Karl Bluestone

Case details

Karl Bluestone was a Gravesend police officer.

Timeline

• 28 August 2001 — Karl Bluestone attacked his family at the family home in Gravesend, Kent, killing his wife and two children with a claw hammer and injuring two other infant children, before hanging himself in the garage with rope he had bought earlier that day.
• 29 August 2001 — A report stated that officers were called to a semi-detached house in Kent following reports of a domestic incident and found Jill Bluestone and children dead in separate rooms.
• 30 August 2001 — A report stated that police said Karl Bluestone had previously been arrested over a domestic dispute in June 1999 when one of his children was accidentally injured as things were thrown across the room.
• 7 November 2001 — A coroner recorded verdicts of suicide on Constable Karl Bluestone and unlawful killing on his wife Jill and sons Henry and Chandler.
• 6 November 2001 — A report described the inquest in Gravesend County Court, Kent, including the recorded verdicts and testimony.
• 7 September 2001 — The funeral of Jill Bluestone and brothers Henry and Chandler took place in Middlesbrough.

The offence

Karl Bluestone murdered his wife, Jill Bluestone, 31, and two pre-school children, Henry and Chandler, at their home in Gravesend, Kent.

The killings were carried out with a claw hammer. Detectives said no gun was used in the killings but that a blunt weapon of some kind had been used. Officers recovered a weapon from the scene for examination as part of the post-mortem.

The inquest described the injuries as 13 hammer wounds to the back of Jill Bluestone’s head and an injury to the neck from the claw end of the claw hammer. Henry was found dead at the bottom of the hallway stairs with 10 wounds to his head. Chandler was found lying in a cot and had suffered six fatal blows to his forehead and died later at Darent Valley hospital in Dartford.

The couple’s two other infant children were injured but survived the attack. Jack, eight, was described as in a critical but stable condition in hospital at one stage; Jessica, seven, escaped with only minor injuries.

The attack took place after Jill Bluestone told Karl Bluestone she was leaving and taking the children with her. It was described as occurring after Karl Bluestone returned home after a drink with colleagues and began an argument by saying, “I heard about you today”. After pausing long enough to watch “The Bill” on television, he resumed the row which turned violent.

The inquest included an account from Jessica, who said: “Help, my daddy is trying to hurt me.” At the same time, Ernest Lane told the hearing that he saw a child knocking frantically and that she said: “My daddy is hitting my mummy. Please call the police”.

Jessica also told paramedics: “Daddy smashed my head against the wooden floor. Mummy and Daddy had been rowing and he had hit her over the head and she had a hammer in her head.” She added: “He [Bluestone] hit mummy on the head and that is why mummy and daddy are asleep and will not wake up.”

At the inquest, Jessica testified: “Daddy banged my head on the wooden floor, I cannot get mummy out of my mind. She had blood coming out of her neck. I don't want daddy to kill mummy.”

Suicide and aftermath at the scene

After the killings, Karl Bluestone went into the garage at the rear of the three-bedroom house in Gravesend and hanged himself with a piece of rope. He was wearing casual clothes when he was found dead in a detached garage. He was 36.

There were several marks on his arms, indicating that Jill Bluestone put up a fight.

Officers found one body upstairs and one downstairs, with all the curtains drawn when they entered the house. The children were dressed for bed when officers found them.

Investigation

After officers arrived following neighbour reports of a domestic incident, forensic experts combed the house for clues. Forensic officers used a technique known as “blood patterning” to determine who was killed first and where the blows were directed.

Detectives said they were treating the incident as a murder-suicide. They said the rope was purchased earlier that same day, and it was also possible that Karl Bluestone was contemplating suicide.

Arrests and prior domestic issues

It was stated that Karl Bluestone had been arrested for domestic violence in 1994 and 1999, though no charges had been brought. It was also stated that, in June 1999, he was arrested at the home following a domestic dispute when one of his children was accidentally injured as things were thrown across the room.

Kent Police stated that the June 1999 incident resulted in a breach of the peace and did not result in any charges. The inquest material stated that his wife refused to pursue the allegation, but an advisory file was sent to the Crown Prosecution Service as one of the children had been injured during the fight, and no disciplinary action had been brought over the incident.

During the second arrest, Karl Bluestone swallowed a bottle of pills in the back of a police car, and his stomach was pumped at hospital.

Karl Bluestone had taken time off sick, and Kent Police reassigned him to a unit dealing with the prevention of criminal damage, which targeted children.

Family relationships and background described at the time

The couple had a stormy marriage and both had affairs while running up debts of over twenty-five thousand pounds. Jill Bluestone worked full-time with Basildon Council and earned far more than her husband.

Jill Bluestone’s family included connections described as being from Middlesbrough. Jill and her four children were members of the local Methodist congregation.

The inquest and related reporting described Karl Bluestone as having had violence toward Jill in the past. He was described as having kicked Jill in the stomach when she was pregnant, threatened her with a meat cleaver, and smashed the back windscreen of her Mercedes on another occasion. It was also stated that in June he had throttled his wife until she lost consciousness. Jill also told a friend that Karl Bluestone said: “There is no divorce – the only way out is death”.

The inquest materials stated that Karl Bluestone recorded Jill’s telephone calls on a mini-disc in the days leading up to the final attack while he increasingly believed she was having an affair. It was also said that Jill suspected he spent Christmas with another woman and that she discovered an affair at work and confronted him over the phone.

Coroner’s inquest and verdicts

A coroner, Roger Hatch, investigated the four deaths and held a full inquest. The inquest recorded verdicts of suicide on Constable Karl Bluestone and unlawful killing on his wife Jill and sons Henry and Chandler.

The inquest was heard at Gravesend County Court, Kent.

Det Ch Insp Murray gave an opinion: “It is my belief, having killed his wife and two children, Karl then took his own life. The evidence suggests the rope was purchased earlier that same day and whilst this may have been for moving it's also possible that Karl was contemplating suicide.”

The coroner said: “Whilst it cannot explain the tragedy, it perhaps gives an insight into Karl Bluestone's mind on 28 August,”

Quotations

Jessica, who fled and alerted neighbours, said: “Help, my daddy is trying to hurt me.”

Ernest Lane told the hearing: “I saw a child knocking frantically on the glass door and saw that it was Jessica Bluestone from next door. She said: 'My daddy is hitting my mummy. Please call the police'.”

Jessica, as reported to paramedics, said: “Daddy smashed my head against the wooden floor. Mummy and Daddy had been rowing and he had hit her over the head and she had a hammer in her head.”

Jessica added: “He [Bluestone] hit mummy on the head and that is why mummy and daddy are asleep and will not wake up.”

Jessica told a neighbour: “I cannot get mummy out of my mind.

At the inquest, the testimony from Jessica also included: “Daddy banged my head on the wooden floor, I cannot get mummy out of my mind.

Karl Bluestone’s warning recorded by police officer testimony included: “There is no divorce – the only way out is death”.

Victims and survivors

Deceased

• Jill Bluestone, 31
• Henry, three
• Chandler, 18 months

Surviving children

• Jack, eight
• Jessica, seven

Other details

Karl Bluestone joined Kent Police in 1987. He went to work as normal on the day before the killings and was due at work at 8am. He was part of a rural tactical unit used to target specific crimes in north Kent, such as criminal damage or vandalism, but was not a firearms officer.

It was stated that the family home address was Marling Way, Gravesend.

The family’s Mitsubishi Shogun was parked in the drive.

The first officers to arrive found Jill Bluestone’s body on the kitchen floor. Jill Bluestone was described as being found at about 2230 BST.

The funeral of Jill Bluestone and Henry and Chandler took place at Nunthorpe Methodist Church in Middlesbrough. A single hearse carried all three coffins, closely followed by two cars carrying family members. The service was led in by the Reverend Helen Jobling.

Reverend Helen Jobling said: “We are here to give thanks to God for three members of the family who were special - Jill, Henry and Chandler.”

During the service, Reverend Helen Jobling said: “Happy lad”.

Reverend Helen Jobling also said: “Born just 18 months ago [Chandler] was a quiet little boy. He was discovering words and discovering his feet. He had just started walking. “Henry, three years old, a lively happy little lad. He loved his gingerbread boy story book, and playing with his cars. “Henry with a little stammer so you waited for the words - and they always came. “Two lovely children and their mother Jill.”

Reverend Helen Jobling said: “This mother and her two children have met a tragic death. “You have your own special thoughts and memories of them. They will help to sustain you and perhaps in time help to soften your grief.”

Reverend Helen Jobling said: “These last 10 days have been so hard for you. But you have come through it. You have shown courage. Private ceremony”.

Reverend Helen Jobling said: “It is still going to be difficult, you know that. But you will have the support of your family and friends. “Vitality of the children among you will keep you looking forward and the love of God in Jesus will give you strength.”

After the church service, the three coffins were taken out to the hearse and on to Teesside Crematorium for a private family ceremony.

It was also reported that funeral arrangements for Karl Bluestone had not yet been released.

Local residents left floral tributes, teddy bears and personal messages outside the house in Marling Way. One message carried the words: “Jessica, I hope you get better soon.”

A woman described as a former nanny, Julia Williams, 34, said she was “devastated”. She said: “There was no way of seeing this coming. “Things go on at homes behind closed doors which you do not know about, but I did not for one minute think Karl was capable of this. “They seemed to be the perfect family, with two highly successful parents and four lovely children.”

A neighbour, Marion Jones, 60, said: “It has not really been talked about amongst the neighbours since because this is the sort of street where people respect each others privacy.”

A Kent Police Federation chairman, Graham Smerdon, said: “It is with great sadness that we heard of the tragic news surrounding our colleague Karl Bluestone and his family. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the surviving children and other members of the respective families and friends, and also Karl's fellow officers who were called upon to deal with this incident.”

A Kent Police spokeswoman said: “The seven-year-old girl had knocked on their door in a very distressed state and they took her in and called the police. Our officers came round expecting to find a domestic. They were obviously not expecting what they found. “They were faced with a horrific scene. The victims were in different rooms in the house.”