In August 2000, Lee Ford, an unemployed builder and roofer, murdered his wife, Lesley, and his four stepchildren at their home in Carnkie, a village near

Redruth Redruth ( , kw, Resrudh) is a town and civil parishes in Cornwall, civil parish in Cornwall, England. The population of Redruth was 14,018 at the 2011 census. In the same year the population of the Camborne-Redruth urban area, which also inc ...

, Cornwall, before attempting to conceal the bodies. After telling neighbours, and the children's school, that Lesley had left and taken the children with her, Ford was arrested in October 2000 when Lesley's brother reported her missing, and police subsequently found the bodies of his victims. Ford confessed to the killings, but refused to give police a motive for the murders. It is believed, however, that Lesley had become aware of a sexual relationship he was having with one of her daughters. In May 2001, Ford pleaded guilty to the murders at Bristol Crown Court and was sentenced to five terms of

life imprisonment Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes for ...

Murders

Ford committed the murders on or around 30 August, after arguing with his wife, Lesley, who had threatened to stop him seeing the two children he had fathered with her. After striking her in the face with a baseball bat, Ford went to the garage, where he found a rope. He then used it to strangled Lesley, and over the following 24 hours, killed Lesley's four children, Sarah-Jane Tranter, aged 17, Anne Marie Tranter, aged 16, Steven Tranter, aged 14, and Craig Tranter, aged 13, in the same manner. He spared the lives of his own two children. Ford placed the bodies in a woodshed located in the property's back garden, wrapping them in sheets and covering them with lime, and subsequently attempted to conceal the murders by telling neighbours and the local school his wife had left him and taken the children, while sending his own children to stay with relatives.

Arrest and trial

Ford was visited by police officers several weeks later, and after Lesley's brother contacted them to report the family missing. Ford was panicked by the visit, and moved the remains of his two stepdaughters, reburying them at the edge of a nearby field. He was arrested on 4 October after going on the run, and when the bodies were found. Ford confessed to the murders, telling police he was not sure why he had carried out the killings, and had "flipped". Police suspected that Ford had been having a relationship with his eldest stepdaughter, Sarah-Jane, and that this had been the source of his argument with Lesley. In May 2001, Ford pleaded guilty to five counts of murder at Bristol Crown Court and was given five sentences of

. As of April 2024, Ford was being held at HM Prison Durham. He will become eligible to be considered for parole in October 2027. In October 2021, the family and friends of his victims started an online petition to prevent his release.

Aftermath

A memorial to the children was later unveiled at the school they attended in Helston.

References

{{reflist 2000 crimes in the United Kingdom 2000 in England 2000s in Cornwall Crime in Cornwall August 2000 events in the United Kingdom October 2000 events in the United Kingdom Incidents of violence against women Family murders Mass murder in 2000 Mass murder in England 21st-century mass murder in the United Kingdom Violence against women in England Deaths by person in England Deaths by strangulation