The police team which helped convict a woman who deliberately starved a man to death have been rewarded with commendations. 

In June 2021, Lynda Rickard, 62, formerly of Edinburgh Close, Banbury, was sentenced to life with a minimum of 28 years after she was convicted of the murder of James Anthony Sootheran, known as Anthony, in South Newington, near Banbury.

Her husband, Wayne Rickard, 66, of the same address, was found guilty of causing or allowing the death of a vulnerable adult, and was jailed for 10 years and six months. He was cleared of murder.

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Lynda Rickard killed Anthony by starving him to death so that she, and others, could benefit from his estate.

She also defrauded him while he was alive, and defrauded Joy Sootheran, who was Anthony’s mother.

The conviction and sentence was the culmination of four years of investigation by officers and staff from Thames Valley Police’s Major Crime Unit (MCU), with support from the Economic Crime Unit.

A chartered accountant who was seconded to the force to assist the investigation with expertise supported these teams, and key roles were played by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) reviewing lawyer and the junior prosecuting counsel.

This is Oxfordshire: Detective Superintendent Andy Howard was one of the team honoured for their efforts.

The vastly complex case saw more than 20,000 pages of evidence served, with that evidence spanning a timeframe of more than 20 years, with witnesses scattered around the country.

The investigation, which was given the operation name Navigator, could not rely on CCTV or phone messages, but instead required detailed handwriting analysis and forensic interrogation of financial accounts and medical records.

Chief Constable’s Commendations were given to:

  • Senior investigating officer Detective Superintendent Andy Howard
  • Case investigator Rebecca Wingrove-North
  • Disclosure officer Andy Nicklin
  • Intelligence analyst Portia Butterfield
  • Holmes manager Kevin McGuire
  • MCU Holmes team member Wendy Wheeler
  • Chartered accountant Louise Church who was seconded to TVP to provide expert knowledge.
  • CPS reviewing lawyer Robbie Weber
  • A posthumous commendation was also given to MCU Holmes supervisor Lorraine White, who died after the investigation had concluded.

Commendations were also given to one other TVP staff member who managed Holmes activity for the case, and one was also given to the Junior Prosecuting Counsel. 

A higher Chief Constable’s commendation was also given to a detective constable who was the officer in the case, and who undertook the majority of the enquiries during the four years that the investigation was running.

Detective Superintendent Howard said the award was "a testament to the team who worked on this investigation".

“In particular, the work of the detective constable who was the officer in the case was truly exemplary and is one of the finest examples of detective work I have seen in almost 25 years as a police officer," he said. 

“This was a very disturbing, wicked case where a man was starved to death simply for greed," DS Howard said. 

“My thoughts remain with the family of Anthony and Joy Sootheran and I would again thank them for the trust they showed in the investigation team.”