Roger Panes
Encyclopedia
Roger Panes was a member of the Exclusive
branch of the Plymouth Brethren
. In 1974 he killed his wife and three children with an axe before hanging
himself.
. In November 1973 he was "shut up," or shunned, by the other members of his church for wrongfully shunning another member. His family was encouraged to shun him in turn; he couldn't sleep with his wife or eat with the family.
In February 1974, Panes was taken to hospital having taken an overdose
of tablets. He recovered; but, on 4 March 1974, he killed his wife Pamela, 39, his two sons Graham, 7, and Adrian, 4, and his daughter Angela, 6, as they slept in their beds. An axe was found covered in blood. He then hanged himself from the stair bannisters with an electrical cable.
A note was also found in the house:
An inquest was held and a jury decided that Panes had killed his family while the "balance of his mind was disturbed."
– member of the Exclusive Brethren convicted and then acquitted of murdering his wife and three children.
Exclusive Brethren
The Exclusive Brethren are a subset of the Christian evangelical movement generally described as the Plymouth Brethren. They are distinguished from the Open Brethren from whom they separated in 1848....
branch of the Plymouth Brethren
Plymouth Brethren
The Plymouth Brethren is a conservative, Evangelical Christian movement, whose history can be traced to Dublin, Ireland, in the late 1820s. Although the group is notable for not taking any official "church name" to itself, and not having an official clergy or liturgy, the title "The Brethren," is...
. In 1974 he killed his wife and three children with an axe before hanging
Hanging
Hanging is the lethal suspension of a person by a ligature. The Oxford English Dictionary states that hanging in this sense is "specifically to put to death by suspension by the neck", though it formerly also referred to crucifixion and death by impalement in which the body would remain...
himself.
Life
Panes was a cattle dealer in Andover, HampshireAndover, Hampshire
Andover is a town in the English county of Hampshire. The town is on the River Anton some 18.5 miles west of the town of Basingstoke, 18.5 miles north-west of the city of Winchester and 25 miles north of the city of Southampton...
. In November 1973 he was "shut up," or shunned, by the other members of his church for wrongfully shunning another member. His family was encouraged to shun him in turn; he couldn't sleep with his wife or eat with the family.
In February 1974, Panes was taken to hospital having taken an overdose
Drug overdose
The term drug overdose describes the ingestion or application of a drug or other substance in quantities greater than are recommended or generally practiced...
of tablets. He recovered; but, on 4 March 1974, he killed his wife Pamela, 39, his two sons Graham, 7, and Adrian, 4, and his daughter Angela, 6, as they slept in their beds. An axe was found covered in blood. He then hanged himself from the stair bannisters with an electrical cable.
A note was also found in the house:
An inquest was held and a jury decided that Panes had killed his family while the "balance of his mind was disturbed."
See also
David HendricksDavid Hendricks
David Hendricks is an American businessman convicted of killing his wife and three children in 1984 but acquitted in a retrial in 1991.- Life :Hendricks was a member of the Exclusive branch of the Plymouth Brethren, a conservative Christian sect...
– member of the Exclusive Brethren convicted and then acquitted of murdering his wife and three children.