MEDICAL advice given by a man who posed as a "fake doctor” to a woman he is accused of murdering has been branded “fabricated and a lot of rubbish”.
Luke D’Wit, of Churchfields, West Mersea, denies murdering Stephen and Carol Baxter, who were found with lethal levels of fentanyl – a powerful pain killer – in their systems.
On Friday, day 11 of the murder trial at Chelmsford Crown Court, the prosecution heard from a medical expert on endocrinology who spoke about Mrs Baxter’s thyroid disease.
According to her medical files, Mrs Baxter was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis in 2005, a condition where the thyroid glands fail to produce hormones which play an important part in the human metabolism and other functions in the body.
Following the diagnosis, Mrs Baxter had regular blood tests with her GP, who treated her with a medication called Levothyroxine, to substitute the missing hormones.
Dr Naveed Younis, who took to the witness stand on Friday, said he was confident Mrs Baxter received the proper treatment from her GP.
He said: “I am absolutely satisfied she was taking the correct medication and the correct doses of medication.”
Mrs Baxter also received advice from a so-called professional in the US, called Andrea Bowden, regarding her thyroid condition.
Andrea, the prosecution claims, was a fake persona made up by defendant D’Wit to control and manipulate the Baxter family.
The US-based doctor told Carol Baxter to follow strict routines and take certain vitamins and herbal remedies to help with her condition.
This included a so-called “thyroid flush” and “beating the thyroid”, which, according to Dr Younis did not make a lot of sense.
As he shared his professional opinion with the court on the advice given he said: “I have never ever come across this treatment.
“There is no scientific evidence for this treatment and whoever gave this advice was not an expert on endocrinology.
“It is fabricated and a lot of rubbish.”
The second witness to take the stand on day 11 was Detective Inspector Lydia George of Essex Police, who confirmed to the court a team of 34 officers worked on the case.
The prosecution has now closed its case, while the defence will start to present their evidence on Monday, March 4.
The trial continues.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article