A murder suspect accused of poisoning a married couple with fentanyl is said to have described himself as “almost like a son” to them.

Chelmsford Crown Court was told defendant Luke D’Wit allegedly rewrote a will for Stephen Baxter, 61, and his 64-year-old wife Carol Baxter, making himself a director of their shower mat company, the day after they were found dead.

The 34-year-old suspect denies two counts of murder.

Community first responder Robert Boorman was called to the Baxters’ home in West Mersea, Essex, on 9 April last year.

He told the court he was let in through the front door of the property and led to the conservatory where the pair were dead in their armchairs.

Mr Boorman said there was “a lot of broken glass” and he was later told by the couple’s daughter, Ellie Baxter, that a neighbour had given them a hammer so they could break the glass to gain access to the conservatory.

Prosecutor Tracy Ayling KC asked him if Mr and Mrs Baxter appeared to be dead.

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“They did at the time, they were quite grey in colour,” he said, adding he found Mr Baxter cold with no pulse.

He said a colleague checked for Mrs Baxter’s pulse.

“There was nothing we felt we could do for them,” said Mr Boorman.

He said the couple’s daughter was present, as well as her partner, and another man who claimed to be a family friend – said to be D’Wit.

“Did he describe himself as almost like a son?” Ms Ayling asked Mr Boorman.

“Yes,” he replied.

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Mr Boorman said a colleague asked if the deceased were on medication, and when asked if it was the “good friend” who got medication from a kitchen drawer and from upstairs he replied “yes”.

Ms Ayling asked him if the friend put the medication in a box by the back door, and Mr Boorman replied “yes”.

Mr Boorman said he did not look at the medication, adding: “Myself, I don’t understand much about them.”

The trial continues.

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