Overview

• Martin Suter pleaded guilty in May 2024 to fatally stabbing 71-year-old Ann Blackwood at Crofton Cemetery on July 24, 2023, the 20th anniversary of their son Christopher’s burial.
• A judge’s June 25 order ended long-standing reporting restrictions and allowed public disclosure of Suter’s murder plea.
• In a separate 2024 trial, Suter was convicted of indecently assaulting a girl under 14, a conviction also shielded from public view until this week.
• Friends and family remembered Blackwood as a “loving, caring, kind-hearted” retiree who enjoyed sailing, tennis and an active community life.
• Suter is due to be sentenced at Portsmouth Crown Court in September 2025 for both the murder and his child sex offence conviction.