CCTV footage has shown the killer of Gracie Spinks loading his car and travelling to the location where he fatally stabbed her and is then believed to have taken his own life.
Michael Sellers, 35, was found by a jury to have unlawfully killed Ms Spinks, 23, by stabbing her 10 times as she tended to her horse at Blue Lodge Farm, Duckmanton, Derbyshire, on June 18 2021.
The inquest into Ms Spinks’ death, which concluded on Thursday, heard that Sellers had become “obsessed” with her after the pair met at work in 2020 and was reported to police over stalking concerns.
After killing Ms Spinks, Sellers’ body was found 150 metres away, with coroner Matthew Kewley telling Chesterfield Coroner’s Court that he appeared to have inhaled helium.
In footage released by Derbyshire Police, Sellers can be seen driving around the area of Blue Lodge Farm and Ms Spinks’ home the day before her death.
In the early hours of June 18, he can be seen placing a large box in his car, before driving around the area of Ms Spinks’ home and returning home.
Later that morning, at around 6:15am, he was seen placing a large holdall in his car, before leaving his home at around 6:30am.
He is seen arriving at Tom Lane, near Blue Lodge Farm, at around 6:50am, with Ms Spinks arriving at the same location around an hour later. It is believed she was attacked at around 8:10am.
The inquest heard that after meeting Sellers at work, Ms Spinks saw him socially but later declined to pursue a romantic relationship.
But Sellers would then watch Ms Spinks on company CCTV, force colleagues to give him information about her activities and would repeatedly contact her against her wishes, which left her feeling “uncomfortable”, the court heard.
Eight women had previously complained about Sellers’ inappropriate conduct towards them before Ms Spinks reported him to their employer after he was seen waiting in a lay-by near Blue Lodge Farm in January 2021.
After he was dismissed for gross misconduct, she reported him to the police, with her 101 call played to the jury.
But he was only ever graded low-risk and given words of advice, despite falsely claiming that the pair were in a relationship.
On May 6 2021, a brown holdall – later found to belong to Sellers – was found on a bridle path near Blue Lodge Farm by a dog walker.
The bag contained knives, an axe, a hammer, Viagra and a note saying “Don’t lie”, but police took no action, deeming it more likely to be connected with a sex act, theatrics or woodwork, and allocated it as found property.
No further investigative work was undertaken in relation to the items, despite a Marks & Spencer receipt in the bag being traceable to one of Sellers’ relatives.
Derbyshire Police admitted multiple failings in relation to how they dealt with Ms Spinks’ complaint, and how they investigated the bag of weapons.
The inquest jury concluded that the serious failings occurred, but was told by Mr Kewley that it could not conclude whether the failings contributed to Ms Spinks’ death.
