A man who led police on a 24-hour manhunt after stabbing his former girlfriend and her autistic son to death in front of a distressed baby, has been convicted of their “brutal” murders.
Daniel Boulton travelled 28 miles on foot from Skegness to the home of his former girlfriend Bethany Vincent and her nine-year-old son Darren Henson in Louth, Lincolnshire, on 31 May last year, where he stabbed them “numerous times”, Lincoln Crown Court heard.
Already subject to a restraining order following a complaint by Ms Vincent, which the court heard he repeatedly ignored, Bolton developed a “hatred” for Darren and “loitered for hours” outside their home in High Holme Road before killing them, the court was told.
After Boulton was convicted of both murders on Tuesday, Mr Justice Pepperall said his intention was to pass sentence the following day, telling Boulton: “There is one sentence in law that I can pass and that will be a sentence of life imprisonment on both counts.”
Thanking the jury for their service on the difficult and “extremely distressing” trial, the judge said: “You have with great calmness listened objectively to the evidence, the arguments and the legal directions. For that you have my very sincere thanks.
“The case you have had to deal with has had real horrors.”
The 30-year-old had admitted to manslaughter on the second day of his trial, in addition to assault with intent to resist arrest, and burglary – but had denied murder.
Boulton, of Alexandra Road, tried to claim he was on “autopilot” at the time of the murders, but jurors dismissed his defence of loss of control and reportedly took less than an hour to find him guilty of both murders.
Dr Pablo Vandenabeele, a psychiatrist instructed by Boulton’s counsel, told jurors that Boulton told him in an interview that “it is like I wasn’t there and autopilot did the job for me”.
Under cross-examination from prosecutor Katherine Goddard QC, Dr Vandenabeele said he believed Boulton lost control “after he picked up the knife”, adding: “The ferocity of the attack, to me, indicates that he lost control of his actions.”
Boulton had previously told a Salvation Army support worker that he wanted to “wipe out the bloodline” of Ms Vincent’s family, the court was told.
The jury heard how the relationship between Boulton and Ms Vincent, who met on Tinder, had “deteriorated” by the end of March 2019, and he was eventually ordered not to contact his ex-partner.
After her first complaint of domestic violence, in November 2020, social services became involved with Ms Vincent and her family, Prosecutor Katherine Goddard QC told jurors, adding: “Their concerns related only to the risk Mr Boulton presented to the family.”
Despite two restraining orders, he “continued to contact Bethany – by telephone, by text message, by social media messages, and by unannounced and uninvited visits to her home” – none of which was sought by Ms Vincent, the prosecution said.
On the weekend of her murder, Boulton sent his ex-partner nearly 900 messages, according to the prosecution, including one which said: “You destroyed my life and have the cheek to say I ruined yours.”
After the double murder, Boulton smoked a cigarette on the back doorstep, Ms Goddard said, telling jurors that witnesses saw him “running from an alleyway leading to the back of” the house, seeming “flushed” and “agitated”, calling for witnesses to call an ambulance as someone had been stabbed inside.
“He then casually walked away, not waiting for the emergency services to arrive,” Ms Goddard said.
When emergency services arrived at the property, a nine-month-old child was seen crawling around the house.
After the killings, Boulton led Lincolnshire Police on a manhunt until the following day, when he allegedly stabbed an off-duty police officer in the leg before being Tasered and arrested at a farm near Louth, the court heard.
While on the run, he was said to have stolen food, alcohol and clothing, and left a note saying: “I, Daniel Boulton, take full responsibility for [the house number where the murders took place].”
Ms Vincent had been due to move to an address unknown to Boulton just days after she and her son were killed, jurors were told.
Additional reporting by PA
