UK man ends life after killing former colleague in romantic rejection fallout

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.


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."

Sellers killed Miss Spinks by repeatedly stabbing her. "His actions were premeditated and carefully planned," the coroner revealed.

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".