The Brutal Case Of Michael Kerr

thank you cable of fern is a small beautiful and picturesque Village near folkestone Kent in the southeast of England [Music] surrounded by stunning natural beauty sweeping Landscapes sea views and filled with friendly locals it really is an idyllic place to live people travel there for a quiet slice of country and seaside living taking in all that it has to offer described by those that live there as safe and with a strong sense of community everybody really does know everybody and looks out for and after each other one spring night in April 2013 this little Community will be left rocked by one of the most brutal murders that Kent has ever seen just 10 minutes away from Capel La Fern lies a cliff home to 30 year old Michael Kerr who lived there with his family life hadn't always been easy for Michael when he was born the birthing process had been very quick and doctors described him as a really poorly baby giving him just a 30 chance of surviving the night but despite the odds being stacked against him he did doctors told his parents Patricia and Jim that Michael would likely never be able to walk but on his third birthday he stood up and ran across the room doctor said he would never be able to ride a bike so Patricia went out and bought him one and before long he was out on his bike all the time and there was no stopping him showing once again that he could defy people's expectations he attended Harbor School in Dover and when he was six years old Michael was diagnosed with fragile X syndrome a genetic condition that can cause a variety of Developmental delays but just three years later when he was nine doctors dismissed this diagnosis his mother would later say that she was certain Michael had cerebral palsy he never let anything hold him back and he soon grew up into a happy and funny little boy who was always full of life Patricia said that he had a cheeky grin and a mischievous personality he had a slight stammer when he spoke and struggled with hand-eye coordination but none of it stopped him from pursuing his passions one of which was music Michael had Big Dreams and wanted to make it as a DJ he loved nothing more than DJing for the clubs and pubs in the local area playing a huge range of music that reflected his diverse tastes after passing his driving test Michael's love of cars and driving grew too and he was over the moon to buy his first car A Renault Clio a motor he adored he would often drive into Dover and offer folks rides home for petrol mini when the pubs had taken their last orders he was always looking to help and make sure people got home safe especially the young female pub and club goers this kind-hearted in giving nature made him extremely popular and well loved amongst the locals and The Wider Community but his mother Patricia said that some would take advantage of his helpfulness and good nature such as with him giving them lifts and money and she also said that he didn't see the bad in people Wednesday the 10th of April 2013. satmar Lane is a quiet and secluded Country Lane in Capel La Fern it's surrounded by fields and ponds and has an embankment running along each side it was here that a disturbing Discovery was made Patricia said that she had woken that morning feeling sick and anxious nervous that something bad was going to happen then came the knock at the door that every parent dreads she opened the door to a woman who asked if she was Michael Kerr's mother she said that she was the officer simply replied I'm sorry and police have launched a murder probe after her body was discovered in the village of Capel Le Fern police say the body of a 30 year old man was discovered on a secluded Country Lane at around 1pm this afternoon Michael Carr's body had been found at the end of satmar Lane a few yards away from his Renault Clio that had been wedged up against the embankment there were major wounds across his body and neck and it was clear to the officers that they were dealing with a sadistic murder it appeared that there had been an attempt to move his body which was surrounded by a pool of blood and there was also significant blood splatter in his car his cousin Linda was away with the family in a little Holiday Village and Michael was due to head down and join them she then began receiving numerous calls and messages it was then that she learned her beloved cousin had died for those that knew him they were in shock Michael was loved by so many and nobody could understand why anyone would want to hurt him as news began to spread throughout the community people could not believe that a crime this brutal and violent had happened police had swarmed Capel Le Fern and this quiet little part of the UK had been turned completely upside down the murder had been a violent and Incredibly frenzied one Michael had been stabbed 10 times and had 11 slash wounds to his body two of his teeth were also found underneath his body severe Force had been used to smash them out of his mouth he had defensive wounds but they were few meaning he had potentially been caught in a Wares or lost so much blood in such a short space of time that it had left him physically unable to do anything detective Chief superintendent Paul fotheringham said that the police had decided to take the unusual step and asked a pathologist to come to the scene to carry out assessments and take samples as the body lay in situ a decision that is only taken in the most serious of cases but the pathologist was unable to make it and the weather was beginning to turn so a tent was erected around his body before he was taken away to the mortuary the task that lay in front of the police officers was enormous they needed to search all around the area for any clues that could lead them to what had happened and to whoever was responsible a huge team of officers were searching the lane and divers were dispatched to search the ponds nearby his phone was missing but his wallet was still there and it didn't appear to have been touched meaning it did not seem to be a robbery that had gone wrong leaving them still hunting for a motive did his phone contain evidence that pointed to his killer and was that why it was missing given the position of his Renault Clio it seemed that someone had attempted to use his car to drive away from the scene of the crime but abandoned it when they couldn't drive it over the bank there were so many questions and so few answers rumors soon began to swirl within the local area the port of Dover was not far away with people coming into the country and going out of it all the time had this been an opportunistic killing by someone who wasn't even in the area anymore had he been ambushed had it been planned the police needed to speak to people including those that knew him best so they could work out which theories to rule in and which to rule out during their door-to-door inquiries someone living in a house roughly 100 meters away from where his body had been found said that they had heard what appeared to be shouting and screams on the night he was killed but said that it sounded more like people were having fun than someone in distress as the search of the lane continued they finally got their first big lead Michael's phone that had been missing was found smashed seemingly stamped on before being kicked into the Hedge at the side of the road it was quickly sent off to see if any clues could be gathered from it they also needed to find the murder weapon whilst nothing was found in the search of the ponds or along the sides of the road a search of the drains on the main road that sat Marlene LED off would be a different story two knives were found thrown down one of the drains did more than one weapon mean there was more than one killer several days after Michael's death a memorial was held for him with people turning out in droves to pay their respects one of Michael's friends said it looked like all of Dover had turned up Patricia was incredibly touched that so many had come together to honor her son and his memory it was clear that he had meant so much to so many people and it highlighted just how loved and respected he was by those in his community as the investigation into Michael Kerr's murder continued there would be another huge breakthrough someone had called the police and asked that officers be sent to Clarendon Street in Dover as their friends had just confided in them with a shocking story made a number of arrests in Dover today five people were arrested on suspicion of murder they were all young adults in their twenties who lived together on Clarendon Street all of them were taken to the station to be questioned and interviewed three of them men aged 20 22 and 27 would later be released without charge the remaining two were not 22 year old Alicia Davis and 21 year old Charlotte Colton were kept in custody Alicia Davis had been an Air Cadet and was originally from alesham she had met Charlotte Coulson in the busy nightlife of Dover the pair had moved in together six months before and lived on Clarendon Street they were described as being well known within the local area and had reputations for drinking heavily Charlotte explained to the interviewing officers that she had known Michael for roughly a year and that he had given her lifts home and also ferried her to the supermarket Alicia had been introduced to him just a few weeks before his death Michael's cousin Linda said she had seen them in his car and had also witnessed him going into a shop to purchase alcohol for them during their interviews they said that they had both met with him twice on the day he had been killed they said that at around eight in the evening he had picked up Alicia and driven her to sat Marlene where they stayed for a while before he purchased alcohol and drove her back to Clarendon Street they said that they had stayed home and drank and Michael had then come back at around midnight they said he had picked them both up with Alicia in the passenger seat and Charlotte sat in the back and he had driven once again to sat Marlene Alicia then made a startling accusation she said that Michael had raped and attacked her she said in a bid to protect herself she had put her hands down the side of the car seat where she found a knife and proceeded to stab him in self-defense Charlotte said she had been asleep in the back and had woken up to Alicia stabbing him adding that she had been unable to get out of the car as it had no doors for the back seats she said that the pair had then attempted to move Michael's body and then drive away in his Renault but the car had stalled so they left it on satmar Lane and proceeded to walk home leaving Michael lying on his own bleeding to death the police needed to ascertain if their stories checked out and if the argument of self-defense was a plausible one what was unusual was that the pair had no History of Violence and had never had any run-ins with the law so for them to be responsible for such a violent crime was shocking the officer spoke to locals to try and gather CCTV footage and Michael's car was caught driving past in the early morning hours and mobile phone data analysis also confirmed this timeline mobile phone data also showed something that caught the eye of the police text messages had been sent between Alicia and Charlotte as the car had arrived in the village the messages had been deleted Charlotte said start now Alessia replied saying you're gonna have to do it first Charlotte's last message read shut up and hurry let's party these messages were sent within three minutes of his Renault being caught on CCTV this Revelation blew huge holes in what Charlotte had said that she had been asleep in the back and had no idea what was going on when she woke up the knives that had been found also raised more questions with their story when the house on Clarendon Street had been searched there were two knife sets there both knives found in the drain were missing from said sets the argument that the knife had been found down the side of the car seat and that she had killed him to stop him attacking her made no sense it showed that the knives had been taken from the house they had lived in and this coupled with the text messages showed that this had been a pre-planned and thought out attack the evidence against them continued to mount a fire had been set in the back Garden of the house on Clarendon Street and items of clothing had been burned including Charlotte's favorite gray hoodie that had blood on it when the other residents of the house came home they said they had been putting clothes into the washing machine which matched the clothes they had been wearing before the attempt to set them on fire was made with all of the evidence stacking up against them 22 year old Alicia Davis and 21 year old Charlotte Coulson were charged with the murder of Michael Kerr Charlotte entered a plea of not guilty Alicia didn't appear in courts due to illness but would also plead not guilty and they were remanded in custody to await trial where they would be tried together today the trial of two young women is set to begin in central London for the murder of a 30 year old man in the village of Cape leford Dover due to the severity and seriousness of the case it was sent to the Old bayley Courthouse in London for trial in December 2013 judge Paul Worsley would preside before the judge and jury came into the courtroom the pair would sit and laugh seemingly unbothered by the seriousness of the situation but when in the presence of both judge and jury they would then sit with their heads down and not look up they continued their story of self-defense his cousin Linda said the accusation they had made showed how evil they were this was a crime they had planned and had then attempted to besmirch Michael's name to cover it up the prosecution needed to knock holes in their defense and Alicia's version of events needed to be shown to be false the police and prosecution had Michael's beloved Renault Clio driven to the old bayley where it was parked in the rear yard the judge and jury were then invited to look at it the car itself was very small showing that her allegation of him undressing himself and taking her clothes off too before attacking her in such a tiny space made no sense prosecutor Sarah Woodhouse said there was never any rape but they put their heads together and concocted a vicious story about Michael Kerr in order to exonerate themselves text messages from Charlotte's phone showed that she had messaged Michael's phone after he had been murdered asking why they hadn't heard from him and why he had failed to pick them up when he said he would something detective Chief superintendent Paul fotheringham said was a clear and deliberate attempt to both cover their tracks and misguide the police allowing them to say that they hadn't seen him Alicia had also messaged him saying I feel so sick I love you Charlotte's last message to him was sent to his phone at 5 47 am and she told him she was unable to fall asleep but Charlotte continued to maintain that she hadn't been involved the two knives that were found would bring her defense into serious doubt the injuries were all across his body suggesting it had not been the work of one person the judge agreed that Charlotte had been involved and that she had been the one to cause the injuries to his neck by grabbing his hair and Chin from behind and cutting his throat several times the knife wound that Alicia admitted to making showed that she had actually repositioned the knife after stabbing him to ensure that the stab wound would pierce his heart Michael would not have stood a chance against them Alicia's defense lawyer Paul Bogan said that she was currently being treated into psychiatric care and that she had suffered abuse at the hands of her father as a child he did say however that she had committed a sustained unrelenting and particularly violent attack Michael's heartbroken parents Jim and Patricia sat and quietly wiped away tears as the horrible details of what had happened to their son will a bear Moore would also come out about why they had met with him he had been texting them frequently on the 9th of April and had been in regular contacts with them in the hours before he died Alicia would say she had actually had sex with Michael for money and that Charlotte had been the one to organize it as they needed 20 pounds for alcohol Charlotte had sent Michael a message saying that Alicia would have sex with him if he paid her the possible motive for why they had killed him began to emerge knowing that she had slept with him for money with Michael being more vulnerable it could have led him to believe he had a girlfriend and was in a relationship with Alicia detective Chief superintendent Paul fartheringham said that rather than explain to him that that was not what it was they decided to kill him after killing him CCTV was shown to the court proving that they had appeared to go about their night as normal by later visiting a McDonald's and going to buy alcohol as they returned home they were heard laughing and joking with each other by Neighbors after hearing all of the evidence the trial concluded after three weeks and before long the jury had returned its verdict 22 year old Alicia Davis and 21 year old Charlotte Coulson were unanimously found guilty of the murder of Michael Kerr the pair both burst into tears as the verdict was read out Charlotte Coulson was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 20 years Alicia Davis received a sentence of life in prison with a minimum term of 25 years Michael's devastated mother Patricia said that the pair should have received longer sentences she said so many people have said an eye for an eye I don't want that no I don't want them to die because in my head every night when those lights are out they see and they hear and they are haunted by what they did to my boy and it torments them judge Worsley told the pair you both sat upon him he was an easy victim he inflicted no injuries on either of you and had defense wounds from trying to protect himself from the repeated slashing and stabbing rather than remorse or shock you have felt some perverse pleasure in watching him die and were heard laughing as he traveled home along the road neither of you have shown any remorse your only desire is to save your own skins [Music] he added he totally rejected the claim of rape and said that they had lied continuously to the police [Music] his family said in a statement Michael was the innocent victim of a ruthless and brutal unprovoked attack which has resulted in him being taken from his family and friends the pain we have experienced and are still suffering from cannot be expressed in words today's verdict whilst not bringing him back has provided us with some comfort knowing that those responsible for his death will serve a number of years in prison however no sentence can ever come close to the pain that Michael has endured Michael Kerr was a loving kind and gentle man who was always looking to help people in need people he didn't even know he had gone through so much but always looked on the bright side of life and brought joy to those around him his death left a void that will never be filled for so many people but they will forever carry with them the memories he created and the love that he gave [Music] for those of you that like to listen on the go we now have our episodes in podcast form and you can now find this via the link in our description box or by searching truly criminal podcast on your podcasting platforms [Music]

Channel: Truly Criminal

Views: 391,342

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Id: hI4DgpphzxQ

Length: 22min 45sec (1365 seconds)

Published: Sat May 13 2023