Former soldier jailed for life for murder of ex-wife and her mother

After two hours of deliberations, a jury found Craig Savage, 35, of no fixed abode, intentionally shot dead Michelle Savage, 32, and Heather Whitbread, 53, at their home in Bexhill Road, St Leonards, on March 16, 2018.

The jury – which contained ten women and two men – at Lewes Crown Court found Savage not guilty of possessing a firearm with the intent to endanger life.

Savage previously pleaded guilty to robbing a range manager at 1066 Target Sports of an M4 semi-automatic .22 calibre rifle on the day of the shootings.

During his trial, Savage told the court he was at fault for the deaths of Ms Savage and Ms Whitbread but denied their murders.

He told the court he had intended to kidnap his ex-wife on March 16 and have the police kill him in front of her in a ‘cop-assisted suicide’ as revenge for her ending their five-year marriage a month before.

However, prosecutors claimed Savage drove to Ms Savage’s address with the intention to kidnap her but when that plan did not work, he decided to ‘execute’ her, her mother and her pet dog Zeus.

The court was previously told, on the day of the shootings, Savage drove from his friend’s house in Uttoxeter to a shooting range at 1066 Target Sports.

While there, Savage robbed Ryan Graves, an employee at the complex, of the rifle used in the shootings at gunpoint before getting in his car and driving ‘slowly’ to the property in Bexhill Road, St Leonards, Savage told the court.

Savage said he fired five shots at the base of a window at the front of the Bexhill Road property and used the muzzle of the rifle to move shards of glass out of the way before climbing in.

At the time, Ms Savage was eating a Chinese takeaway with her mother Ms Whitbread and her sister Raven Whitbread who was then seven months pregnant, the court was told. Ms Savage’s grandmother Patricia Groves was in an annex at the back of the property, jurors were told.

Savage claimed, once inside the house, a struggle ensued with his ex-wife – who he said had ran at him like a rhino once he got into the house – and the gun went off in ‘every direction’.

While Savage was inside the property, 14 shots were fired in four separate groupings, according to ballistics expert Robert Griffiths.

A pathologist found seven shots were fired at Ms Savage - some in a downward trajectory - causing 13 wounds. She was found in the sitting room, the court was told.

Six shots were fired at Ms Whitbread, with most bullets hitting her back, according to the pathologist. The court was told she was found in the hallway.

Both Ms Savage and Ms Whitbread were each found to have a muzzle mark surrounding at least one wound, according to the pathologist, suggesting the rifle was ‘against or close’ to the bodies when it was fired.

One shot was fired at Ms Savage’s dog Zeus, the pathologist concluded.

The court was told Savage was inside the property for approximately three minutes.

In CCTV footage shown to the court during the trial, Savage is seen walking away from the property after the shootings with the rifle in full visibility in his right hand.

Armed police officers who were responding to the robbery from 1066 Target Sports were also seen in the CCTV footage chasing Savage down Bexhill Road and shouting at him shortly after he left the property.

Savage is then seen turning, dropping to a knee and pointing his rifle in the direction of the armed officers.

Prosecutors claimed Savage intended to shoot the police but his gun jammed, before he ran into the car park towards the beach where he was arrested approximately two hours later.

Savage told the court he heard a noise before turning towards the police. He said he hoped officers would shoot him but when they did not he decided to flee the scene to ‘create space’ so an ambulance could attend the two injured women. He denied firing his rifle at police.