In March 1974 39 year old Pamela Panes and her three children Graham aged 7, Angela aged 6 and Adrian aged 4 were killed by husband and father Roger Panes in Hampshire in the UK. Roger then took his own life.

The Panes family belonged to the Plymouth Brethren religion. Before the murders, Roger had been forcibly “shut up” — or shunned from the religious community he’d grown up in. His own wife and children were instructed to shun him as well. That isolation pushed Roger into a downward spiral: first an attempt on his own life, then the decision to murder his whole family.

A family were taken, and the community were left with questions about the role of religion in their murders.

This is the story of the Panes family.

Information and support

·      Samaritans UK Contact Us | Samaritans

·      Advocacy After Fatal Domestic Abuse (AAFDA) Home - AAFDA

·      Women’s Aid Home - Women's Aid

·      National Domestic Abuse Helpline UK 0808 2000 247

·      Mental health support USA Mental Health America | Homepage | Mental Health America

·      Domestic abuse helpline USA 1.800.799.SAFE Domestic Violence Support | National Domestic Violence Hotline

References

These Plymouth Brethren members stepped out of line, then the threats and intimidation started - ABC News

Roger Panes - Wikipedia

Roger Panes | Murderpedia, the encyclopedia of murderers

Roger Pane-The Heartbreak Killer – True Crime Weekly

Plymouth Brethren: Inside Britain’s most secretive Christian group

BBC Panorama Programme https://youtu.be/-epTck_9uD8

Roger Panes — Death by Heartbreak | by Lolly True crime | Medium

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