A suspected serial killer who may have committed five “murder-suicides” has been named in a confidential report.
Each case involved a husband seemingly killing his wife then taking his own life and was recorded as a murder-suicide.
Stephanie Davies, a senior coroner’s officer, said at least two cases may be the work of a serial killer.
The report identified a male suspect living in the north of England.
He can’t be named for legal reasons and strongly denies involvement.
The report reviewed the deaths of Howard and Beatrice Ainsworth, aged 79 and 78, in 1996, and Donald and Auriel Ward, 73 and 68, who died in 1999. All lived in Cheshire.
It also called for the cases of Michael and Violet Higgins, 59 and 76, in Didsbury, Manchester, in 2000; Eileen and Kenneth Martin, 76 and 77, in Davyhulme, Manchester, in 2008; and Stanley and Peggy Wilson, 92 and 89, in Kendal, Cumbria, in 2011, to be re-examined.
A police spokesman the report’s “conclusions are being considered by detectives”.
