made by health professionals, advice given and the rationale for releasing Lewis-Ranwell after the second prison detention.

Mr Spinney gave representatives and interested parties present at the hearing a time limit of two weeks to submit submissions as to whether they think the inquest should be heard in front of a jury or solely by himself. The final decision will be made at the coroner's discretion.

The law states that had the inquest not been suspended while criminal proceedings took place it would have had to be a jury inquest. However, it is now no longer mandatory for a jury to hear the evidence.