Martin Suter pleaded guilty to murdering Ann Blackwood with a 12-inch kitchen knife, as the court heard how he had waited for her to attend their son’s grave to attack her
A man has pleaded guilty to murdering his former wife in a sly and vicious attack. It was revealed he had waited for her to attend their late son’s grave before he lunged at her with a knife.
Martin Suter, 68 confessed in court to murdering Ann Blackwood in July of 2023, when she was aged 71. The crime is believed to have been committed by Suter on what would have been their late son Christopher’s 36th birthday.
The defendant had already admitted he was guilty of the charge on the first day of his trial back in May of 2024. However, it took over a year to proceed with his sentencing after a separate court case relating to an indecent assault was concluded.
During a plea hearing, Portsmouth Crown Court head how Suter, from Lee-on-the-Solent, had divorced from his partner in 2004, just one year after their son Christopher took his own life. The Press Association reported that the attack took place where Christopher was laid to rest at the Crofton Cemetery in the Hampshire town of Stubbington.
Prosecutor Robert O’Sullivan said that Martin had driven his car — a Mazda MX5 — several hours before and had laid flowers on Christopher’s grave at around 10.30am. Five hours later, his former partner showed up at the grave to pay her respects, at which point he lunged at her and stabbed her several times.
GPS data of Martin’s phone around the time of the attack showed he had left the graveyard at around 10.30am, but returned at 2.30pm. O’Sullivan said that the defendant had gone home to fetch a huge kitchen knife from his house returned to the cemetery, lying in wait for his ex-wife to show up.
Grieving mother Ann would arrive by bicycle an hour after he returned to the cemetery, and as she approached her son’s grave, he attacked her. O’Sullivan explained: “The defendant stabbed her in the back with a kitchen knife and, the blade having broken off, he repeatedly stabbed her in the neck with a pair of scissors that she had brought with her to cut the flowers she had planned to put on her son’s grave.”
Nine minutes after the attack took place, Suter called police and immediately confessed to murdering Ann. Prosecutors went on to say that Martin’s life had been “ruined” by Ann, with him blaming her for their son’s suicide.
He later called his second wife Diane and confessed to her what he had done, adding to his charges for indecent assault. When he told her what he had done, he reportedly exclaimed: “I know I am going to prison, I may as well go for this.”
The indecent assault charges came following a hearing in May of 2023, where he admitted to sexually assaulting a girl under the age of 14. He was later acquitted of six other charges at a separate court case being held at Bolton Crown Court.
The hearing for Ann’s murder is now trying to determine whether Suter had brought the knife to the scene to deliberately kill his former partner, or whether to cause grievous bodily harm. The hearing will continue and Suter remains in police custody next Friday (October 3).
Meanwhile Ann’s family paid a heartfelt tribute to her, saying: “Her daughter, brothers, their families and all her friends are absolutely devastated by the loss of Ann Blackwood. A loving, caring, kind-hearted mother and friend who was very popular in her local community, she was enjoying her retirement with an active lifestyle which included tennis, sailing, cycling and music.”
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