A DEFENDANT “lied about having cancer” so he could receive sympathy from a couple he is now accused of murdering, a court has heard.

On Monday afternoon, Luke D’Wit was cross-examined by Tracy Ayling KC, prosecuting, about the death of Stephen and Carol Baxter.

The couple, aged 61 and 64, were found dead with lethal levels of fentanyl in their systems on Easter Sunday last year.

D’Wit, who worked in IT for the charity MS UK, was arrested in July at one of the charity’s offices on Essex University’s Colchester campus.

Gazette: Easter - Luke D'Wit is pictured on Essex Police bodycam footage on Easter Sunday 2023, when Stephen and Carol Baxter were found deadEaster - Luke D'Wit is pictured on Essex Police bodycam footage on Easter Sunday 2023, when Stephen and Carol Baxter were found dead (Image: Essex Police)

Mrs Ayling KC accused D’Wit of fabricating a cancer diagnosis so he could receive sympathy from the Baxters, who had brought in D’Wit to help set up a website for their shower mat business in 2013.

Text messages read out to the court showed D’Wit had told the Baxter family he had to go various hospital appointments because he had bone marrow cancer.

However, a statement submitted by ESNEFT’s Eloise Brown, the trust’s senior access to health officer, said there had been “no record” of D’Wit attending Colchester Hospital in the last decade except for a paddle boarding injury in 2022.

It prompted Ayling to accuse D’Wit of lying to the Baxter family for sympathy.

She said, “You lied to [Mrs Baxter] about the fact you had cancer, didn’t you?”, to which D’Wit replied “No”.

Mrs Ayling KC continued: “The fact you told Carol you had cancer was a complete fabrication, wasn’t it?”, to which D’Wit again replied “No”.

When pressed about there being no record of his attendance at Colchester Hospital, D’Wit replied he had “many, many scans at Broomfield".Gazette: Denied - Luke D'Wit has denied two counts of murderDenied - Luke D'Wit has denied two counts of murder (Image: Essex Police)

Mrs Ayling continued: “You have refused the prosecution access to your medical records – is that because there are no medical records as Eloise Brown said in her statement to the jury?”

D’Wit replied: “No – I’ve been to the hospital for many things over the last ten years.”

Mrs Ayling then accused D’Wit of lying.

She said: “I’m sorry Mr D’Wit, but you are absolutely lying audibly to this jury because there is no evidence you had cancer at all, other than what you have told other people to engender sympathy.”