Police woman killed herself after sending text to husband instead of lover by mistake

"The body of PC Gail Crocker, (pictured) who lived in St Stephen, near St Austell, was discovered in the boot of her white Audi TT on June 15 at a remote car park in Lanjeth, just days after the relationship came to light. " itemprop

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Husband and wife found dead in suspected murder-suicide

The street in Wandsworth, south-west London, where the couple lived Photo: GOOGLE STREETVIEW By Hayley Dixon, and agencies

1:59PM GMT 21 Nov 2013

A 61-year-old man is accused of killing his 73-year-old wife after she had recently returned home from hospital having suffered a stroke.

After murdering Carol French in the bedroom of the couple's home, Douglas Harry Morton, 61, took his own life in the bathroom.

Murder Squad detectives are treating the deaths as a suspected murder suicide.

The bodies of a couple were found in their pretty, modern terrace home just before 9am yesterday after police were alerted over concerns about their welfare.

Inside the home in Stormont Road near Clapham Common in south west London officers found the lifeless body of Ms French in a first-floor bedroom and the body of Mr Morton in a first-floor bathroom.

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Neighbours in the leafy street said they were "shocked" at the death of the "lovely couple".

A neighbour, who declined to be named, said: "She had a stroke, she had been in hospital for it and had got out and been in rehab.

"They are both retired, they seemed like a nice, normal couple. He was nice, he used to help his neighbours out and dropped a newspaper around to his next door neighbour's house.

"He wasn't in bad health, he seemed fine. Obviously we are all really shocked, it is just so sad. We hadn't noticed them rowing."

Another neighbour who declined to be named, said: "They were a lovely couple. I didn't notice any arguments or anything, they seemed very nice.

"I think they were retired, I haven't noticed any family go and visit them, I don't think they had any family.

"I know she had recently got out of hospital. It is such a shock, very sad. They seemed lovely."

A man who lives next door added: "It is a terrible shock, she had been in hospital. They were lovely, I never expected this would happen. I'm just in shock."

Another neighbour who lives across the road, said: "It is absolutely awful, very sad. I didn't really know them, but they moved here a few years ago.

"I just noticed that they laid out a lovely lawn when they moved here. I looked out of the window and saw police there."

Uniformed police officers remain at the couple's home today.

Scotland Yard earlier confirmed a murder investigation has been launched and post-mortem examinations are due to take place soon.

It said at this stage, the death of the woman is being treated as suspicious, while the death of the man is being treated as non-suspicious.

No-one else is being sought in connection with the incident.

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Divorcee begs judge to save her from financial ruin after ex husband stole £700,000 from friends and family

The case was heard at the High Court Photo: ALAMY By Rosa Silverman and agencies

2:16PM GMT 21 Nov 2013

A divorcee who says she was "swept off her feet" by her "lying" husband who "stole" three quarters of a million pounds from their friends and relatives, is begging top judges to save her from financial ruin.

Faye Gale, 37, who had never used the accounts herself, was previously cleared of any dishonesty and described as a “complete innocent” regarding what her husband was up to.

David Gale used bank and Betfair accounts in her name to run a “Ponzi” scheme.

But a court found she was personally liable for making a “restitution" to a friend who had invested £350,000 with him - a ruling against which Mrs Gale is now appealing.

The mother-of-two told how she was “swept off her feet” by Mr Gale, a financial advisor 13 years her senior who had "appeared rich, successful and extravagant" when they met at Royal Ascot in 2004.

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But their seven-year marriage came to an abrupt end in 2011 when she realised Mr Gale was a "liar and a fraudster" who had squandered a £700,000 investment pot entrusted to him by their nearest and dearest on "disastrous" online football bets, the Court of Appeal heard.

The former mortgage broker left the family home in Great Bookham, Surrey, "almost immediately" after revealing what he had been doing, Mrs Gale said.

She later divorced him, but was left with debts to Kathleen O’Neil, a London-based television producer who was friends with the family.

Mrs Gale said her ex-husband's explanations of his fail-safe betting system was "all Greek" to her and she was completely taken in, just like investors who were lulled into a false sense of security by the "dividends" they regularly received.

She had never used the Betfair gambling site herself and her husband had never even told her the password, the court heard.

He had complete access to her finances, opening bank accounts in her name to which she never had access.

Describing her as a "palpably honest" witness, Judge David Donaldson QC said in March that both she and Mrs O'Neil had "suffered grievously" at Mr Gale's hands and it was a tragedy one of them had to lose the case.

Challenging the judge’s ruling that Mrs Gale must make "restitution" to Mrs O'Neil for most of her losses, Richard Devereux-Cooke QC, for Mrs Gale, said her ex-husband's scheming had torn apart her family and she was as much a victim of his dishonesty as those who trusted him with their money.

He told the Court of Appeal: "Mr Gale was never running a collective investment scheme at all - he was simply misusing or stealing the money.

“It is accepted that the wife had no real knowledge of what her former husband was doing.

"Mr David Gale, it was commonly agreed, was a fraudster who had used bank accounts and a betting account set up in his wife's name.

"She thought it was risk free, as did her father who lost £145,000. The wife was taken in. Her father was taken in, as were other members for the family."

The court heard Mr Gale, a former mortgage broker, had been banned from carrying on regulated investment activities by the Financial Services Authority in October 2005.

Despite the ban he had, for about three years, solicited "investments" on a large scale from in-laws, relations, friends and neighbours, telling all of them that his system was risk free.

His wife's grandfather was amongst his earliest investors.

The Court of Appeal judges reserved their decision on Mrs Gale's appeal until an unspecified later date.

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Husband suspected of killing wife after stroke

By Nick Collins

6:00AM GMT 22 Nov 2013

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A 61-year-old man is suspected of killing his wife and committing suicide shortly after she was released from hospital following a major stroke.

Douglas Morton, known as Harry, is believed to have murdered his wife Carol French, 73, in the bedroom of their home in Wandsworth, south west London, before taking his own life in the bathroom.

Mrs French had recently returned home from hospital after suffering a stroke earlier this year but family friends said her rehabilitation had been progressing well.

The couple had spent the last few years travelling the world in a motor home and were said to be confident enough in her recovery to make plans for a tour of Europe next summer.

Mr Morton, the former owner of a chain of high-end women’s fashion shops, and Mrs French, who spent many years editing women’s magazines, were described as “soul mates” who were “very happy together”.

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Officers found their bodies at 9am on Wednesday morning after concerns were raised about their welfare.

Scotland Yard said a murder investigation had been launched after a man and a woman’s bodies were found but no one is being sought in connection with the incident.

It said the death of the woman is being treated as suspicious, and the death of the man as non-suspicious.

Fiona Lindop, a friend of Mr Morton’s family from Derby, said the couple had been together for almost 40 years. They had no children but Mr Morton has a brother, Peter, in New Zealand.

“They were very happy and he was a very bubbly, bouncy character. Carol wasn’t as bouncy, but they were well-matched,” she said. “They were very happy together, absolute soul mates.

“In their retirement they went and saw a lot of the world. I think they drove right down South America and they certainly spent many years travelling abroad.”

Paul Dudley, a friend who sold the couple the Winnebago motor homes they drove through Europe, Russia, the US, South America, Australia and New Zealand, said he found the situation “very difficult to believe”.

He said Mrs French had recovered most of her speech following her stroke and, having initially been told she could be wheelchair-bound, was progressing towards walking again.

“It was only very recently that Carol was taken into hospital with quite a serious stroke but apart from that they were always together,” he said.

“Harry was talking about buying another motor home for next season’s touring, probably into Europe, and he was looking forward to it. Certainly Carol was getting much better

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Husband stabbed in front of wife and daughter after disturbing burglars

By Jasper Copping

6:02PM GMT 16 Nov 2013

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A householder was repeatedly stabbed by burglars in front of his wife and daughter after disturbing intruders in the early hours.

The man, named locally as Tony Abrahams, 47, confronted the three masked raiders on the upstairs landing of his property after his daughter Jade, 23, was woken by the sound of the men creeping around her bedroom and started screaming.

He tried to go to her aid but was blocked by one of the group, who shut him inside his bedroom while the other two attempted to remove a television from her room, Bedfordshire police said.

The householder managed to get out but was set upon by all three men, who were dressed in black.

He was stabbed three times before the group fled the house, in Wellfield Avenue, in Luton.

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His wife, Catrina, 52, and daughter raised the alarm at around 3.30am on Saturday and he was taken to the Luton and Dunstable Hospital where he was in a serious but stable condition.

One neighbour, who did not wish to be named, said: "It's an awful thing to happen, especially to such a lovely family.

"I hope Tony will be all right and they can get through this."

Detective Constable Mo Hussain said: "This was an appalling attack on a family man within his own home and I would urge anyone with information to come forward and speak with us.

"While the victim has suffered some very nasty injuries, he is in a stable condition and has responded very well to treatment."

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