Man convicted of double murder in Crawley Down
Daniel Appleton attacked both his wife and a passer-by last December
Last updated 29th Dec 2020
A man has been convicted of the murders of two women in Crawley Down last year.
38-year-old Daniel Appleton committed the attacks outside a house in Hazel Way on the morning of December 22nd, 2019.
His wife, 32-year-old Amy Appleton, was killed in the incident, along with 76-year-old Sandy Seagrave, a passer-by who attempted to intervene.
Appleton, an engineer, of Hazel Way, was found guilty of two counts of murder by a unanimous jury at Hove Crown Court on Tuesday (December 29th), following a six-week trial.
He has been remanded in custody for sentencing at the same court on January 25th, 2021.
The court was told how Mr Appleton had been heard by neighbours shouting at his wife Amy before she left their house and was then attacked by him on their driveway.
Sandy was passing at the time and something caused her to cross the road to remonstrate with Mr Appleton. However, he didn’t listen and instead began hitting Sandy with her own walking stick.
He left her injured in the street, before using the walking stick to inflict further injuries to Amy.
Both were pronounced dead at the scene despite the lifesaving efforts of passers-by.
Mr Appleton, having locked himself out of the house, kicked the door open and returned inside.
He was found inside the building with multiple, self-inflicted life-threatening injuries, and was taken to hospital and placed in an induced coma.
Upon his recovery, he was arrested and charged with two counts of murder.
Police investigating the matter spoke to a number of Mr Appleton’s friends and family who said he had been acting strangely in the period leading up to the incident.
Witnesses at the scene described Mr Appleton’s behaviour as agitated, angry and like he was possessed.
Three psychiatric assessments considered Mr Appleton to have experienced a brief psychotic episode with hypomanic symptoms at the time of the killings.
The level of violence displayed was unusually extreme in this case. Samples of his hair and nail clippings later revealed minute traces of a psychoactive substance similar to LSD.
Mr Appleton accepted responsibility for the killings but throughout the trial maintained that he did not use drugs and believed that he had been passively exposed to drugs while on remand in prison, where he was located with known drug users.
However, the jury determined that drug use was a factor in causing the psychotic episode which led to the deaths of the two victims.
Detective Chief Inspector Chris Friday of the Surrey and Sussex Major Crime Team, who led the investigation, said:
“This was a violent and unprovoked attack which claimed the lives of two well-loved women, and our thoughts at this time are with the families of both Amy Appleton and Sandy Seagrave. This has been a highly-emotive and difficult case, but they have conducted themselves with bravery and dignity throughout.
“Mr Appleton turned on his wife that morning with no warning or cause, and attacked her on the driveway of their home. When Sandy confronted Mr Appleton in a bid to get him to stop, she too became a victim.
“I would like to thank everyone who supported the police investigation, including the witnesses who showed incredible bravery to help Amy and Sandy at the scene before emergency services arrived. Also to all the paramedics and police officers who attended and managed what was an extremely distressing scene.
“The members of the jury have shown exemplary commitment to this case, remaining diligent and attentive throughout and returning a verdict based on extensive and often harrowing evidence they have heard over a number of weeks.
“The police investigation has been complex and thorough, and we hope it has helped provide some answers for the families of Amy and Sandy.”