High-ranking BT executive who murdered his wife with a marble cutting board has prevailed in an “extraordinary” legal battle to get a portion of the £2.5 million fortune she left behind.
Leslie Winnister killed his wife of 40 years, Suzanne, by beating her to death because he believed she was attempting to poison him and having an affair.
In June of last year, Winnister, who had served as BT’s treasurer, admitted manslaughter with reduced responsibility and was given an indefinite hospital order.
However, Winnister’s attorneys proceeded to the London High Court on his behalf and were successful in getting him permission to claim a portion of the £2.5 million estate of his victim, even though the law normally forbids murderers from making money from their crimes via inheritance.
Due to the exceptional judgement, he is now expected to receive more than £200,000, with the remaining assets of his ex-estate wife’s being divided among her seven heirs.
The Bracton medical center in Dartford, Kent, is where Winnister, 70, is now imprisoned, the court was informed.
When he murdered his wife, Winnister was suffering from an acute mental condition, according to the court who condemned him. A psychiatric expert for the defense concluded that Winnister was “suffering from severe depression with psychotic symptoms,” albeit he was not legally crazy.
In September 2020, Suzanne Winnister’s corpse was discovered at the couple’s £1.6 million gated residence in Bexley, Kent.
Kate Cox and her husband Simon, who had visited the house after the family was unable to contact the 66-year-old on the phone, uncovered the horrifying find.
When Mr. Cox hopped the fence to enter the home, he discovered Mrs. Winnister in the kitchen, lying in a pool of blood. The pensioner’s neck had also been cut, and a chopping board that had been used to bludgeon her to death was standing next to her.
Her head and neck injuries “consistent with being struck on the head with a large blunt instrument” were listed as the cause of death.
After murdering Suzanne, 66, Winnister had gone off to the King’s Head pub on Bexley High Street, where he purchased a bag of chips and drank a pint.
He was later found by police in a neighboring cemetery wearing clothing smeared in blood. He said to the cops, “I’ve just had a bad day.”
According to testimony given in the London High Court, the couple’s relationship started to deteriorate in late 2019 and was “perhaps precipitated by a text message sent by Suzanne to Leslie by mistake when it had been meant for their handyman.”
The heartbreaking message said, “Are you coming today?” and concluded with a “x.”
He “started to constantly accuse Suzanne not just of cheating but also of attempting to poison him” when the spring 2020 lockdown began, the court heard.
He approached the family’s handyman in August of that year, beating him with a crowbar before breaking windows and fleeing.
Due to decreased culpability, Winnister pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to an indefinite hospital order of confinement.
Winnister and Suzanne’s seven beneficiaries, including her mother Sheila, nephew James Higgins, and close friend Beverley Johnson, were on opposite sides of the High Court dispute.
Winnister would receive Suzanne’s inheritance, which was estimated to be worth between £2 million and £2.5 million, according to her 2013 will, despite the fact that some of her assets were held in their combined names.
For Winnister, Owen Curry highlighted that persons who have been found guilty of murder or manslaughter are often not permitted to inherit from their victims or make money off of their crimes.
However, there is a provision in the 1982 Forfeiture Act that allows this regulation to be changed in unusual circumstances.
The defense attorney claimed that given Winnister’s relatively modest degree of culpability, his case is particularly “unique.”
If the standard forfeiture laws had been in place, Leslie’s niece Kathryn Cox, great-niece Isabelle Cox, and his nephew Daniel Andrews would have received a portion of Suzanne’s fortune together with her mother Sheila, nephew James Higgins, and longtime friend Beverley Johnson.
However, attorneys came to an agreement that, subject to the judge’s permission, would see Winnister get a portion of his wife’s inheritance based on a 17.5% share of all her heirs’ legacies, with the exception of her mother and nephew.
The childless couple was extraordinarily affluent, and while it is unclear how much Suzanne’s inheritance is worth, the court heard that it might be worth up to £2.5 million (subject to taxes and administrative fees).
Winnister is wealthy even by his own standards; he has assets worth over £1 million. Mr. Curry acknowledged that Winnister had “substantial riches of his own,” but he told the court that he just wants a modest share of his late wife’s money.
Additionally, he urged the court to fully consider Winnister’s insane condition, contending that despite the terrible and startling nature of the death, Winnister had little to no responsibility for what transpired.
His low degree of responsibility was acknowledged by the sentencing court since “his offence was totally or nearly entirely related to his mental condition.”
Leslie erroneously believed that Suzanne and (the handyman) were having an affair, according to attorney William East, who was defending Suzanne’s mother and nephew in the High Court case.
Although mental illness was the primary element that might be linked to the killing, both the prosecution and defense specialists in the criminal procedures recommended that Leslie understood what he was doing and that it was wrong, according to Mr. East.
Chief Master Karen Shuman of the High Court found that Winnister is entitled to the predetermined share of his wife’s wealth.
He will get more than £200,000 in property and bank accounts, but the exact sum has not yet been determined.
According to testimony given in court, Suzanne’s seven heirs would get the remainder of her wealth.
At a later time, the judge will explain why she approved the deal.
Several of Mrs. Winnister’s loved ones gave heartfelt victim impact statements to the court during Winnister’s sentence last year.
According to Mr. Cox, the recollection of finding her corpse is still “imprinted on his consciousness” and will be with him the rest of his life.
He said, “I am furious with Les and the destruction he has brought upon his family.”
“My children lost an uncle in addition to an aunt,” I said.
“I’m hoping Les would see the seriousness of his actions on those who knew and cared for Suzanne.
She didn’t deserve what was done to her, regardless of what.
»BT chief wins court fight to recover part of wife’s £2.5m estate«