The Crimes

A few drinks get out of hand

The following day, 25 July 2004, Blackwell was at home hanging pictures in his bedroom. His parents had been out for dinner and when they returned home, the family sat down in the living room for a few drinks. The conversation soon became an argument between Blackwell and his father. It turned nasty and Blackwell flew into a rage and began beating his father with the claw hammer he still held in his hand.His mother, who had been in the kitchen, ran into the room holding a carving knife and witnessed her son brutally bludgeoning her husband. She tried to stop Blackwell but he wrestled the knife from her grasp and stabbed her up to 30 times, principally in the chest, killing her. He then returned to his father who was not yet dead and, after holding his hand and telling him he was sorry, stabbed him to death.

After the brutal attack, Blackwell took himself and his girlfriend off on his planned holiday to the United States. The couple stayed for three nights in the presidential suite of The Plaza hotel in New York, dining on truffles and champagne, at a cost of around £2,200. They then travelled to Miami, San Francisco and Barbados. Blackwell spent a total of £30,000 on his father’s credit cards and his behaviour throughout the trip was upbeat and normal. Saba had no inkling that her boyfriend was a murderer and that his victims, his own parents, were lying in pools of blood in their home, as yet undiscovered.Returning to England on 12 August 2004, Blackwell stayed with Saba and her parents, telling them he had been locked out of his own home until his parents returned from their holiday in Majorca. A week later he received his A-Level results from Liverpool College, which included A-grades for mathematics, biology, chemistry and Spanish. He had also been accepted into Nottingham University, to start his course in medicine in October. After receiving his results, Blackwell bumped into his head teacher and they had a lively discussion about Blackwell’s excellent results and his rosy future as a doctor. Once again, there was nothing in Blackwell’s demeanour or behaviour that indicated anything was amiss.Neighbours had not initially missed the Blackwells, as the couple holidayed in Spain on a regular basis. However, on 5th September 2004, a neighbour went to visit and noticed an unpleasant smell emanating from the Blackwell house and notified the police. They arrived immediately and discovered the seriously injured and decomposing bodies. Due to the state of the bodies, police initially believed the couple had been shot. Mr Blackwell was in an armchair in the living room, still clutching his spectacles and Mrs Blackwell’s body had been dragged to the bathroom and left lying face down. The post-mortem examination revealed the Blackwells had been killed sometime in July 2004.