Lee-on-the-Solent man who stabbed ex to demise at son’s grave waited there for 5 hours

A sailor has been locked up for life and must serve at least 27 years behind bars for the “evil” killing of his former wife after lurking in wait for her for five hours at a graveyard before knifing her to death at their son’s burial site.

Martin Suter, from Lee-on-the-Solent, admitted to murdering 71-year-old Ann Blackwood at Crofton Cemetery in Stubbington, Hampshire, on July 24 2023, which marked what would have been the 36th birthday of their son Christopher.

The 68-year-old, dressed in a beige suit and striped tie during proceedings, also received a sentence for the indecent assault of a girl under 14, to which he had pleaded guilty in May 2023 at Manchester Crown Court.

Handing down the sentence to Suter, who remained expressionless, at Portsmouth Crown Court, Judge Michael Bowes KC declared: “No sentence I can pass can compensate Ann Blackwood’s family and friends for their devastating loss.”

The judge told Suter: “Christopher’s death was a tragic loss but cannot reduce in any way your culpability for the murder of his mother.”

He continued: “You brutally murdered Ann Blackwood in the most cruel and agonising way you could by stabbing her to death on her son’s grave, and this is rightly characterised by her family and friends as an act of wickedness.”

Suter received a sentence of 27 years and 109 days for the murder conviction and an extra 121 days for the indecent assault conviction. In a victim impact statement delivered to the court, Ms Blackwood’s brother John Blackwood declared: “The fact that such wickedness can exist and be perpetrated by one human being on another is alien to us and totally beyond our comprehension.

“She was an affable, inoffensive person, easy-going, gregarious, with many friends. Her shocking and brutal death has sorely impacted many people, her immediate family and wider circle of friends.”

Robert O’Sullivan KC, for the prosecution, highlighted a “significant degree of planning” and stated: “The defendant armed himself with a large kitchen knife from his home address and he took it with him to the cemetery that morning while he laid in wait to attack Ann Blackwood, rightly anticipating she would visit her son’s grave that day.”

He explained that Suter launched his assault on Ms Blackwood following her arrival by bicycle as she approached their son’s grave.

Mr O’Sullivan revealed that a coroner determined Christopher’s death in 2003 was accidental, and the former couple, who had two children and previously resided in Stockport, Greater Manchester, divorced in 2004.

Mr O’Sullivan continued: “The defendant stabbed her in the back with a kitchen knife and, the blade having broken off, he repeatedly stabbed her in the neck with a pair of scissors that she had brought with her to cut the flowers she had planned to put on her son’s grave.”

The court was told that Suter inflicted 19 stab wounds to Ms Blackwood’s neck and shoulder using the scissors. He stated that at 3.39pm, Suter rang 999 and informed police: “I have just murdered someone, I have just killed my ex-wife, I have just stabbed her to death.”

Mr O’Sullivan revealed that the call-handler described Suter as appearing “calm” during the conversation and continued: “He said his life had been ruined by the deceased and he blamed her for his son’s suicide.”

The prosecutor explained that Suter then phoned his second wife, Diane, and confessed he had murdered Ms Blackwood and, referencing the indecent assault conviction, declared: “I know I am going to prison, I may as well go for this.”

He noted that Suter told worried bystanders who offered assistance: “It’s been 40 years, I couldn’t take it any more.”

Suter had received diagnoses of autism and depression, he mentioned. Mr O’Sullivan also stated: “The defendant hasn’t expressed any genuine remorse, he still contests he committed the crime of murder.”

He continued: “Ann Blackwood was particularly vulnerable by combination of her age, the fact that she was attacked by surprise and from behind, and she was attacked at a peaceful location where she would expect to be safe.”

Jodie Mittell KC, defending, argued: “It may be difficult for someone with the autism diagnoses to demonstrate or for remorse to be assessed.”

The family of devout Ms Blackwood, a resident of Lee-on-the-Solent, expressed their grief in a statement issued via Hampshire Constabulary following her demise: “Her daughter, brothers, their families and all her friends are absolutely devastated by the loss of Ann Blackwood.

“A loving, caring, kind-hearted mother and friend who was very popular in her local community, she was enjoying her retirement with an active lifestyle which included tennis, sailing, cycling and music.”