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 Helston,

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

, and then attempted 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 after 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 the sexual abuse he was inflicting on one of her daughters. In May 2001, Ford pleaded guilty to the murders at

Bristol Crown Court The Bristol Crown Court is a Crown Court venue which deals with criminal cases at Small Street in Bristol, England. The building, which was completed in 1868, was previously used as a main post office before it was converted for judicial use in ...

and was sentenced to five terms of

life imprisonment Life imprisonment is any sentence (law), sentence of imprisonment under which the convicted individual is to remain incarcerated for the rest of their natural life (or until pardoned or commuted to a fixed term). Crimes that result in life impr ...

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 strangle 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, 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, 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 sexually abusing 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

and was given five sentences of

. As of April 2024, Ford was being held at

HM Prison Durham HM Prison Durham is a Georgian era reception Prison security categories in the United Kingdom, Category B men's prison, located in the Elvet area of Durham, England, Durham in County Durham, England. Built in 1819, the prison is operated by Hi ...

. He will become eligible to be considered for

parole Parole, also known as provisional release, supervised release, or being on paper, is a form of early release of a prisoner, prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated ...

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 Helston () is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated at the northern end of the The Lizard, Lizard Peninsula approximately east of Penzance and south-west of Falmouth, Cornwall, Falmouth.Ordnance Survey: ...

References

{{Murders in the United Kingdom in the 2000s 2000 murders in the United Kingdom 2000 in England 2000s in Cornwall Crime in Cornwall August 2000 in the United Kingdom October 2000 in the United Kingdom Familicides in the United Kingdom Mass murder in 2000 20th-century mass murder in England August 2000 crimes in Europe Violence against women in England Deaths by strangulation