Inquest into deaths of Anthony Payne, Dick Carter and Roger Carter to open on 21 September 2026

An inquest into the deaths of Anthony Payne, and twins Dick Carter and Roger Carter, three men who were killed on 10 February 2019, will start today at Exeter Coroner’s Court.

The hearing before HM Senior Coroner Philip C Spinney is expected to last until 23 October 2026. It will consider the days leading up to their deaths in which Alex Lewis-Ranwell, the man who killed them had contact with several agencies, including Devon and Cornwall Police and G4S Health Services.

CONTENT WARNING: This press release contains themes of physical violence and mental health including Schizophrenia

Dick, Roger and Anthony, all in their 80s, were killed whilst in their homes by Mr Lewis-Ranwell, a paranoid schizophrenic. Whilst Mr Lewis-Ranwell had previously engaged with mental health services, at the time of the killings he was not taking medication or receiving any mental health care at the time. Mr Lewis-Ranwell was also previously known to the police.

In the 40 hours leading up to the killings, Mr Lewis-Ranwell had been reported on multiple occasions by members of the public to the police due to his increasingly disturbed and violent behaviour. He had been arrested and released twice, including on the day of the killings, following allegations of burglary, criminal damage and the assault of another man in his 80s using a four-foot-long logging saw.

Police officers and mental health practitioners were concerned by his presentation, yet Mr Lewis-Ranwell was released on the morning that he went on to kill Anthony, Dick and Roger.

Mr Lewis-Ranwell was found not guilty of murder by reason of insanity in December 2019. At the end of the trial, the jury asked will the “state of psychiatric services in the county of Devon and the failings in care in Alexander Lewis-Ranwell’s case be appropriately addressed following these verdicts”.

Anthony, Dick and Roger’s loving families want to understand whether Mr Lewis-Ranwell, who was experiencing psychosis, could have been stopped before their killings. The inquests will explore any potential falling by the actions of the relevant state agencies in the lead up to the deaths, including Devon and Cornwall Police, G4S Health Services, Devon Council and Devon Partnership NHS Trust.

The families of Anthony Payne, and Dick and Roger Carter are represented by Bharine Kalsi and Rachel Tribble of DPG and Nick Armstrong KC and Danielle Manson of Matrix.