1 00:00:01,723 --> 00:00:04,363 [ominous music] 2 00:00:06,283 --> 00:00:09,323 ♪ "Pretty little thing," he says to me ♪ 3 00:00:09,403 --> 00:00:12,603 ♪ "Pretty little thing" Don't mess with me ♪ 4 00:00:12,683 --> 00:00:15,163 ♪ "Pretty little thing, you're mine now" ♪ 5 00:00:17,043 --> 00:00:19,123 [narrator] John Lowe has welcomed Christine Lee 6 00:00:19,203 --> 00:00:21,163 and her children into the home he shares 7 00:00:21,243 --> 00:00:23,083 with his partner, Sue Wilson. 8 00:00:24,683 --> 00:00:29,163 John Lowe was the closest thing to a father that I ever got. 9 00:00:30,523 --> 00:00:32,763 [narrator] The move is far from conventional. 10 00:00:32,843 --> 00:00:34,763 Christine had obviously been involved 11 00:00:34,843 --> 00:00:36,843 in a romantic relationship with John Lowe, 12 00:00:36,923 --> 00:00:40,723 which was running in parallel with his romantic relationship with Sue. 13 00:00:40,803 --> 00:00:42,763 [narrator] Pressure at the farmhouse mounts. 14 00:00:42,843 --> 00:00:47,323 We got threats, so the idyllic family home is changing. 15 00:00:47,403 --> 00:00:49,283 -[barking] -[narrator] Until breaking point. 16 00:00:53,723 --> 00:00:55,483 ♪ How I love to build you up ♪ 17 00:00:55,563 --> 00:00:58,883 ♪ Just so I can bring you down ♪ 18 00:00:58,963 --> 00:01:01,843 [ominous music] 19 00:01:01,923 --> 00:01:04,443 [heartbeat thudding] 20 00:01:05,203 --> 00:01:08,163 [melancholic music] 21 00:01:09,723 --> 00:01:12,043 [narrator] Teenage sisters Stacy and Lucy Lee 22 00:01:12,123 --> 00:01:14,763 think they're about to live their every dream. 23 00:01:14,843 --> 00:01:17,323 [Stacy] I remember being in my mom's car. 24 00:01:17,403 --> 00:01:21,603 I remember thinking I'm gonna get a puppy. I was so excited. 25 00:01:21,683 --> 00:01:25,603 And we drive into this driveway, 26 00:01:25,683 --> 00:01:29,443 and it looked like Hansel and Gretel's cottage, 27 00:01:29,523 --> 00:01:33,003 and there's monkeys, and there's parrots, 28 00:01:33,083 --> 00:01:36,083 and there's horses, and there's animals everywhere. 29 00:01:36,163 --> 00:01:39,563 It was like being at a really cool zoo. 30 00:01:39,963 --> 00:01:41,843 I loved it. I thought it was magical. 31 00:01:41,923 --> 00:01:44,483 [narrator] Their mom, 32-year-old Christine Lee, 32 00:01:44,563 --> 00:01:48,763 separated from their father and they're moving from London to Surrey. 33 00:01:49,883 --> 00:01:51,803 [Jill] She's setting up home, trying to make a good life 34 00:01:51,883 --> 00:01:53,283 for herself and her daughters, 35 00:01:53,363 --> 00:01:55,403 and one of the ways she tries to do that is to go 36 00:01:55,483 --> 00:01:59,243 and buy a puppy, 'cause we know the joy a puppy can bring in a family home. 37 00:02:00,723 --> 00:02:02,883 [Stacy] I loved dogs. I'd always had dogs. 38 00:02:02,963 --> 00:02:06,123 My granddad had always had dogs. I loved my granddad, I loved the dogs, 39 00:02:06,203 --> 00:02:08,323 so I wanted a German Shepherd. 40 00:02:09,283 --> 00:02:11,483 [narrator] Older sister Lucy wants a puppy too. 41 00:02:11,563 --> 00:02:13,443 The girls are close. 42 00:02:13,523 --> 00:02:16,803 [Sallie] Lucy Lee, she was an incredibly strong creature. 43 00:02:16,883 --> 00:02:19,403 She was somebody that would challenge. 44 00:02:19,483 --> 00:02:21,203 She was described by Stacy 45 00:02:21,283 --> 00:02:24,483 as always being the one to protect her when she was a kid. 46 00:02:25,603 --> 00:02:28,363 And during this experience, they met John Lowe. 47 00:02:29,883 --> 00:02:31,563 [narrator] Fifty-eight-year-old John Lowe 48 00:02:31,643 --> 00:02:34,283 and Sue Wilson have been running the stud farm 49 00:02:34,363 --> 00:02:36,243 at Keepers Cottage for 20 years. 50 00:02:36,323 --> 00:02:39,683 [Jill] Sue was somebody that ran a dog grooming business, 51 00:02:39,763 --> 00:02:42,283 and John Lowe got together in a relationship with Sue, 52 00:02:42,363 --> 00:02:45,683 and together they moved into a farmhouse. 53 00:02:46,723 --> 00:02:48,483 [narrator] The girls meet John and Sue 54 00:02:48,563 --> 00:02:51,123 and leave the farm with a puppy. 55 00:02:51,203 --> 00:02:54,483 Mom Christine leaves with an unexpected proposition 56 00:02:54,563 --> 00:02:55,963 from John Lowe. 57 00:02:56,283 --> 00:02:59,523 He arranged a date with my mom and they went on a date. 58 00:02:59,603 --> 00:03:02,083 [narrator] It's an unlikely turn of events. 59 00:03:02,203 --> 00:03:05,363 I always thought he was a bit old, to be honest with you. 60 00:03:05,443 --> 00:03:08,563 I was like, "Why is she with him? He's so old," because she was lovely, 61 00:03:08,643 --> 00:03:10,843 you know, she was beautiful, she was pretty. 62 00:03:14,323 --> 00:03:16,243 [narrator] After a few months dating John Lowe, 63 00:03:16,323 --> 00:03:19,883 Christine makes a move to provide a kind of normal life. 64 00:03:19,963 --> 00:03:21,363 It seems an odd move, 65 00:03:21,443 --> 00:03:24,203 but in the context of Christine's life, maybe not. 66 00:03:24,283 --> 00:03:27,243 [Jill] We know she's struggling with her mental health. 67 00:03:27,323 --> 00:03:29,683 There's a lot of issues still going on for Christine. 68 00:03:31,603 --> 00:03:35,483 Housing was a problem, debt was a problem, her own wellbeing was a problem, 69 00:03:35,563 --> 00:03:37,603 and here she is with two girls. 70 00:03:38,643 --> 00:03:41,243 [narrator] It's hardly a conventional step, 71 00:03:41,323 --> 00:03:44,203 but she and the children move in with an established couple. 72 00:03:44,283 --> 00:03:46,603 They ended up moving into the farm, 73 00:03:46,683 --> 00:03:49,123 and John Lowe stepping into the position of being, 74 00:03:49,203 --> 00:03:51,243 I suppose, a quasi father, 75 00:03:51,323 --> 00:03:54,883 as the relationship between him and Christine developed. 76 00:03:55,643 --> 00:03:59,203 So John Lowe was the closest thing to a father 77 00:03:59,283 --> 00:04:00,643 that I ever got. 78 00:04:02,283 --> 00:04:06,243 [narrator] At Keepers Cottage, Christine and her daughters find refuge. 79 00:04:06,323 --> 00:04:10,923 It's a vast piece of land, it's pretty remote, 80 00:04:11,003 --> 00:04:14,123 and the farmhouse was sitting within it, 81 00:04:14,203 --> 00:04:17,163 so it'd be quite some way from anybody close by. 82 00:04:17,243 --> 00:04:20,203 [suspenseful music] 83 00:04:20,283 --> 00:04:23,603 [narrator] The new father figure in their lives offers protection. 84 00:04:23,683 --> 00:04:26,723 He was a big man, so he had a real physical presence. 85 00:04:26,803 --> 00:04:30,203 He also had not one, but several guns, 86 00:04:30,283 --> 00:04:33,363 which, again, is a very clear communication of protection. 87 00:04:34,003 --> 00:04:37,123 This is a man that's got a house in the middle of nowhere, 88 00:04:37,203 --> 00:04:41,803 who's got guns, who's got all these protection dogs. 89 00:04:44,723 --> 00:04:46,563 They were in a bubble, their own little world, 90 00:04:46,683 --> 00:04:49,363 and Christine could literally protect her girls 91 00:04:49,443 --> 00:04:52,483 from the horrors outside by actually being in this space 92 00:04:52,563 --> 00:04:54,643 with John and Sue. 93 00:04:54,723 --> 00:04:57,683 [narrator] With John and Sue, Christine feels safe. 94 00:04:57,763 --> 00:05:01,283 She's with other people who are nurturing, who are kind, 95 00:05:01,363 --> 00:05:03,963 compassionate, but also who are very generous, 96 00:05:04,043 --> 00:05:07,203 not only in terms of their time and their attention, 97 00:05:07,283 --> 00:05:09,083 but also financially. 98 00:05:09,763 --> 00:05:12,083 He did so many lovely things for my mom. 99 00:05:12,163 --> 00:05:13,683 He took her out for dinner. 100 00:05:13,763 --> 00:05:17,763 He bought her lovely things and would treat us kindly. 101 00:05:17,843 --> 00:05:20,243 [narrator] John Lowe is not short of money. 102 00:05:20,323 --> 00:05:22,523 The puppy breeding business appears lucrative. 103 00:05:22,603 --> 00:05:25,963 Thousands and thousands of pounds every single week. 104 00:05:26,043 --> 00:05:29,043 There was always money in the cupboard, you know, like stacked up. 105 00:05:29,123 --> 00:05:33,763 John Lowe would pull out £50 notes by the handful. 106 00:05:34,363 --> 00:05:36,963 He liked having money. It made him feel good. 107 00:05:37,723 --> 00:05:41,243 [narrator] And money's not the only perk to living on the farm. 108 00:05:41,323 --> 00:05:42,883 [Stacy] I thought it was magical, the farm, 109 00:05:42,963 --> 00:05:47,123 because if you've got a parrot that's talking back at you, 110 00:05:47,203 --> 00:05:49,443 and you've got monkeys, you know, you've got dogs 111 00:05:49,523 --> 00:05:52,323 that would literally do anything for you, 112 00:05:52,403 --> 00:05:57,163 it's magical because you are getting love from all different angles. 113 00:05:58,043 --> 00:06:01,443 [narrator] The new living arrangement presents advantages for John Lowe, too, 114 00:06:01,523 --> 00:06:03,443 free and willing helpers. 115 00:06:03,963 --> 00:06:06,603 [Stacy] Lucy and I would start about six in the morning. 116 00:06:06,683 --> 00:06:08,683 We'd clean kennels, we'd clean stables, 117 00:06:08,763 --> 00:06:11,923 we'd clean the monkeys, we'd feed the horses, 118 00:06:12,003 --> 00:06:14,243 so we were kept incredibly busy. 119 00:06:15,363 --> 00:06:17,963 [Dr. Babb] He took advantage of these young children, 120 00:06:18,043 --> 00:06:20,283 and actually saw them as extensions of himself, 121 00:06:20,363 --> 00:06:23,323 and objects that he could use for his own game. 122 00:06:23,403 --> 00:06:25,203 [tense music] 123 00:06:25,283 --> 00:06:27,763 [narrator] Things are far from usual at Keepers Cottage, 124 00:06:27,843 --> 00:06:29,963 but the arrangement appears to work. 125 00:06:30,523 --> 00:06:32,763 [Sallie] Christine had obviously been involved 126 00:06:32,843 --> 00:06:36,283 in a romantic relationship with John Lowe, which was running in parallel 127 00:06:36,363 --> 00:06:39,163 with his seemingly romantic relationship with Sue. 128 00:06:40,363 --> 00:06:43,643 [Stacy] Sue was described as the housekeeper, and was for a long time. 129 00:06:43,723 --> 00:06:46,683 It wasn't like Sue was the other woman. 130 00:06:46,763 --> 00:06:48,363 [narrator] But for Jill Barr, 131 00:06:48,443 --> 00:06:50,883 who has a career investigating domestic abuse, 132 00:06:50,963 --> 00:06:52,443 there are red flags. 133 00:06:52,523 --> 00:06:56,443 Is Sue really happy as the so-called housekeeper? 134 00:06:57,083 --> 00:07:00,723 Is this what John said in order to allow and enable Christine 135 00:07:00,803 --> 00:07:03,163 to feel comfortable at beginning to a relationship with him? 136 00:07:03,243 --> 00:07:06,323 Was this a way of John keeping Sue low down, 137 00:07:06,403 --> 00:07:08,003 down below Christine? 138 00:07:08,083 --> 00:07:10,563 He would seem to be controlling the dynamics in that house. 139 00:07:11,123 --> 00:07:14,283 [narrator] The relationship does cause friction between the two women. 140 00:07:14,363 --> 00:07:17,083 I remember Sue was a lot older than my mom, 141 00:07:17,163 --> 00:07:19,003 so she was no competition. 142 00:07:19,083 --> 00:07:21,203 There's like 23 years. 143 00:07:21,283 --> 00:07:24,723 Sue and my mom's relationship was, obviously, 144 00:07:24,803 --> 00:07:28,483 very difficult, as you can imagine. It wasn't a positive relationship, 145 00:07:28,563 --> 00:07:32,003 but my mom decided to stay with John, and that's how it was. 146 00:07:32,083 --> 00:07:34,523 [Jill] There's a lot of issues still going on for Christine, 147 00:07:34,603 --> 00:07:37,483 it would seem that the problems are still ongoing for her. 148 00:07:38,523 --> 00:07:39,803 She's vulnerable. 149 00:07:41,283 --> 00:07:44,163 [suspenseful music] 150 00:07:48,363 --> 00:07:51,603 [narrator] Lucy and Stacy soon witness the darker side 151 00:07:51,683 --> 00:07:53,683 of the puppy farm business. 152 00:07:53,763 --> 00:07:55,283 [suspenseful music] 153 00:07:55,363 --> 00:08:00,483 If an animal was not doing what it was supposed to do, it'd be gone. 154 00:08:00,563 --> 00:08:03,203 [dog barking] 155 00:08:03,283 --> 00:08:06,443 There was no regard for their life, 156 00:08:06,523 --> 00:08:09,923 there was no regard for, actually, that was a lovely, living animal. 157 00:08:10,003 --> 00:08:11,803 He did not care. 158 00:08:13,003 --> 00:08:16,283 [narrator] John Lowe is licensed to own a gun. 159 00:08:16,363 --> 00:08:19,963 In the 1980s, John applied to the local constabulary 160 00:08:20,043 --> 00:08:22,643 for a shotgun, to have a shotgun license, 161 00:08:22,723 --> 00:08:25,883 which given, living on a farm, would seem completely plausible. 162 00:08:25,963 --> 00:08:27,563 [dramatic music] 163 00:08:27,643 --> 00:08:30,843 He would frequently make reference to the need to, 164 00:08:30,923 --> 00:08:34,363 for example, make sure that he could dispose of predators, 165 00:08:34,443 --> 00:08:37,003 so foxes, rats, matters of that sort. 166 00:08:37,082 --> 00:08:39,602 [narrator] But the reason he gives for owning the guns, 167 00:08:39,683 --> 00:08:44,123 controlling rodents and foxes, does not tally with what the girls see. 168 00:08:44,202 --> 00:08:48,643 I never saw him once shoot a rat or a fox ever. 169 00:08:49,963 --> 00:08:51,403 [narrator] Those who know him 170 00:08:51,483 --> 00:08:55,083 suspect that John Lowe is also shooting the dogs. 171 00:08:55,163 --> 00:08:57,203 [Sallie] There was no dignity in death. 172 00:08:57,283 --> 00:09:01,083 The animal would simply be burnt, and so there's that oddity 173 00:09:01,163 --> 00:09:05,803 about the way that he suggested to the authorities 174 00:09:05,883 --> 00:09:07,283 that he would behave with the guns, 175 00:09:07,363 --> 00:09:10,563 and the way that he actually behaved with the guns. 176 00:09:10,643 --> 00:09:15,003 [narrator] And John Lowe is hardly a responsible gun owner. 177 00:09:15,083 --> 00:09:18,683 Guns are supposed to be kept in a sealed cabinet. 178 00:09:18,763 --> 00:09:21,363 John Lowe never did that, so they were always everywhere. 179 00:09:21,443 --> 00:09:23,683 You know, they weren't stored away properly. 180 00:09:23,763 --> 00:09:26,443 There was always shotgun cartridges everywhere in the house. 181 00:09:26,523 --> 00:09:28,723 He just used to like to shoot things. 182 00:09:29,603 --> 00:09:31,203 That's how he looked at animals, 183 00:09:31,283 --> 00:09:34,043 that's how he looked at everything in his life, 184 00:09:34,123 --> 00:09:36,763 if it was of purpose to him. 185 00:09:36,843 --> 00:09:39,763 So Lucy and I were of purpose 186 00:09:39,843 --> 00:09:42,883 because we would clean. 187 00:09:44,443 --> 00:09:47,563 Sue was of purpose 188 00:09:47,643 --> 00:09:51,723 because she would tolerate things. My mom was of purpose 189 00:09:51,803 --> 00:09:54,883 because I think he loved her at one point. 190 00:09:55,923 --> 00:10:00,723 But as soon as something didn't have a purpose, it was dead. 191 00:10:00,803 --> 00:10:03,963 [suspenseful music] 192 00:10:05,443 --> 00:10:08,763 [narrator] Life down on the farm is suddenly not so idyllic. 193 00:10:08,843 --> 00:10:11,163 Lowe takes risks with how he works 194 00:10:11,243 --> 00:10:15,563 and what he asks the girls to do, dangerous risks. 195 00:10:16,403 --> 00:10:17,843 [Stacy] There was one incident 196 00:10:17,923 --> 00:10:22,923 where there was about 12 German Shepherds in a pen. 197 00:10:23,803 --> 00:10:26,963 One of their trap doors had got locked, 198 00:10:27,043 --> 00:10:29,723 and the key was left on the other side, 199 00:10:29,803 --> 00:10:33,883 so I was told that I had to climb over the fence, 200 00:10:34,763 --> 00:10:38,203 go into the pen where all these dogs were, 201 00:10:39,043 --> 00:10:41,803 and some of them were really, really vicious, 202 00:10:42,603 --> 00:10:44,083 so you learn quickly. 203 00:10:44,163 --> 00:10:46,443 [dramatic music] 204 00:10:46,523 --> 00:10:48,443 I felt so good 'cause I managed 205 00:10:48,523 --> 00:10:51,523 to get through the dog hatch through, and I'd done it, 206 00:10:51,603 --> 00:10:54,563 and I got the key, and I didn't get bitten, 207 00:10:54,643 --> 00:10:55,843 and I thought that was normal. 208 00:10:55,923 --> 00:11:00,003 You and I would've maybe seen the red flags differently, 209 00:11:00,083 --> 00:11:02,603 but if we think about where Christine had come from, 210 00:11:02,683 --> 00:11:04,483 the red flags may not have registered 211 00:11:04,563 --> 00:11:07,163 because, in comparison, they were relatively minor. 212 00:11:07,243 --> 00:11:09,163 [barking] 213 00:11:09,243 --> 00:11:10,563 [narrator] The red flags keep coming 214 00:11:10,643 --> 00:11:13,523 over the next six years, and it's not just the animals 215 00:11:13,603 --> 00:11:15,763 that present a danger to the young girls. 216 00:11:15,843 --> 00:11:17,763 [Jill] Then the real John started to show his face. 217 00:11:17,843 --> 00:11:20,923 We've got incidents of abuse, 218 00:11:21,003 --> 00:11:23,003 we've got incidents where the police are called, 219 00:11:23,643 --> 00:11:26,643 we've got threats, we've got all this going on 220 00:11:26,723 --> 00:11:31,083 with quite a short space of time, so the idyllic family home is changing. 221 00:11:31,163 --> 00:11:35,483 [narrator] By the mid '90s, violence is a daily part of the Lee family life, 222 00:11:35,563 --> 00:11:37,963 but they stay on the farm. 223 00:11:39,043 --> 00:11:42,443 She certainly suffered physical assault at his hands. 224 00:11:42,523 --> 00:11:45,443 [suspenseful music] 225 00:11:47,843 --> 00:11:49,803 [narrator] It's not just the girls on the receiving end 226 00:11:49,883 --> 00:11:52,283 of John Lowe's violence and intimidation. 227 00:11:52,923 --> 00:11:55,283 We know that there was a fight between him and Sue, 228 00:11:55,363 --> 00:11:57,323 which resulted in police intervention, 229 00:11:57,403 --> 00:12:00,643 and John actually stating that he wanted to shoot Sue. 230 00:12:01,883 --> 00:12:07,403 All I remember about that time was that Sue never hit John, ever, 231 00:12:07,483 --> 00:12:09,843 but John would hit both my mom and Sue. 232 00:12:09,923 --> 00:12:11,883 [suspenseful music] 233 00:12:11,963 --> 00:12:14,763 She did try to report it, 234 00:12:14,843 --> 00:12:17,443 but he hurt her so many times, 235 00:12:17,523 --> 00:12:18,963 you give up in the end. 236 00:12:19,043 --> 00:12:21,163 [narrator] A report results in an officer requesting 237 00:12:21,243 --> 00:12:24,123 to have Lowe's shotgun taken away, 238 00:12:24,203 --> 00:12:25,883 but the request goes nowhere. 239 00:12:25,963 --> 00:12:27,843 [Stacy] I don't know how he got away with anything 240 00:12:27,923 --> 00:12:31,883 in regards to how he treated animals, how he treated people, 241 00:12:31,963 --> 00:12:33,163 but he got away with it. 242 00:12:33,243 --> 00:12:34,563 [narrator] John Lowe's character 243 00:12:34,643 --> 00:12:36,843 and the standing in the community might explain 244 00:12:36,923 --> 00:12:39,603 why the authorities took no action. 245 00:12:39,683 --> 00:12:42,683 He was like, oh, thought of as a really great guy 246 00:12:42,763 --> 00:12:44,283 in the community. 247 00:12:44,363 --> 00:12:45,883 [Dr. Babb] John probably had a character 248 00:12:45,963 --> 00:12:49,083 that comprised different sides, and he was careful to show 249 00:12:49,163 --> 00:12:50,883 different sides to different people, 250 00:12:50,963 --> 00:12:53,963 so when the police came and he was talking to them, 251 00:12:54,043 --> 00:12:56,923 and Sue actually stated that he wanted to shoot her 252 00:12:57,003 --> 00:12:58,563 or he said he wanted to shoot her. 253 00:12:58,643 --> 00:13:01,123 It seemed at odds with the police officer's idea, 254 00:13:01,203 --> 00:13:02,923 knowledge and experience of John, 255 00:13:03,003 --> 00:13:06,083 and that led them to believe him rather than Sue. 256 00:13:06,163 --> 00:13:08,443 [tense music] 257 00:13:11,003 --> 00:13:13,683 [narrator] Around Christmas in 1997, 258 00:13:13,763 --> 00:13:16,003 Sue receives an ultimatum. 259 00:13:16,083 --> 00:13:18,603 [Jill] Things were changing in that household, 260 00:13:19,163 --> 00:13:22,803 when the issue would appear to be John wants Sue to go. 261 00:13:23,563 --> 00:13:24,843 [Stacy] John wanted her out. 262 00:13:24,923 --> 00:13:29,603 He wanted her gone from the farm, so he gave her some money. 263 00:13:29,683 --> 00:13:32,603 [tense music] 264 00:13:32,683 --> 00:13:37,243 [Jill] And he said there's a place for her to go, you know, a flat. 265 00:13:37,323 --> 00:13:39,283 She doesn't wanna go, and she's saying, 266 00:13:39,363 --> 00:13:41,243 "I put into this. I'm entitled to half," 267 00:13:41,323 --> 00:13:44,203 which John quite clearly does not want to give her. 268 00:13:45,123 --> 00:13:50,003 You have evidence that there had been physical violence done 269 00:13:50,083 --> 00:13:53,603 to the woman who lives in the premises, where guns are kept. 270 00:13:53,683 --> 00:13:56,283 It's not a very healthy situation. 271 00:13:56,363 --> 00:13:58,763 It's got obvious risks. 272 00:13:58,843 --> 00:14:01,523 [suspenseful music] 273 00:14:04,003 --> 00:14:07,203 [tense music] 274 00:14:07,283 --> 00:14:09,283 [narrator] The risks of domestic violence 275 00:14:09,363 --> 00:14:12,843 at Keepers Cottage, and a man licensed to own a gun, 276 00:14:12,923 --> 00:14:16,043 are not picked up by the police back in the 1990s. 277 00:14:16,963 --> 00:14:19,843 [Stacy] They did nothing. They didn't arrest him. 278 00:14:19,923 --> 00:14:21,243 He was let go. 279 00:14:21,323 --> 00:14:25,043 There was no consideration of the women's safety, 280 00:14:25,123 --> 00:14:29,203 there was no consideration of safety full stop, to anything 281 00:14:29,283 --> 00:14:31,723 because as they described him, 282 00:14:31,803 --> 00:14:33,523 he was a diamond in the rough. 283 00:14:33,603 --> 00:14:35,043 [tense music] 284 00:14:35,123 --> 00:14:37,443 [narrator] As the battle for the farmhouse continues 285 00:14:37,523 --> 00:14:40,523 between John and Sue, Christine has problems of her own. 286 00:14:40,603 --> 00:14:45,123 We know that Christine had gone to a GP and was actually taken antidepressants 287 00:14:45,203 --> 00:14:47,523 and had been referred for counseling. 288 00:14:47,603 --> 00:14:51,323 [Stacy] Lucy had bad episodes as well, so did I, 289 00:14:51,403 --> 00:14:55,603 where we'd get terribly depressed about everything 290 00:14:55,683 --> 00:14:57,883 because it was so violent. 291 00:14:58,963 --> 00:15:02,923 They would hide some of it from the normal world 292 00:15:03,003 --> 00:15:07,003 so others wouldn't see it, and try and get on as best they could. 293 00:15:07,083 --> 00:15:09,243 [narrator] Despite the challenges with her mental health, 294 00:15:09,323 --> 00:15:11,323 Christine works hard and tries her best 295 00:15:11,403 --> 00:15:13,603 to be a good mother for Stacy and Lucy. 296 00:15:13,683 --> 00:15:17,283 Christine was always working because she had to 297 00:15:17,363 --> 00:15:19,963 because she was bringing up those two girls on her own. 298 00:15:20,043 --> 00:15:23,523 She was very strong as a woman, 299 00:15:23,603 --> 00:15:26,003 and she was very protective of the girls. 300 00:15:26,083 --> 00:15:28,243 [narrator] Lucy, the oldest sister of the two, 301 00:15:28,323 --> 00:15:30,723 is particularly close to Christine. 302 00:15:30,803 --> 00:15:35,123 She was really kind, really sweet, 303 00:15:35,203 --> 00:15:38,843 very intelligent, very artistic. 304 00:15:38,923 --> 00:15:41,523 She was very, very close to her mom, 305 00:15:41,603 --> 00:15:46,403 whereas Stacy was always the one who would push the boundaries 306 00:15:46,483 --> 00:15:49,483 and want to experience the outside of life. 307 00:15:49,563 --> 00:15:51,923 They were very different girls, 308 00:15:52,003 --> 00:15:53,963 very different personalities. 309 00:15:54,043 --> 00:15:58,043 Lucy was almost like, well, on her mom's aprons, you know? 310 00:15:58,123 --> 00:16:02,763 It felt like that, almost. She would always be by her mom's side. 311 00:16:02,843 --> 00:16:05,643 [suspenseful music] 312 00:16:05,723 --> 00:16:08,643 [dog barking] 313 00:16:08,723 --> 00:16:12,003 [narrator] As the girls grow and spend less time at Keepers Cottage, 314 00:16:12,083 --> 00:16:15,363 Sixty-eight-year-old John Lowe has allowed the puppy farm to slip. 315 00:16:15,443 --> 00:16:17,123 [Jill] There is more complaints from people 316 00:16:17,203 --> 00:16:19,963 about having puppies that aren't being bred correctly, 317 00:16:20,043 --> 00:16:22,683 there's discrepancies in paperwork, 318 00:16:22,763 --> 00:16:25,683 the standards that the puppies are being brought into 319 00:16:25,763 --> 00:16:28,323 are ones that are raising concerns, so we've got the police 320 00:16:28,403 --> 00:16:30,163 being called up to the farm fairly regularly, 321 00:16:30,243 --> 00:16:33,883 and we've also got environmental health, and animal services has been called in. 322 00:16:33,963 --> 00:16:36,283 [dog barking] 323 00:16:36,363 --> 00:16:37,963 [Dr. Babb] And when they were investigated, 324 00:16:38,043 --> 00:16:41,723 the condition of the dogs were seen in various states of neglect. 325 00:16:41,803 --> 00:16:45,963 The dogs were not only neglected, but also kept in inhumane conditions. 326 00:16:46,043 --> 00:16:49,603 [suspenseful music] 327 00:16:49,683 --> 00:16:53,003 [narrator] Alongside investigations by environmental health, 328 00:16:53,083 --> 00:16:57,443 John's Puppy Farm makes national headlines after an undercover investigation. 329 00:16:57,523 --> 00:16:59,803 [Stacy] There was a documentary. 330 00:16:59,883 --> 00:17:01,523 They came in and looked at the farm 331 00:17:01,603 --> 00:17:06,122 and the puppies, et cetera, and John Lowe lost his license 332 00:17:06,203 --> 00:17:08,803 for breeding dogs, and that changed everything. 333 00:17:09,963 --> 00:17:12,642 [narrator] He may have lost his license to breed dogs, 334 00:17:12,723 --> 00:17:15,603 but John retains his license to keep shotguns. 335 00:17:16,083 --> 00:17:20,803 It's difficult to think that the police and the firearms licensing department 336 00:17:20,882 --> 00:17:24,362 would not have been aware of the issues raised by the, 337 00:17:24,443 --> 00:17:27,963 for example, the documentary about him and the puppy farming, 338 00:17:28,043 --> 00:17:31,403 that they didn't seem to join up the dots 339 00:17:31,483 --> 00:17:35,003 that this was a man who had a terrible temper, 340 00:17:35,083 --> 00:17:38,363 who was aggressive, who was volatile, 341 00:17:38,763 --> 00:17:44,643 unpredictable, and who had access to a number of firearms at his disposal. 342 00:17:44,843 --> 00:17:49,203 There's a lot going on now that's starting to maybe unravel this life 343 00:17:49,283 --> 00:17:51,603 that John had envisaged for himself, 344 00:17:51,683 --> 00:17:53,803 and also we've got the dynamics of Christine 345 00:17:53,883 --> 00:17:55,763 and her two daughters being on the farm as well, 346 00:17:55,843 --> 00:17:59,363 so it's a very, very mixed dysfunctional situation that's going on. 347 00:17:59,443 --> 00:18:02,643 [melancholic music] 348 00:18:05,203 --> 00:18:07,123 [narrator] Despite losing his license to breed dogs, 349 00:18:07,203 --> 00:18:09,323 a year later, John Lowe is still selling puppies 350 00:18:09,403 --> 00:18:11,083 at Keepers Cottage Stud. 351 00:18:11,163 --> 00:18:13,723 He was still breeding, he was always breeding. 352 00:18:13,803 --> 00:18:16,163 John was intent to continue what he was doing 353 00:18:16,243 --> 00:18:17,523 because, I think, fundamentally, 354 00:18:17,603 --> 00:18:19,603 he didn't see anything wrong with what he was doing. 355 00:18:19,683 --> 00:18:22,563 [narrator] But Stacy does see something wrong. 356 00:18:22,643 --> 00:18:27,843 Now 30, and with a family of her own, she distances herself from the farm. 357 00:18:27,923 --> 00:18:30,683 I moved away, just stayed away for a bit. 358 00:18:31,683 --> 00:18:33,403 Stacy has seen the flags. 359 00:18:33,483 --> 00:18:35,323 She's no longer happy with the situation 360 00:18:35,403 --> 00:18:37,363 and she's not prepared to endure it anymore. 361 00:18:37,443 --> 00:18:38,643 [narrator] The move causes tension 362 00:18:38,723 --> 00:18:41,443 as Stacy loses touch with Christine and Lucy. 363 00:18:41,523 --> 00:18:43,763 [Stacy] It was really difficult because my mom, 364 00:18:43,843 --> 00:18:46,923 as far as I could see was being used, Lucy was being used, 365 00:18:47,003 --> 00:18:49,723 I'd been used, and I didn't wanna know. 366 00:18:49,803 --> 00:18:52,683 I'd got my children and I'd had enough. 367 00:18:52,763 --> 00:18:57,283 I don't want my children around men that shout at women. 368 00:18:57,363 --> 00:18:59,243 I do not want it. 369 00:18:59,323 --> 00:19:02,603 I learned to cope so much better 370 00:19:02,683 --> 00:19:06,123 because I basically thought, "I'm not doing this anymore. 371 00:19:06,203 --> 00:19:08,283 I'm not being someone's slave, or used, 372 00:19:08,363 --> 00:19:11,923 or not being paid, or being told what to do, no." 373 00:19:12,003 --> 00:19:14,723 [narrator] With no license to breed dogs within the law, 374 00:19:14,803 --> 00:19:18,723 and a family in turmoil, John Lowe is on the brink of ruin. 375 00:19:18,803 --> 00:19:21,403 [Dr. Babb] And this must have been devastating for John. 376 00:19:21,483 --> 00:19:25,283 His control on his little sanctuary, if you like, was slowly slipping. 377 00:19:25,363 --> 00:19:28,683 [narrator] Stacy is worried about what Lowe will do next. 378 00:19:28,763 --> 00:19:33,043 So to take someone's power away with any abuser, 379 00:19:33,123 --> 00:19:36,643 and his power was to make money and breed dogs, 380 00:19:36,723 --> 00:19:38,883 to take that away from him was dangerous. 381 00:19:38,963 --> 00:19:42,843 [suspenseful music] 382 00:19:42,923 --> 00:19:46,483 [narrator] By 2009, John Lowe has been prosecuted twice 383 00:19:46,563 --> 00:19:49,403 in relation to the dogs at Keepers Cottage Stud. 384 00:19:49,483 --> 00:19:52,203 He's got no regard, clearly, for authority, 385 00:19:52,283 --> 00:19:53,763 because around the same time, 386 00:19:53,843 --> 00:19:56,363 he's put in planning permission and that was declined. 387 00:19:56,443 --> 00:19:57,563 What does John do? 388 00:19:57,643 --> 00:20:00,363 Ignores it all, carries on doing what John wants to do 389 00:20:00,443 --> 00:20:03,003 'cause it's about John. Everything is about John. 390 00:20:03,083 --> 00:20:05,123 John needs to get his needs met. 391 00:20:05,203 --> 00:20:08,203 We know that in addition to the conditions on the puppy farm, 392 00:20:08,283 --> 00:20:11,123 he was also prosecuted for theft of a dog. 393 00:20:11,203 --> 00:20:13,763 And so we can see that he was a shady character 394 00:20:13,843 --> 00:20:18,443 that would go to any length necessary in order to ensure that his puppy farm 395 00:20:18,523 --> 00:20:21,563 and his reputation as a breeder would stand. 396 00:20:21,643 --> 00:20:25,123 [barking] 397 00:20:25,203 --> 00:20:28,123 [narrator] Mandy Farance later manages a reptile rescue 398 00:20:28,203 --> 00:20:31,843 at Keepers Cottage and witnesses John's illegal activity. 399 00:20:31,923 --> 00:20:33,523 [Mandy] There was a few times at the farm 400 00:20:33,603 --> 00:20:37,363 that we'd go in in the morning and he'd put the male in with the females. 401 00:20:37,443 --> 00:20:40,563 He was basically, "This is my land, I'll do what I like on it, 402 00:20:40,643 --> 00:20:42,723 and if you don't like it, go away." 403 00:20:42,803 --> 00:20:45,843 [suspenseful music] 404 00:20:47,043 --> 00:20:49,203 [narrator] Sue, still living at Keepers Cottage, 405 00:20:49,283 --> 00:20:50,443 is in declining health. 406 00:20:51,003 --> 00:20:53,523 [Sallie] Sue was living, at a stage of her life 407 00:20:53,603 --> 00:20:57,683 when she was very unwell, in conditions of real squalor. 408 00:20:57,763 --> 00:21:00,883 There were mattresses on the floors. It was unsanitary. 409 00:21:00,963 --> 00:21:02,483 That's the best way of describing it. 410 00:21:02,563 --> 00:21:05,363 And it's really, I think, that which took Stacy 411 00:21:05,443 --> 00:21:07,563 back to the farm on a rather more permanent basis. 412 00:21:07,643 --> 00:21:09,963 [narrator] Stacy feels the need to help Sue 413 00:21:10,043 --> 00:21:11,483 and returns to Keepers Cottage, 414 00:21:11,563 --> 00:21:16,043 a place that has changed dramatically in the five years since she's been gone. 415 00:21:16,123 --> 00:21:19,803 [Stacy] It was run down, it was dirty, it needed cleaning, 416 00:21:19,883 --> 00:21:24,003 it needed basic stuff, painting, carpets cleaned, 417 00:21:24,083 --> 00:21:26,603 new kitchen, all of those sorts of things. 418 00:21:27,323 --> 00:21:29,563 [narrator] It was a difficult situation for Stacy. 419 00:21:29,643 --> 00:21:32,763 She was close to Sue after spending so many years with her. 420 00:21:32,843 --> 00:21:35,643 [Mandy] It was an almost surrogate mother type thing. 421 00:21:35,723 --> 00:21:36,803 She loved Sue to bits, yeah. 422 00:21:36,883 --> 00:21:38,923 She's somebody that was intent on making sure 423 00:21:39,003 --> 00:21:42,123 that Sue, who she regarded as second mother, 424 00:21:42,203 --> 00:21:46,163 should not end her life in the squalor that Stacy found her in. 425 00:21:47,123 --> 00:21:49,723 [narrator] John Lowe soon slips into old habits 426 00:21:49,803 --> 00:21:51,763 in his relationship with Stacy. 427 00:21:52,723 --> 00:21:56,163 His temper was terrible. It was so erratic. 428 00:21:56,243 --> 00:21:59,243 [Mandy] I didn't like the way he spoke to Stacy or the way he treated her. 429 00:21:59,323 --> 00:22:03,843 It was a bit slave-like. "This needs cleaning, this needs doing." 430 00:22:03,923 --> 00:22:07,243 One day he could be nice as pie, but then 10 minutes later, 431 00:22:07,323 --> 00:22:09,763 he'd come out effing and blinding and screaming and shouting 432 00:22:09,843 --> 00:22:13,323 and calling her all the names under the sun for no reason. 433 00:22:13,403 --> 00:22:15,443 And it was like something just clicked. 434 00:22:15,523 --> 00:22:18,283 [narrator] Staying at Keepers Cottage was no longer an option, 435 00:22:18,363 --> 00:22:21,163 but staying away was not an option either. 436 00:22:21,243 --> 00:22:22,323 [suspenseful music] 437 00:22:22,403 --> 00:22:24,243 And I was frightened what he was gonna do to Sue, 438 00:22:24,323 --> 00:22:26,563 to the point I moved Sue out to my house, 439 00:22:26,643 --> 00:22:30,043 but he went mad that I had the audacity 440 00:22:30,123 --> 00:22:33,763 to move her in with me, so I had to take her back. 441 00:22:33,843 --> 00:22:37,003 So it was that bad. It was scary bad. 442 00:22:38,323 --> 00:22:41,243 But I had to look after her. There was no one else. 443 00:22:41,323 --> 00:22:43,643 I didn't want her going into a home. 444 00:22:43,723 --> 00:22:47,083 [suspenseful music] 445 00:22:48,643 --> 00:22:51,923 [narrator] Twelve Months later, Sue Wilson dies. 446 00:22:52,003 --> 00:22:54,923 John turns violent and threatening. 447 00:22:55,003 --> 00:22:56,323 [Stacy] Sue had died. 448 00:22:56,883 --> 00:23:00,683 His temper was terrible. He was burning all of Sue's stuff, 449 00:23:00,763 --> 00:23:04,363 literally piling up Sue's stuff, taking it out. 450 00:23:04,443 --> 00:23:06,323 And then I said something, I can't even remember, 451 00:23:06,403 --> 00:23:09,203 I think I was making something, and he threatened to, 452 00:23:09,283 --> 00:23:12,523 he got the gun and he, I heard it, 453 00:23:12,603 --> 00:23:14,603 so you hear the-- the noise. 454 00:23:15,763 --> 00:23:18,163 And he said, "If you don't fuck off, I'm gonna blow you up." 455 00:23:18,243 --> 00:23:21,403 [ominous music] 456 00:23:21,483 --> 00:23:24,243 And I ran, and I ran, and I ran. 457 00:23:25,083 --> 00:23:28,563 Once he threatened Stacy with a gun, I was worried, obviously, 458 00:23:28,643 --> 00:23:30,523 because I'd had my granddaughter at the farm, 459 00:23:30,603 --> 00:23:32,603 Stacy had had the children up there, 460 00:23:32,683 --> 00:23:35,123 and we basically decided it wasn't safe to stay there. 461 00:23:35,203 --> 00:23:39,963 [narrator] Stacy moves out of the farm and reports John's behavior to the police. 462 00:23:40,043 --> 00:23:42,723 I thought he'd gone bonkers. 463 00:23:42,803 --> 00:23:45,323 I thought he was gonna go and kill himself, actually. 464 00:23:45,403 --> 00:23:49,003 He became... odd. 465 00:23:50,003 --> 00:23:55,923 Like, creepy odd, and would say things that were so inappropriate. 466 00:23:57,043 --> 00:23:59,403 He was just-- became worse. 467 00:23:59,483 --> 00:24:00,923 I thought he was gonna kill himself, 468 00:24:01,003 --> 00:24:05,123 or kill... people. 469 00:24:06,443 --> 00:24:10,803 I don't think you can put to one side the fact of his age. 470 00:24:10,883 --> 00:24:12,603 He was, I think, in his 80s, 471 00:24:12,683 --> 00:24:18,643 and there is the specter of, perhaps, diminishing cognitive ability, 472 00:24:18,723 --> 00:24:21,163 but still having access to lethal weapons. 473 00:24:21,243 --> 00:24:24,763 At this point, police intervened and took away his guns, thankfully. 474 00:24:25,603 --> 00:24:29,243 [narrator] Mandy and Stacy rescue the dogs from the farm. 475 00:24:29,323 --> 00:24:31,923 [Mandy] I then went there with Stacy, 476 00:24:32,003 --> 00:24:36,123 and the RSPCA and the police, to remove a lot of the dogs 477 00:24:36,203 --> 00:24:39,003 because they were in Stacy's name, 478 00:24:39,083 --> 00:24:41,243 and he stood there with the police next to him, 479 00:24:41,323 --> 00:24:43,203 "If I had my guns, I'd shoot the lot of you," 480 00:24:43,283 --> 00:24:45,763 in front of the police, and they did nothing. 481 00:24:45,843 --> 00:24:48,683 The dogs, I managed to get out, I had 14 dogs in my kitchen. 482 00:24:48,763 --> 00:24:49,883 It was ridiculous. 483 00:24:51,083 --> 00:24:54,403 [narrator] Stacy's relationship with her mom and sister becomes fraught. 484 00:24:54,483 --> 00:24:56,883 They're still part of Lowe's life at the farm, 485 00:24:56,963 --> 00:24:59,163 despite his threats to shoot Stacy. 486 00:24:59,243 --> 00:25:02,003 They were coming and going, coming and going, 487 00:25:02,083 --> 00:25:06,043 but it was, again... odd. 488 00:25:06,123 --> 00:25:09,843 It was all a bit weird. It was too uncomfortable. 489 00:25:09,923 --> 00:25:13,923 So, Sue had gone, so I'd done my job, I'd looked after her. 490 00:25:14,003 --> 00:25:15,643 That was it. 491 00:25:16,003 --> 00:25:19,763 [narrator] Lucy and Christine are in a constant state of fear. 492 00:25:19,843 --> 00:25:22,323 Their arguments were horrendous by this stage. 493 00:25:22,403 --> 00:25:23,923 Really, really bad. 494 00:25:24,003 --> 00:25:26,243 The pressure was on for John, everything was going on, 495 00:25:26,323 --> 00:25:27,883 and everything was going wrong for him. 496 00:25:27,963 --> 00:25:30,923 [suspenseful music] 497 00:25:32,803 --> 00:25:35,163 [tense music] 498 00:25:37,403 --> 00:25:39,483 [narrator] After numerous calls to police over disputes 499 00:25:39,563 --> 00:25:42,683 between Stacy and Lowe, things appear to settle down, 500 00:25:42,763 --> 00:25:45,123 but only because Stacy agrees to withdraw any charges 501 00:25:45,203 --> 00:25:46,443 that may have been brought 502 00:25:46,523 --> 00:25:49,323 after she was threatened with a gun by Lowe. 503 00:25:49,403 --> 00:25:52,723 She did not pursue that allegation. 504 00:25:53,483 --> 00:25:56,443 That doesn't mean to say that she ever accepted 505 00:25:56,523 --> 00:25:59,883 that John didn't threaten her in that way. 506 00:25:59,963 --> 00:26:02,883 This was a man who'd been her stepfather, effectively, 507 00:26:02,963 --> 00:26:04,923 who apologized to her, 508 00:26:05,003 --> 00:26:09,963 and she didn't want to cause him any more difficulty. 509 00:26:10,043 --> 00:26:11,963 Sue had died. 510 00:26:12,043 --> 00:26:14,963 The place was a squalid mess. 511 00:26:15,043 --> 00:26:18,843 He was aging, and she felt very strongly 512 00:26:18,923 --> 00:26:21,163 that she couldn't contribute to the difficulties 513 00:26:21,243 --> 00:26:23,483 that she perceived he had. 514 00:26:23,563 --> 00:26:26,683 [ominous music] 515 00:26:26,763 --> 00:26:30,043 [narrator] John Lowe called Surrey Police to request his guns back, 516 00:26:30,123 --> 00:26:32,523 claiming to have a hen on the loose. 517 00:26:32,603 --> 00:26:35,843 Unbelievably, John was given five of the seven guns back. 518 00:26:35,923 --> 00:26:40,043 There was a matrix of information about him 519 00:26:40,123 --> 00:26:43,283 that should have been raising red flags, 520 00:26:43,363 --> 00:26:46,323 and the red flags tracked back to the 1990s. 521 00:26:47,523 --> 00:26:49,283 They were consistent. 522 00:26:49,363 --> 00:26:53,283 You had this man uttering a threat to kill, 523 00:26:53,363 --> 00:26:57,083 and yet still the guns were returned to him. 524 00:26:57,163 --> 00:27:00,363 [ominous music] 525 00:27:01,683 --> 00:27:03,363 [narrator] Stacy is unaware. 526 00:27:03,443 --> 00:27:07,683 Christine and Lucy are also unaware as they make plans to follow Stacy's lead 527 00:27:07,763 --> 00:27:09,963 and move out of Keepers Cottage for good. 528 00:27:10,563 --> 00:27:12,963 [Dr. Babb] Christine and Lucy had actually decided to leave, 529 00:27:13,043 --> 00:27:15,323 and had begun removing their belongings. 530 00:27:15,403 --> 00:27:18,003 John may have felt that he was not only been disobeyed, 531 00:27:18,083 --> 00:27:19,883 but also betrayed. 532 00:27:19,963 --> 00:27:24,083 With my mom leaving, it was a very dangerous situation she was in, 533 00:27:24,163 --> 00:27:26,123 incredibly dangerous. 534 00:27:26,203 --> 00:27:29,083 [narrator] They have no idea just how dangerous. 535 00:27:29,163 --> 00:27:31,043 Lowe is, again, the owner of a gun, 536 00:27:31,883 --> 00:27:34,083 and one day he uses it. 537 00:27:43,003 --> 00:27:44,163 [Lucy panting] 538 00:27:48,603 --> 00:27:52,603 He shot Christine in the farm premises 539 00:27:52,683 --> 00:27:57,883 or very close by, and it's clear that Lucy was aware of it. 540 00:27:57,963 --> 00:28:00,443 It's clear that Lucy had seen it. 541 00:28:04,243 --> 00:28:06,123 [narrator] He is now hunting Lucy down. 542 00:28:06,203 --> 00:28:08,603 [Cass] John had threatened her with a shotgun, 543 00:28:08,683 --> 00:28:11,963 and that he had chased her down the lane of the farm. 544 00:28:12,043 --> 00:28:16,683 Now, I've been to the farm and that is a really long, straight track, 545 00:28:16,763 --> 00:28:19,763 and that must have been so frightening. 546 00:28:19,843 --> 00:28:21,763 I mean, she would've been running for her life. 547 00:28:32,803 --> 00:28:35,723 She must have been an incredibly brave woman 548 00:28:35,803 --> 00:28:38,203 to have gone into the situation of knowing 549 00:28:38,283 --> 00:28:42,043 that here was her former stepfather 550 00:28:42,123 --> 00:28:45,483 roaming around the property with a loaded weapon, 551 00:28:45,563 --> 00:28:47,723 having shot her mother, 552 00:28:47,803 --> 00:28:50,803 and knowing that the reality was she would be next. 553 00:28:51,883 --> 00:28:54,123 [narrator] An hour after Lucy's frantic call to police, 554 00:28:54,203 --> 00:28:57,083 there's a dramatic standoff at Keepers Cottage. 555 00:28:57,163 --> 00:28:59,163 [Jill] Firearms officers were deployed, 556 00:28:59,243 --> 00:29:02,403 and you can see John walking out the farmhouse 557 00:29:02,483 --> 00:29:04,963 and surrendering himself into custody. 558 00:29:05,043 --> 00:29:08,243 This was four months after the return of the firearms 559 00:29:08,323 --> 00:29:11,043 that were removed from him then given back to him. 560 00:29:12,643 --> 00:29:14,603 [narrator] Now living away from Keepers Cottage, 561 00:29:14,683 --> 00:29:17,043 it's a Sunday when Stacy receives a visit. 562 00:29:17,123 --> 00:29:21,203 I made a Sunday dinner and there's a knock on the door. 563 00:29:23,083 --> 00:29:25,403 It was about quarter to one, 564 00:29:26,363 --> 00:29:28,603 and that's when the clock stopped for me. 565 00:29:28,683 --> 00:29:32,683 Because two officers said, "Can we come in?" 566 00:29:32,763 --> 00:29:34,883 And I said, "What's it for? 567 00:29:34,963 --> 00:29:36,523 What's going on?" 568 00:29:37,563 --> 00:29:39,963 And I said, "He's killed them, hasn't he?" 569 00:29:40,043 --> 00:29:43,603 [ominous music] 570 00:29:43,683 --> 00:29:48,163 And it was like time had stopped. It was like everything had stopped. 571 00:29:48,243 --> 00:29:50,363 That moment had stopped in time, 572 00:29:50,443 --> 00:29:55,003 because, obviously, then, they were dead. 573 00:29:57,363 --> 00:30:00,843 Stacy phoned me, I said, "Hi, what's up?" 574 00:30:00,923 --> 00:30:04,483 She went, "You're not gonna believe me." I said, "What?" 575 00:30:04,563 --> 00:30:06,163 Thinking she's mucking about. 576 00:30:06,243 --> 00:30:09,003 "John shot my mom and Luce." 577 00:30:09,083 --> 00:30:13,563 I just couldn't believe that it was real. I believed he was capable, 578 00:30:13,643 --> 00:30:16,443 but you don't think anybody's ever gonna do that. 579 00:30:17,243 --> 00:30:21,163 [Stacy] Well, my mom was leaving him on that day, 580 00:30:21,243 --> 00:30:23,243 so my mom was leaving. 581 00:30:24,483 --> 00:30:27,523 Lucy, her car was packed up. 582 00:30:27,603 --> 00:30:29,683 Her little dog beds were in there. 583 00:30:29,763 --> 00:30:32,323 Lucy was going to do the horses for one last time. 584 00:30:32,403 --> 00:30:35,283 It wasn't like they weren't leaving, they were leaving. 585 00:30:35,363 --> 00:30:36,963 [Mandy] She was in shock. 586 00:30:37,043 --> 00:30:38,483 She was in tears. 587 00:30:40,043 --> 00:30:41,963 It was just total disbelief. 588 00:30:42,043 --> 00:30:44,483 And then it hit me that it could have been us. 589 00:30:44,563 --> 00:30:46,323 It could've been Stacy, it could've been me, 590 00:30:46,403 --> 00:30:49,283 it could've been my granddaughter, it could've been Stacy's children. 591 00:30:49,363 --> 00:30:52,923 If he flipped and killed these people, Lucy and Christine, 592 00:30:53,003 --> 00:30:54,483 he could have killed any of us. 593 00:30:55,323 --> 00:30:59,003 [narrator] Stacy has the heartbreaking job of identifying the bodies. 594 00:30:59,803 --> 00:31:03,243 I just wanted her to wake up, and I gave her a kiss, 595 00:31:03,323 --> 00:31:05,843 and I asked them, "Can I come and see her again?" 596 00:31:05,923 --> 00:31:09,043 They said, "Yes, no problem." 597 00:31:09,123 --> 00:31:13,003 And then they said, I need-- "You need to prepare yourself for Lucy." 598 00:31:15,323 --> 00:31:19,083 So I was given five minutes and I went in to see Lucy. 599 00:31:19,163 --> 00:31:22,963 [tense music] 600 00:31:26,883 --> 00:31:31,003 Nothing can prepare you for that. Nothing. 601 00:31:33,443 --> 00:31:36,043 We'd always lived with violence. 602 00:31:36,123 --> 00:31:40,323 We'd always lived with violence. 603 00:31:40,403 --> 00:31:46,283 So for her to die how she died is... so sad. 604 00:31:46,363 --> 00:31:48,603 [narrator] Stacy is warned by the coroner 605 00:31:48,683 --> 00:31:52,163 that her sister Lucy has been badly beaten in the attack. 606 00:31:52,243 --> 00:31:57,603 [Stacy] Lucy was... allowed to bleed out. 607 00:31:57,683 --> 00:32:00,043 She was so beautiful. 608 00:32:00,123 --> 00:32:05,043 I can't... She looked like Snow White. She was so pretty. 609 00:32:06,403 --> 00:32:10,123 And he damaged her. Her whole face was black. 610 00:32:10,203 --> 00:32:12,883 And I say black like as black as this dress. 611 00:32:12,963 --> 00:32:15,683 It was black, because he beat her so badly. 612 00:32:17,323 --> 00:32:21,403 And then she'd fought and fought and fought for life, 613 00:32:22,963 --> 00:32:25,323 and he shot her again after 45 minutes. 614 00:32:26,763 --> 00:32:30,163 And she was still alive when the ambulance got there. 615 00:32:31,003 --> 00:32:32,323 And then she died. 616 00:32:33,123 --> 00:32:35,203 My sister was executed. 617 00:32:36,003 --> 00:32:39,043 [suspenseful music] 618 00:32:39,963 --> 00:32:42,123 [narrator] In custody, the 82-year-old claims 619 00:32:42,203 --> 00:32:44,123 the shootings were accidental. 620 00:32:56,163 --> 00:32:58,603 He had an arrogance about him, 621 00:32:58,683 --> 00:33:02,523 and it was as if they had no value. 622 00:33:02,603 --> 00:33:05,763 He saw them as if he saw the dogs. 623 00:33:13,923 --> 00:33:16,043 [Mandy] He still thought he was untouchable, I think. 624 00:33:16,123 --> 00:33:18,603 He played the victim and the old man 625 00:33:18,683 --> 00:33:21,363 who was really frail and couldn't do this. 626 00:33:26,723 --> 00:33:29,483 I think he felt the law didn't apply to him. 627 00:33:29,563 --> 00:33:33,803 It didn't actually mean anything to him, and I think that level of confidence 628 00:33:33,883 --> 00:33:37,123 probably kind of spills over into a level of arrogance 629 00:33:37,203 --> 00:33:39,003 and possible narcissism. 630 00:33:39,803 --> 00:33:42,683 [narrator] Stacy helps police any way she can. 631 00:33:43,203 --> 00:33:47,803 At that moment, I knew that I had to fight 632 00:33:48,803 --> 00:33:52,243 harder than anything in my life, harder than any violence, 633 00:33:52,323 --> 00:33:55,603 harder than any abuse, harder than anything in my life. 634 00:33:56,283 --> 00:33:59,243 I knew that I wanted justice. 635 00:33:59,323 --> 00:34:02,523 [ominous music] 636 00:34:03,763 --> 00:34:06,563 [narrator] In October, 2014, the trial begins. 637 00:34:06,643 --> 00:34:10,043 The harrowing 999 audio made by Lucy is played to the court. 638 00:34:12,843 --> 00:34:15,883 That phone call was unbelievable. 639 00:34:15,963 --> 00:34:18,843 It was unbelievable in regards to how brave she was. 640 00:34:18,923 --> 00:34:21,643 She was a witness at her own murder trial. 641 00:34:21,722 --> 00:34:25,083 They used that as one of the key features. 642 00:34:28,242 --> 00:34:31,483 She's witnessed John shooting Christine, her mother. 643 00:34:31,563 --> 00:34:34,843 She then flees the house for her life, 644 00:34:34,923 --> 00:34:38,523 and she's very clear, she's telling the police officers, "He's gonna kill me." 645 00:34:39,443 --> 00:34:43,123 And then she rushes back in to save her mom 646 00:34:43,202 --> 00:34:45,603 and she tells the police officers, "I'm going back in. 647 00:34:45,682 --> 00:34:48,483 I think he will kill me, I'll be dead," and tragically, she was right. 648 00:34:50,363 --> 00:34:53,563 She is somebody who would've stood up to John Lowe, 649 00:34:53,643 --> 00:34:58,043 and perhaps it was that standing up to him 650 00:34:58,123 --> 00:35:02,283 which contributed to the terrible tragedy of that day. 651 00:35:02,363 --> 00:35:05,363 [Stacy] She went in like a soldier goes to war. 652 00:35:05,443 --> 00:35:08,923 She didn't care about that she was gonna be killed. 653 00:35:09,003 --> 00:35:13,803 She cared about my mother and how she died. 654 00:35:13,883 --> 00:35:16,283 My sister went in 655 00:35:16,363 --> 00:35:21,603 and faced the worst kind of fear 656 00:35:21,683 --> 00:35:26,323 because there's a man that she'd always trusted, 657 00:35:26,403 --> 00:35:30,123 that had done that to my mom. 658 00:35:30,803 --> 00:35:33,003 [narrator] The bodies of the two women at the crime scene 659 00:35:33,083 --> 00:35:35,243 provide evidence that contradict Lowe's claim 660 00:35:35,323 --> 00:35:37,003 that it was accidental. 661 00:35:37,483 --> 00:35:39,683 The way my mom was positioned, 662 00:35:39,763 --> 00:35:42,123 she was begging for her life. 663 00:35:42,203 --> 00:35:45,003 She was kneeling when she was shot. 664 00:35:45,763 --> 00:35:50,603 The position in which she fell, of course, is as a result of the shotgun injury, 665 00:35:50,683 --> 00:35:53,363 which the shotgun wounds were to the head. 666 00:35:53,443 --> 00:35:54,363 [tense music] 667 00:35:54,443 --> 00:35:56,003 [Mandy] It was an execution. 668 00:35:56,883 --> 00:35:58,763 Christine was on the ground when he shot her. 669 00:36:00,523 --> 00:36:02,843 He didn't have enough from just shooting Lucy, 670 00:36:02,923 --> 00:36:05,643 so he beat her with the gun as well. That's not an accident. 671 00:36:06,243 --> 00:36:09,203 How he could try and call it an accident, I don't know. 672 00:36:09,283 --> 00:36:13,883 It's clear these were two unarmed women. 673 00:36:13,963 --> 00:36:16,803 One of them, certainly, was running for her life. 674 00:36:16,883 --> 00:36:19,123 [suspenseful music] 675 00:36:21,123 --> 00:36:24,483 [narrator] The trial lasts four weeks at Guildford Crown Court. 676 00:36:24,563 --> 00:36:27,883 [Jill] John was convicted for the murder of both Christine 677 00:36:27,963 --> 00:36:31,043 and for the murder of Lucy, and was given life imprisonment. 678 00:36:31,123 --> 00:36:35,563 From what I saw of him in the courts, not long after, 679 00:36:35,643 --> 00:36:38,003 he was extremely frail. 680 00:36:38,083 --> 00:36:41,003 [Jill] In the judge's summing up, they make mention of the fact 681 00:36:41,083 --> 00:36:43,163 that had these guns not been returned to John, 682 00:36:43,243 --> 00:36:46,003 he would not have been able to commit the tragic murders 683 00:36:46,083 --> 00:36:48,003 of both Christine and of Lucy. 684 00:36:48,083 --> 00:36:49,683 John was an 82-year-old man 685 00:36:49,763 --> 00:36:51,923 and would not have been physically capable, we think, 686 00:36:52,003 --> 00:36:53,563 of carrying out the murders 687 00:36:53,643 --> 00:36:56,443 had it not been for him given those shotguns. 688 00:36:56,523 --> 00:36:59,523 [suspenseful music] 689 00:36:59,603 --> 00:37:01,643 [narrator] Just four years into the life sentence, 690 00:37:01,723 --> 00:37:04,123 Eighty-seven-year-old John Lowe dies in prison 691 00:37:04,203 --> 00:37:07,323 after being diagnosed with dementia and cancer. 692 00:37:07,403 --> 00:37:10,243 The woman who once saw him as a father figure 693 00:37:10,323 --> 00:37:12,203 tries not to think about him anymore. 694 00:37:12,963 --> 00:37:17,563 I would like to say nothing about him 695 00:37:17,643 --> 00:37:19,403 because he isn't relevant. 696 00:37:19,483 --> 00:37:23,723 What is relevant is learning if someone hurts you, 697 00:37:23,803 --> 00:37:25,963 you have to get out. 698 00:37:27,643 --> 00:37:29,683 [narrator] Stacy spends five years campaigning 699 00:37:29,763 --> 00:37:32,123 for an inquest to understand the role that the police played 700 00:37:32,203 --> 00:37:34,043 in what was an awful tragedy. 701 00:37:35,603 --> 00:37:38,243 [suspenseful music] 702 00:37:39,123 --> 00:37:42,403 It is called Article 2 and it's Right to Life, 703 00:37:42,483 --> 00:37:44,323 and my sister and mom had a right to life. 704 00:37:44,403 --> 00:37:47,123 They had to right to be protected and they weren't. 705 00:37:47,203 --> 00:37:51,683 It was very much an avoidable double tragedy, 706 00:37:51,763 --> 00:37:54,123 because two women lost their lives. 707 00:37:54,203 --> 00:37:57,643 It was a way of being able to see 708 00:37:57,723 --> 00:38:00,443 how bad the failures were. 709 00:38:00,523 --> 00:38:05,083 They weren't little ones. We're talking about massive failures 710 00:38:05,163 --> 00:38:09,683 of the firearms teams not looking at something like a pink file that showed 711 00:38:09,763 --> 00:38:11,563 all John Lowe's domestic violence. 712 00:38:11,643 --> 00:38:15,603 So under law, if you have any history of domestic violence, 713 00:38:15,683 --> 00:38:18,603 you should not have a gun license, you should not have a gun. 714 00:38:18,683 --> 00:38:20,323 [narrator] The inquest ruled 715 00:38:20,403 --> 00:38:22,723 that the Surrey Police firearms licensing department 716 00:38:22,803 --> 00:38:26,083 failed to consider all of the evidence and information available to it 717 00:38:26,163 --> 00:38:28,603 before returning the shotguns to John Lowe. 718 00:38:29,243 --> 00:38:32,323 [ominous music] 719 00:38:34,163 --> 00:38:37,083 Looking at the investigations that were made 720 00:38:37,163 --> 00:38:41,003 and those that weren't made, it's a totally staggering situation. 721 00:38:42,003 --> 00:38:46,643 I would very much hope that there would be a lot of lessons to be learned 722 00:38:46,723 --> 00:38:49,243 from this terrible tragedy, 723 00:38:49,323 --> 00:38:51,963 and I know that that has been Stacy's mission, really, 724 00:38:52,043 --> 00:38:55,603 to ensure that no family ever has the type of trauma 725 00:38:55,683 --> 00:38:56,723 that she's gone through. 726 00:38:58,283 --> 00:39:01,243 [Stacy] I don't understand the full ins and outs of it, 727 00:39:01,323 --> 00:39:05,763 but I can now process that in a way of, 728 00:39:05,843 --> 00:39:10,283 "Well, that person didn't care enough to do their job." 729 00:39:10,363 --> 00:39:13,403 In any situation where there's an imbalance of power 730 00:39:13,483 --> 00:39:17,443 and access to a lethal weapon, 731 00:39:17,523 --> 00:39:20,083 there have to be real questions. 732 00:39:20,163 --> 00:39:23,083 [suspenseful music] 733 00:39:23,163 --> 00:39:26,523 It's very tightly controlled. It's very properly controlled generally. 734 00:39:26,603 --> 00:39:30,643 And the firearms licensing department is there to ensure that 735 00:39:30,723 --> 00:39:32,723 only those who can be trusted 736 00:39:32,803 --> 00:39:37,043 are allowed to have these firearms, because they are lethal weapons. 737 00:39:37,123 --> 00:39:40,683 My personal view is that where firearms are concerned, 738 00:39:40,763 --> 00:39:43,163 we can never be too careful, 739 00:39:43,243 --> 00:39:45,683 and if there's any form of flag, 740 00:39:45,763 --> 00:39:50,603 any form of threat said to have been made by an individual who holds firearms, 741 00:39:50,683 --> 00:39:53,043 that then that really must be something 742 00:39:53,123 --> 00:39:56,643 that is painstakingly investigated 743 00:39:56,723 --> 00:39:59,683 before anybody could be allowed to hold a firearm again. 744 00:39:59,763 --> 00:40:03,563 [Stacy] They were able to get-- to ask all the questions 745 00:40:03,643 --> 00:40:06,123 that I needed so desperately answered, 746 00:40:06,203 --> 00:40:09,923 and that exposed the failures to such a level 747 00:40:10,003 --> 00:40:11,883 that I had-- give me some closure. 748 00:40:11,963 --> 00:40:14,243 [narrator] Stacy has suffered the devastating loss 749 00:40:14,323 --> 00:40:16,323 of her mom and sister, but she's surrounded 750 00:40:16,403 --> 00:40:19,163 by her family and friends as she moves forward. 751 00:40:19,243 --> 00:40:23,563 He took her whole family, so she's become my family. 752 00:40:23,643 --> 00:40:27,083 I think that the interesting development 753 00:40:27,163 --> 00:40:30,483 that she's had is that she herself has created 754 00:40:30,563 --> 00:40:33,323 the role of being protector for her own children, 755 00:40:33,403 --> 00:40:36,163 and if I'm allowed to give a personal view, 756 00:40:36,243 --> 00:40:37,683 she's done an extraordinary job of it. 757 00:40:37,763 --> 00:40:42,003 [melancholic music] 758 00:40:42,083 --> 00:40:45,163 [Stacy] Whether it's verbal, whether it's mental, 759 00:40:45,243 --> 00:40:49,523 get out, run, because it only gets worse. 760 00:40:50,243 --> 00:40:53,523 That's it. And don't stop fighting for justice. 761 00:40:55,163 --> 00:40:56,683 Believe in justice. 762 00:40:56,763 --> 00:41:01,643 [dramatic music] 763 00:41:04,283 --> 00:41:07,203 ♪ "Pretty little thing," he says to me ♪ 764 00:41:07,283 --> 00:41:10,483 ♪ "Pretty little thing" Don't mess with me ♪ 765 00:41:10,563 --> 00:41:13,523 ♪ "Pretty little thing, I'll find you" ♪ 766 00:41:13,603 --> 00:41:16,723 ♪ 'Cause now I am the voice Inside of you ♪ 767 00:41:16,803 --> 00:41:19,643 ♪ Pretty little thing, I love you ♪ 768 00:41:19,723 --> 00:41:21,443 ♪ How I love to build you up ♪ 769 00:41:21,523 --> 00:41:25,003 ♪ Just so I can bring you down ♪