Yachting Enthusiast Convicted in Brutal Graveside Killing
A yachting enthusiast has been told he will likely spend at least 25 years in prison for murdering his ex-wife in a brutal attack at their late son's graveside. Martin Suter, 68, was ruled to have acted deliberately when he took a 12-inch kitchen knife to Crofton Cemetery in Stubbington, Hampshire, to attack sailor Ann Blackwood, 71, in July 2023.
Premeditated Ambush at Son's Grave
Despite having already admitted murder, Suter sought more lenient sentencing by claiming he hadn't intended to kill his ex-wife and had only brought the knife to cut flowers. However, Judge Michael Bowes KC at Portsmouth Crown Court rejected this explanation, stating Suter had taken the knife "with the intention of committing an offence or having it available to use as a weapon."
The court heard how Suter "laid in wait" for five hours at the cemetery, timing his attack to coincide with the anniversary of their son Christopher's birthday. Christopher had died by suicide in 2003.
Frenzied Attack and Immediate Aftermath
The attack was described as particularly vicious. Suter initially stabbed Ms Blackwood in the back with the kitchen knife with such force that the blade broke off inside her body. He then "finished her off" by repeatedly slashing her neck with a pair of scissors she had brought to trim memorial flowers, inflicting 19 separate stab wounds to her neck.
Following the murder, Suter calmly called police, stating "I have just killed my ex-wife" before blaming her for their son's suicide. He subsequently called his second wife, Diane Suter, to inform her that "he had just murdered Ann and that the knife had broken in her."
Judge Bowes concluded that the circumstances "fall within the guidelines which mean that the starting point is 25 years imprisonment." A formal sentencing hearing is scheduled for November 21.
