Michael Tranter, a 65-year-old father from Telford, Shropshire, has spoken of the haunting question he wants to ask Lee Ford, the man who murdered his four children and ex-wife 26 years ago. Ford, dubbed 'Britain's most evil stepdad', was given five life sentences for the killings in 2000 and is serving a minimum of 27 years. However, Tranter fears Ford could be released next year under parole rules.
The Killings and the Killer
Lee Ford, 33 at the time, strangled his step-children Sarah Jane, 17, Anne Marie, 16, Steven, 14, and Craig, 13, with a rope from behind at their home in Carnkie, Cornwall. He also bludgeoned his wife Lesley, 36, to death with a rounders bat. Over 24 hours, all five were garroted, and Ford hid their bodies in a woodshed where they lay undiscovered for weeks. He even attempted to cash in Sarah's last wage packet from McDonald's and asked a neighbor to store Christmas presents before reburying two daughters' bodies in a field.
Tranter's Campaign and Anguish
For two decades, Michael Tranter has campaigned to ensure Ford dies in prison. Speaking on the crime podcast Key Witness: Aftermath, he said: 'My aim is for the justice system to come out and do the right thing. By telling him he will never, ever come out.' He added: 'I'm anxious and I do get angry. I worry I'm going to lose my mind. The big question is why? Why my family? Why Lesley?'
The Discovery and Aftermath
Tranter learned of the murders through the news after police found two boys in the woodshed and later two daughters in a field. He recalled: 'I learned the first bit from the news. It was just horrible.' Ford never explained his motives, but police speculated he had begun a sexual relationship with eldest daughter Sarah Jane. After arrest, Ford told investigators: 'That my own hands have done what they have done to five people with a rope is a nightmare. I do not even understand why I did what I did.' In May 2001, he admitted five counts of murder at Bristol Crown Court.
Possible Release and New Petition
Ford could be released in October 2027, aged 60. Tranter, who now runs a new petition urging the UK Government to keep Ford behind bars, previously gathered over 40,000 signatures. He said: 'I've got a lot of good people around me. I'm married now and my wife is very supportive. But I still have my times where I worry. I go back to where I was when it first happened, because when everything happened, I had a problem where I was drinking up to three bottles of brandy a day. I haven't got back to that, but I worry I'm going to lose my mind.'
The Unanswered Question
Tranter still lives without knowing why his family was killed. He confessed he would ask Ford if they ever met: 'But that's never going to happen. It doesn't matter what he says, he couldn't hurt me even more.' He thought about what his children would be doing now: 'I think me boys would be into the football. They used to go into school every day and talk about football with their mates and do it at weekends - and the girls, they'd be out and about on the cricket pitch, meeting up and going out together.' He added: 'There are places I go and I've always got the fond memories of and I do reminisce a little bit. I think they were the times.'
Remembering Lesley
Concluding, Tranter said: 'I'd just like to say that Leslie was a fantastic mother and she did everything for the children and she'd be there all the time. She was fantastic, fantastic mum.'
