Stephen Alderton: Grandfather jailed for life after double murder ‘executions’ over boy’s custody
A man who shot dead his daughter’s ex-partner and her ex-partner’s father over the custody of his grandson has been sentenced to life in prison.
Stephen Alderton, 67, was sentenced at Cambridge Crown Court to life in prison with a minimum term of 25 years for the murders of father and son Gary Dunmore, 57, and Joshua Dunmore, 32.
He shot them dead in two villages six miles apart in Cambridgeshire in March this year using a Beretta shotgun.
Judge Mark Bishop described their murders as an “execution”.
He added: “You took the decision to take the law into your own hands and end the lives of two innocent men.”
Gary (left) and Joshua Dunmore
Alderton, of no fixed address, was arrested by armed officers on a motorway hours after the shooting.
He told police at the time that “sometimes you have to do what you have to do even if it’s wrong in the eyes of the law”, according to prosecutor Pater Gair.
‘Always a plan B’
The court heard how Joshua Dunmore and Alderton’s daughter, Samantha Stephen, had split shortly after the birth of their son.
In 2020, she remarried an American national who served with the US Air Force.
Stephen Alderton’s Beretta shotgun
When he was redeployed back to the US, the couple asked the family courts for permission to bring the child with them.
However, Joshua opposed the application and on 27 March – two days before the shootings – the court made an interim ruling the child could not be taken out of the country, Mr Gair said.
Prior to the ruling, Alderton had written in text messages that he would “override any court decision” and that there was “always a plan B”.
‘I don’t know what happened to me’
Alderton, a former chartered quantity surveyor, shot the two men with his Beretta shotgun on 29 March this year.
He killed Joshua at his home in Bluntisham, and Gary at his home six miles away in Sutton, Cambridgeshire.
The court heard how Alderton, a widower who was living in a motorhome at the time, had later written a letter in which he said he was “not the person” the court battle had “driven me to become”.
A bag of shotgun pellets found in the motorhome where Stephen Alderton was living at the time of his arrest
Used shotgun pellets
“I’ve never been a violent person, I do not have a criminal record,” he wrote.
“I’ve been a respectable, law-abiding citizen all my life.
“What happened to me on 29 March, I do not know.”
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Alderton pleaded guilty to both murders at an earlier hearing.
In sentencing, Judge Bishop said Alderton carried out the killings over his “distorted beliefs” about the family court proceedings “following what was an interim and not final hearing on 27 March”.
As Alderton was led down to the cells, a family member of the two dead men swore and shouted “rot in prison”, which was followed by brief applause.
‘Devoted father and loving uncle’
The family of Gary and Joshua Dunmore made no comment following Alderton’s sentencing on Monday.
They previously paid tribute to the “devoted” father and son in a statement released by police.
“Josh was a devoted father and a loving uncle,” they said.
“He was a wonderful son and brother and leaves behind an extensive group of family and friends. He will be deeply missed and the devastation this has caused will never heal.
“Gary was the most devoted son, brother, dad, and grandad, who gave everything for those he loved.
“He was a gentle and generous person who always put others before himself, and he’ll be massively missed by his family and all those who knew and loved him.”
A workman saved a seven-year-old boy from a burning car in the aftermath of a deadly crash caused by a suicidal ex-pilot, an inquest has heard.
The schoolboy’s rescue came following the collision on the M6, which killed former RAF man Richard Woods and four others, in October last year.
Last week a coroner ruled that Woods, 40, took his own life by deliberately driving his Skoda the wrong way down the motorway while drunk and hitting a Toyota Yaris head-on.
The driver of the Toyota, Jaroslaw Rossa, 42, was also killed, along with his two sons, Filip, 15, and Dominic, seven, and his partner Jade McEnroe, 33.
Cockermouth Coroner’s Court heard on Thursday that Ms McEnroe’s son was also in the car but survived after workman Gavin Walsh came to his rescue at the scene, which was near Tebay services in Cumbria.
In a statement to the inquest, Mr Walsh said he was a passenger in a transit van travelling to Scotland when he witnessed the crash.
He jumped out of the vehicle and used a jack to smash the rear windscreen of the Toyota and pulled the boy out of the burning vehicle.
Mr Walsh said: “We really did try, I can assure everyone we did our best. We only had minimal time.
“I saved a life that day and I hope never to witness anything like that again.”
He added that he has never stopped thinking about the boy, and said: “I hope we will meet again one day and I will give you a massive hug.”
At the time, the family were returning to Glasgow from a trip to Legoland in Windsor, Berkshire.
The inquest heard that Wood, who was travelling at a speed of at least 65mph, would have been charged with manslaughter had he survived.
Recording conclusions of unlawful killing, Cumbria assistant coroner Margaret Taylor said: “I found that Jaroslaw, Jade, Filip and Dominic died as a consequence of the unlawful acts of another driver.”
The inquest heard how Mr Woods, from Cambridgeshire, had served a distinguished 14-year career in the RAF and was a flight instructor for BAE Systems at the time of his death.
Jade McEnroe. Pic: Cumbria Constabulary
Dominic and Filip. Pic: Cumbria Constabulary
In Ms Taylor’s record of inquest, Mr Woods was said to have been experiencing “a number of stressors in his life” and had a “history of harmful use of alcohol”.
Following the crash, he was found to be nearly four times over the legal drink-drive limit and a two-thirds empty bottle of gin was found in his car.
On the day of his death, concerns had been raised over his behaviour at a work conference near Preston in Lancashire.
Mr Woods failed to return to his seat after lunch and was later spotted driving erratically and swerving across three northbound carriageway lanes on the M6.
After pulling onto the hard shoulder, he then proceeded to U-turn and drove southward on lane three.
Filip, Dominic and Jaroslaw Rossa. Pic: Cumbria Constabulary
Detective Sergeant Deborah Story, from Cumbria Police, told the inquest that Mr Woods would have been prosecuted on four counts of manslaughter had he lived.
She said hypothetical charges of murder were considered by detectives but not thought appropriate because of a lack of information that Mr Woods knew the family or anything that provided a link between them.
Ms McEnroe’s parents, Marie McEnroe and George McNellis, told the coroner they thought it was “murder”.
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A statement from the mother of Filip and Dominic, and the ex-wife of Mr Rossa, Kamila, was read out at the inquest.
She said Mr Rossa, known as Jarek, was born in Poland where they became a couple and went on to have three boys.
He loved playing computer games and had “lots of friends”, she said, and worked at the Wagamama restaurant in Silverburn, Glasgow.
She said she was “devastated” over the deaths, adding: “Our lives will never be the same.
“I am heartbroken at the passing of my beloved angels Filip and Dominic.”
Marie McEnroe said her daughter, a spa therapist, had been in a relationship with Mr Rossa for about two-and-a-half years.
She said Jade had been a “brilliant mother” to her only child, was “really happy” with Mr Rossa and it was “lovely chaos” when all the boys were playing together.
Ms McEnroe added: “Life changed forever that day”.
Ms Taylor praised the “selfless acts of bravery” from those in the aftermath of the collision, including Mr Walsh, who she said went towards the burning car “without hesitation for his own safety”.
The coroner added: “Without his swift response, Jade’s child would also have perished.”
Addressing the bereaved family members, she said: “Your loss is unimaginable but you have conducted yourself with dignity and I thank you for that. I wish you strength for the future.”
Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK.
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