Inquest finds failures before triple killing in Exeter

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 28 Oct, 01:57 · Archive

An inquest has concluded that a series of failures allowed a mentally ill man to be released from custody hours before he killed three pensioners in Exeter in February 2019.

An inquest jury has concluded that failures by police and healthcare professionals allowed Alexander Lewis-Ranwell to be released from custody hours before he killed three pensioners in Exeter in February 2019. Paranoid schizophrenic Lewis-Ranwell, then aged 27, attacked Anthony Payne, 80, with a hammer and killed identical twins Dick and Roger Carter, 84, with a saw.

In the days before the killings, Lewis-Ranwell had been arrested for targeting another elderly farmer with a saw, just hours after being held for an attempted burglary at a separate farm. The Daily Mail reports that following his arrest for the non-fatal saw attack on the farmer, Lewis-Ranwell was seen by Dr Mihail Pichiu, a force medical examiner employed by G4S. Dr Pichiu did not recommend an assessment under the Mental Health Act but requested he be seen by a mental health nurse the next morning—a visit that never happened. Lewis-Ranwell then travelled from Barnstaple to Exeter, where he killed the three men.

The inquest jury criticised police and healthcare professionals employed by Devon County Council, Devon Partnership Trust and contractor G4S for allowing Lewis-Ranwell to be released. The jury concluded that the shortcomings 'probably made a more than minimal contribution to the three deaths'. The family of Dick and Roger Carter blamed 'systemic failures and missed opportunities' for the twins' deaths.

How it is being reported

• Series of failures allowed mentally ill man to be freed from custody hours before he bludgeoned three pensioners to death, inquest jury concludesParanoid schizophrenic Alexander Lewis-Ranwell attacked Anthony Payne, 80, with a hammer and killed identical twins Dick and Roger Carter, 84, with a saw on February 10, 2019 in Exeter.Daily Mail · 28 Oct, 01:35
• ‘Bloody dangerous’ man was bailed twice 48 hours before murdering threeAlexander Lewis-Ranwell killed three innocent men (Picture: SWNS) A series of ‘catastrophic’ failures contributed to the deaths of three elderly men at the hands of a mentally ill man who went on a killing spree in Exeter, an inquest has found. Anthony Payne, 80, and twin brothers Dick and Roger…Metro · 27 Oct, 17:22

In this story: Alexander Lewis-Ranwell · Anthony Payne · Dick Carter · Roger Carter · Exeter · Devon County Council · Devon Partnership Trust · G4S

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