Gracie Spinks's murderer killed self ‘to avoid accountability’

Gracie Spinks, 23, was murdered by Michael Sellers, who then killed himself

A man took his own life after killing a former colleague who had rejected him romantically, a coroner has concluded.

Michael Sellers killed himself shortly after killing Gracie Spinks in Duckmanton in Derbyshire on the morning of 18 June 2021.

A coroner previously concluded Miss Spinks, 23, was unlawfully killed.

The same coroner has now concluded that Sellers' death was suicide, following an inquest at Chesterfield Coroner's Court.

Michael Sellers, 35, met Gracie Spinks when they worked for a firm called Xbite

Matthew Kewley, assistant coroner for Derby and Derbyshire, said: "What Michael Sellers did was effectively remove himself from any form of accountability for his actions towards Gracie Spinks."

Speaking about the way he killed Miss Spinks, which was by repeatedly stabbing her, the coroner said: "This was not a spur of the moment act of violence. His actions were premeditated and carefully planned.

"The level of violence that he displayed during the murder is beyond comprehension."

Miss Spinks was murdered after going to look after her horse Paddy at stables in Duckmanton

Sellers was 35 when he died and lived at home in Sheffield with his parents and sister.

The inquest heard he had no known history of violence before he killed Miss Spinks.

Det Con Denise Sandall, who investigated Miss Spinks's murder and Sellers' death, said he seemed to have had a "normal upbringing".

"He did, yes, he had a stable, normal upbringing," she said, agreeing with a question from the coroner.

"Normal education. He probably lived a middle class life in a way. He had a normal life."

However, she said Sellers spent "a lot of time with his family, didn't appear to have any close friends, and had never had a girlfriend".

He started working for Xbite, an e-commerce firm in Chesterfield, in 2015.

This was where he met Miss Spinks, who started working in the warehouse in April 2020 after being furloughed from her normal job as a swimming instructor.

Miss Spinks's inquest heard Sellers had previously harassed multiple other female colleagues before he became obsessed with Miss Spinks.

In his findings at Sellers' inquest, the coroner said: "Michael Sellers seemed incapable of understanding how to behave towards his female colleagues.

"He would latch on to women who showed him attention. He would think that relationships were more than they actually were. He would give unwanted attention and he made some of those women feel uncomfortable.

"The evidence that I've heard suggests that he lacked even a shred of insight into his own behaviour and how he made those women feel."

The coroner said Miss Spinks had the "misfortune" of meeting Sellers at work.

"They met up several times outside of work but they never entered into any sort of boyfriend-girlfriend relationship," he said.

'Utterly obsessed'

Miss Spinks then "politely and kindly" told Sellers she did not wish to continue seeing him in a message on 16 December 2020, the coroner said.

"I have read that message several times over the last few weeks and it is patently clear that Gracie was trying to let him down gently," said the coroner.

"That should have been the end of it."

However, the coroner said Sellers then became "utterly obsessed with Gracie".

"He continued to harass her despite her making it clear that she didn't want a relationship with him," the coroner said.

"He abused his power over a junior colleague, encouraging him to effectively spy on Gracie and provide feedback on what she was doing."

Sellers bought knives to kill Miss Spinks, which were found in his rucksack by a woman walking her dog

Sellers was dismissed from Xbite in early 2021 after Miss Spinks complained about his behaviour, which included him waiting in his car, near to the field where she kept her horse, on 4 January 2021.

He then bought several knives online on 11 March.

"I find there is no other explanation for him purchasing these knives other than to wish to use them to kill Gracie, so it follows that Michael Sellers must have formed an intention to kill Gracie by 11 March 2021," said the coroner.

On 6 May 2021 a woman walking her dog found a rucksack belonging to Sellers near to where Miss Spinks kept her horse, and she reported this to police because the bag contained three knives and a note saying "don't lie".

Sellers then bought more knives on the same day his rucksack was found.

'Lay in wait'

His inquest heard he and Miss Spinks both left their homes on the morning of 18 June 2021 and drove to where she kept her horse in Duckmanton.

"It's most likely that he lay in wait for her arrival," said the coroner.

"Having killed Gracie Spinks, Michael Sellers then headed towards a field nearby. He was then found dead at 11am on 18 June 2021."

The coroner said he was certain Sellers had died by suicide for the following reasons:

1. He purchased an item that was used in his death in advance, which showed a "significant degree of planning".

2. A book was found in his bedroom which described various methods of suicide.

3. He left a handwritten note which was recovered from his bedroom which was "accurately described as a suicide note".

4. He left various notes "of a practical nature" for his family.