A police chief has taken the unusual step of speaking out against a ‘harmful’ true crime documentary suggesting a serial killer may have killed several elderly couples.

Hunting the Silver Killer is being broadcast these evening on ITV, looking again at the cases of Howard and Bea Ainsworth, who died in 1996, and Donald and Auriel Ward, who died in 1999.

But Cheshire Police said the documentary is ‘based on spurious claims by a former member of police staff that called into question the findings of detectives’ – adding the Ainsworth and Ward families were against the show.

In 2013, a coroner’s officer suggested similarities between the deaths, in the affluent town of Wilmslow, which were treated as murder-suicides – and that a serial killer could have killed both couples.

Stephanie Davies, then Cheshire coroner’s officer, suggested her view to police multiple times and wrote a 179-page report about her views.

The ITV broadcast reassesses her claims with the views of top pathologists – but Cheshire Police say Ms Davies was later found guilty of seven counts of gross misconduct and would have been dismissed had she not already resigned.

Speaking in support of the families, Chief Constable Mark Roberts said: ‘From the outset we have been clear that there is absolutely no evidence that the Ainsworth and Ward cases were double murders, and that there is no serial killer at large in connection with these historic deaths.

‘Following the spurious claims made by a former member of staff both cases were meticulously investigated by experienced detectives, along with specialist forensic scientists and officers from the National Crime Agency.

Howard and Bea Ainsworth, who were found dead at their home in Wilmslow in 1996

Donald and Auriel Ward, whose deaths in 1999 were highlighted by coroner’s officer 

‘All concluded that there was absolutely no evidence to support further investigation into these matters.

‘My heart goes out to both the Ainsworth and Ward families who have been deeply impacted by these harmful claims, and both have stated throughout that they were against any documentary and did not wish to have any involvement in the show.

‘Yet despite this, both families feel that they have been harassed by the production company over the past two years, when it should instead have been focussed on conducting due diligence on the credibility of the sources they relied on.’

Mr Roberts said the Ainsworth and Ward families had endured ‘unnecessary pain and suffering… over recent years’ after renewed interest in the cases.

He added: ‘The person who wrote the original report was not a doctor or a lawyer, and their actions have had a deep and long-lasting impact on both families, and I hope that they are able to start to move forward with their lives in peace.

‘We are clear that all staff and officers have the right to raise concerns, however this must always be done through the correct channels. In this case, the member of staff did not follow these procedures and her actions resulted in significant unnecessary concern and distress for the families of all those involved.’

Cheshire Police said Ms Davies was added to the College of Policing barred list meaning that she is prohibited from working in roles in policing.

ITV billed the programme a ‘brand new true crime documentary that fans of the genre do not want to miss’.2011

The five tragedies affecting elderly couples around north west England between 1996-2011 

Dr Dick Shepherd and Dr Angela Gallop, who give their opinions about the deaths in TV show

Publicity for the show states: ‘Taking viewers back to the 1990s, the new TV documentary hears from former Senior Coroner’s Officers as well as leading forensic experts, who re-examine the evidence to see whether the deaths were murder suicides, or whether something more sinister was at play, and whether a serial killer remains at large.

‘ITV’s Hunting the Silver Killer sees forensic expert Dr. Angela Gallop and pathologist Dr. Dick Shephard reexamining evidence’

The programme also includes the views of Jennifer Eastman, a former police constable as well as Sunday Times investigative journalist David Collins, who has also written a book on The Hunt for the Silver Killer.

ITV’s synopsis concluded: ‘Both crime scenes bore startling similarities. Police concluded that in both cases the husbands had killed their wives and then taken their own lives.

‘But were these cases of murder-suicide or could they in fact be double murders? Is a serial killer still at large and could they have killed again?’

The Ainsworths were found dead at home in Wilmslow on April 28, 1996.

Mr Ainsworth, 79, apparently bludgeoned, Beatrice, 78 – known as Bea – with a hammer, before stabbing her with a breadknife. He then supposedly suffocated himself with a plastic bag.

A suicide note, assumed to have been from Mr Ainsworth, said he had ‘given her some sleeping tablets’.

But no sedatives were found in either of them following toxicology tests and Mr Ainsworth had ‘unexplained bruises’, possibly from being forcibly suffocated, on his lips.

Separately, Mr and Mrs Ward died on November 26, 1999, also at their home. Mrs Ward, 68, was hit with a ceramic hot water bottle and stabbed with the shards. Mr Ward, 73, slit his throat and stabbed himself.

Ms Davies and a previous Cheshire coroner’s officer Christine Hurst – who first questioned official findings – questioned how Mr Ward was proposed to have killed himself, with his wounds not showing signs of heavy bleeding.

Ms Davies also found three other cases in 2000, 2008 and 2011, and marked them for further investigation.

All three involved blunt and sharp force trauma.

ITV was contacted for comment in response to Chief Constable Roberts.