Seven years after a paranoid schizophrenic killed elderly twins Dick and Roger Carter, both 84, their family faces fresh heartbreak as the inquest into their deaths faces another postponement. Relatives hoped the hearing would expose multiple failures that allowed attacker Alexander Lewis-Ranwell to remain free. Devon and Cornwall Police, who released him twice within 24 hours, secured the delay after indicating they might recover key CCTV footage long considered lost.
Brutal Attacks and Preventable Failures
Lewis-Ranwell, a former public schoolboy, also fatally assaulted 80-year-old Anthony Payne. The family endured shock upon learning the savage details: Lewis-Ranwell used a hammer to kill Payne in his apartment, then invaded the twins’ lifelong home and struck them with a spade.
Warning signs abounded before the December 2019 rampage. Public reports flagged his growing disturbance and violence. Police arrested him first for burglary, then for attacking an elderly man with a 4ft logging saw. His mother voiced grave concerns over his release. An officer assessed him as a serious risk after he urinated in his cell and mourned losing his ‘unicorn.’ Yet a G4S Health Services doctor, after a 19-minute check, ruled him not acutely unwell, skipping a full mental health evaluation. Hours later, the killings occurred.
Lewis-Ranwell, now 28 at the time and detained in hospital, was found not guilty by reason of insanity. His Supreme Court bid for compensation over wrongful release failed in January.
Family Frustration Mounts
Amanda Taylor, the twins’ niece, expressed dismay: “I feel like it gives everyone involved the freedom to say ‘well, it’s such a long time ago now’, or use it as an excuse not to remember details. It is really horrible. You wait for it, you set aside your time, you’re prepared –– and then everybody has the rug pulled out from under their feet.”
Her brother, Richard Carter, 61, added: “It had felt like an opportunity to us — we’re seven years in, perhaps we’ll get some answers. And then, at what must be a huge cost to the taxpayer, we get to the point of the inquest and we find that the police haven’t provided the evidence required to support the coroner’s investigation. Nobody has been held to account for it. How on earth is it allowed to happen?”
The family views crucial CCTV from his second detention as proof of his psychotic state, footage police previously deemed irretrievable. The inquest, rescheduled for January, now shifts six months amid hopes of recovery.
Parallels to Other Cases
Richard Carter draws links to tragedies like Valdo Calocane’s June 2023 triple stabbing in Nottingham, under public inquiry. In both, officials recognized dangers but skipped proper assessments, mental health care, and risk-based detention. “Opportunities were there to avoid this,” Carter stated. “You can see parallels with other cases where there are the same opportunities to intervene or to take a different path. And it just has not happened.”
An independent review already prolonged the wait, with family criticizing its shallow probe of lapses.
Legal and Police Response
Bharine Kalsi of Deighton Pierce Glynn, representing bereaved families, condemned: “The conduct of Devon and Cornwall Police has been shambolic. Inquests are designed to help the victims understand the circumstances behind the loss of their loved ones. They are supposed to reduce the hurt, not make it worse. That is what has happened here.”
A Devon and Cornwall Police spokeswoman noted: “We remain in contact with the coroner’s office regarding a section of CCTV footage, which is yet to be located as part of the disclosure process of this inquest. Devon & Cornwall Police has apologised to the coroner for this, and we are keeping him updated on our ongoing efforts to locate the footage in question.”
