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Wife 'raped in her home by husband and string of other men was given potentially fatal cocktail of 11 drugs to sedate her'

Wife 'raped in her home by husband and other men was given potentially fatal cocktail of drugs including morphine and ketamine to sedate her'

A wife raped by her husband and a string of other men was found with a ‘potentially fatal’ cocktail of drugs including morphine and ketamine in her system, a court heard today.

The woman believed the only tablets she took regularly were multivitamins and medication prescribed by her GP for high blood pressure, cholesterol and heartburn, Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court was told.

But, after her husband’s arrest in October 2025, she gave a hair sample for testing which revealed she had secretly received a ‘cocktail of stupefying drugs’, jurors heard.

They included morphine and ketamine plus tranquilisers and sedatives.

Combined with alcohol, the effects were ‘unpredictable’ and ‘could have been fatal’ said prosecutor Louise Oakley KC.

Nine men are on trial at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court accused of sexually abusing the woman at her home in Stockport. Four other men have already admitted to offences against her.

The husband, who is in his 60s and cannot be named to protect his wife's identity, has admitted raping his wife over a 20-year period, secretly giving her drugs after she had been drinking wine.

He shared images and footage of the abuse online in 2015 and, in 2023, started inviting men he had met online to the couple’s four-bedroom home, the court was told.

Eight of the nine accused, clockwise from top left, Philip Wild, Jordan Wallace, Robert Stewart, Jonathan Kirk, Richard Townsend, Alan Keelan, Mohammed Sabir and David Graves

The abuse continued until October last year when undercover journalists infiltrated online messaging groups where footage was being shared and contacted police.

Ms Oakley said an eight-centimetre strand of hair was taken from the wife and sent to a specialist laboratory in France.

She said: ‘Hair analysis can provide a historical timeline of exposure spanning weeks, months or even up to a year depending on the length of a person’s hair. Such analysis can therefore detect long term exposure to drugs and other prescription medications.’

The tests found presence of 11 drugs: morphine, ketamine, cocaine and a by-product, plus a range of antidepressant and hay fever drugs with sedative properties, along with tranquilisers including diazepam and zolpidem.

Ms Oakley said: ‘None of the drugs or medications detected in her hair had been prescribed to her.

‘Mixed with alcohol the risk of severe sedation increases and could even be fatal.’

The barrister told jurors that the husband’s use of drugs on his wife had been ‘evident not only from his online discussions but also his internet browsing history’. 

She said: ‘Between October 2014 and October 2025, his internet browsing history reveals extensive searches for medication / drugs (prescription or otherwise, and various illegal drugs), including their effects, dosage, purchasing (and) the dangers of mixing with alcohol.’

Mohammed Sabir, 29, was allegedly one of two men who raped the woman in a single night in September 2025

Robert Stewart, 70, is accused of raping the wife the same night as Sabir in September 2025 

Ms Oakley said the husband ‘may have also sourced and purchased other ‘sleeping serums’ where the chemical composition is unknown’.

A police search of the couple’s home revealed plastic pipettes from the drawer of a bedside table, one of which had ‘a white powder inside found to be zolpidem’, plus blister packs of viagra, zolpidem and diazepam.

Jurors were told the results of the test were likely to be an ‘underestimate’ because the woman had her hair dyed every five weeks, which can ‘remove evidence’.

The court has also heard the husband discussed drugs with co-defendant David Graves, 60, who agreed to post some to his mother-in-law’s home soon after she died and the house was empty. Graves allegedly sent the husband an unknown type of sedative and also messaged the husband about use of GHB.

The husband is also said to have discussed use of drugs as far back as 2016 with Robert Stewart, 70, one of two men who allegedly raped the unconscious woman in a single night on September 21 last year – a month before the husband’s arrest.

The alleged visit by Stewart and another defendant Mohammed Sabir, 29, was the fourth occasion that men turned up at the house one after another in a single night, jurors were told.

After the September 21 visit, jurors heard Stewart contacted the husband via a message urging him to ‘delete all images’ and saying ‘remember what happened to the guy in France?’ a reference to Gisèle Pelicot, who was raped by her husband.

Ms Oakley said: ‘His comparison of what happened to her and his conduct perhaps sums up this entire case from start to finish.’

The court heard that even after the husband’s arrest on October 23, he continued to receive messages from co-defendants.

Daniel Rayner tried to contact him two days later asking if there were ‘any plans to abuse her this weekend mate’ – and messaging again a week later.

Jonathan Kirk is accused of two rapes against the unconscious woman in August 2025

Kirk arriving at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court earlier this week for ongoing trial

The court heard that after being drugged and raped in the early hours of September 21, the wife did not wake until early the following afternoon and messaged a female friend saying she felt ‘wobbly, woozy and a bit weird’.

Ms Oakley said the woman initially replied to a message from the friend, part of a group the wife had been drinking with the previous evening, just after 1pm.

She then went back to sleep, the court heard, before texting another friend three hours later saying she was ‘still in my PJs, feeling weird but not hungover… just weird’.

Meanwhile, in secret conversations with other alleged offenders, the husband described his wife as having been ‘used like a sex doll’.

After the husband’s eventual guilty pleas, Ms Oakley said he was now giving evidence for the prosecution.

She said: ‘He says he wants to tell the truth. He wants his wife and (children) to know the truth.

‘He is not doing it to get a reduced sentence. He fully expects to die in prison for what he has done.

‘He accepts that what he did was down to him, that he was the one in control. Without him, none of it would have happened.’

Concluding her opening of the prosecution case, Ms Oakley said the offenders had been ‘caught with their trousers down quite literally’.

She said: ‘It wasn’t a game, it wasn’t fantasy role play, it wasn’t unconventional consensual sexual practises; it was men practising their barbaric fantasies on a completely unaware victim.’

Dog walker and building company worker Jordan Wallace, 31, is accused of rape

Wallace donned sunglasses as he arrived at the court in Manchester earlier this week  

Married father-of-two Alan Keelan, 42, pictured at a football club awards presentation

Keelan pictured with hood up and scarf covering his face as he arrived at court

On trial are David Graves, 60, a sales rep; Jonathan Kirk, 43, a senior paramedic; Robert Stewart, 70, a retired DJ; Mohammed Sabir, 29, a recruitment consultant; youth football coach Alan Keelan, 42; building company worker and dog walker Jordan Wallace, 31; taxi driver Philip Wild, 58; metal worker Richard Townsend, 38; and Daniel Rayner, 42, a self-employed mechanic.

All deny a variety of sexual offences.

In September, the woman's husband of 40 years admitted 62 charges including multiple rapes, jurors were told.

Opening the trial on Monday, Ms Oakley said Stewart sent a message to the husband after he visited the house, urging him to 'delete all images' and saying 'remember what happened to the guy in France.'

Father-of-three Philip Wild, 58, Stockport, is accused of attempted rape and sexual assault

David Graves, 60, denies conspiracy to commit rape, sexual assault and administer drugs

Richard Townsend, 38,is accused of sexually assaulting the woman in her bed

He wrote: 'Mate, have had a bad feeling about it all day. Delete all images from your phone etc as it's too risky. Remember what happened to the guy in France.

'Delete me from your phone and life. If she caught you out it would be a whole lot of trouble and end your marriage and ruin your life.'

'The reference in the message related to the man in France who had been raping his wife, a lady by the name of Gisèle Pelicot,' Ms Oakley said.

Stewart, Wild, Sabir and Kirk, all of Stockport, Greater Manchester, Graves, of Ilkeston, Derbyshire, and Rayner, of Whitstable, Kent, deny conspiracy to rape between 2015 and 2025.

Former Taunton Town Football Club CEO Karl Lindsay, 56, has admitted conspiracy charges

Graham Brougham, 74, is the oldest of 14 defendants charged over the attacks 

Keith Fotheringham, 59, has admitted abusing the wife and involvement in conspiracy charges

Sean Peers, 38,has pleaded guilty to a sexual assault against the wife at an earlier hearing

Graves and Rayner also deny conspiracy to assault by penetration between 2018 and 2025, while Stewart, Graves and Rayner deny conspiracy to administer a substance 'with the intention of stupefying or overpowering' the wife between 2015 and 2025.

Wild is also charged with sexual assault in August 2023, plus attempted rape and assault by penetration in February 2025. Sabir denies three rapes, in February 2025 and twice in September 2025.

Wallace, of Stockport, denies rape and attempted rape in May 2025, Keelan, from Manchester, denies two attempted rapes and an assault by penetration, all in June 2025.

Townsend, of Heywood, Greater Manchester, denies assault by penetration in July 2025, while Kirk denies two rapes in August 2025. Stewart denies two rapes in September 2025.

Four other men – Karl Lindsay, 56, of Taunton, Somerset, Graham Brougham, 74, of Northwich, Cheshire, Keith Fotheringham, 59, of Dundee, and Sean Peers, 38, of Stockport – have also pleaded guilty to various sexual offences at earlier hearings.

The trial, which is expected to take at least two months, continues.

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The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are to visit Brussels next week as they resume public appearances in the wake of child sexual abuse image allegations facing Meghan's father.

Prince Harry and Meghan will deliver a joint keynote address at the opening of the Lost Screen Memorial in the European Parliament on Tuesday.

It is expected to be the first time the pair will have been seen in public since Thomas Markle Sr was reported to police in the Philippines and the FBI over a haul of suspected child abuse images.

The brief trip abroad will see Harry and Meghan listen to addresses by European Parliament president Roberta Metsola and MEP Antonio Lopez-Isturiz, the first vice-chairman of the Child Rights Intergroup, before delivering their own speech.

The Sussexes will have between 15 and 20 minutes for their rare dual-address, which they will use to speak about the importance of children's digital safety.

Harry and Meghan will also be shown the memorial exhibition, which remembers children who have lost their lives as a result of the harm they suffered on social media.

The Duke will later join a panel discussion called Beyond Promises: Building A Digital Future That Works For Children to discuss how to protect children online.

Prince Harry and Mehgan arrive for a visit to Himmah Hub in Nottingham on October 15

The Philippine National Police (PNP) has said videos of alleged child sexual abuse and exploitation were among files found in four storage boxes that allegedly belonged to Mr Markle Sr, after he was reported by his son Thomas Markle Jr last month.

Major General Wilson Asueta of the PNP said it had yet to be confirmed who owned the devices, which included nine mobile phones, three memory cards, five hard drives and a camera.

The 82-year-old was reported to police in the Philippines and the FBI last month by Mr Markle Jr, who handed over a haul of alleged child abuse images he said he found in his father's belongings in Cebu City.

A second hoard was discovered last Friday in a storage unit Thomas Markle Sr is said to have rented near his former home in Rosarito, Mexico, during a raid by Mexican police.

Reports have since claimed Mr Markle Sr was moved into a care home for dementia patients in Florida, described as a specialist 'memory care' facility.

It has raised concerns the FBI may never be able to interview Meghan's estranged father because of the legal barriers over interrogating suspects with cognitive issues in care homes.

Meghan was left 'deeply distressed' at the allegations and revealed she was sent a letter via the Metropolitan Police and Royalty and Specialist Protection seven years ago which made 'troubling and disturbing allegations' about her father, but that she was given assurances these were being investigated.

Harry and Meghan are set to be seen in public for the first time since her father Thomas Markle was reported to police over a haul of alleged child sexual abuse images

The Metropolitan Police has admitted it never shared the details with other law enforcement agencies, with the police watchdog, the Independent Office for Police Conduct, now investigating the force's conduct.

The Duchess had wanted to 'speak out' immediately after reading the letter but police advised her against this, sources said.

Meghan has been estranged from her father since the run-up to her 2018 wedding when he was caught staging paparazzi photographs and then had a heart attack, meaning the King, then-the Prince of Wales, stepped in to walk Meghan down the aisle.

When former TV lighting director Mr Markle Sr had his leg amputated in the Philippines last year, he made pleas for the duchess to contact him, saying he did not want to die while they were still estranged.

A spokesperson for the duchess confirmed at the time she had 'reached out to her father'.

Last week, it emerged Meghan wrote in this final letter that she knew he was an abuser and that he would never see his grandchildren Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.

Mr Markle Sr, who returned to the US in May, has admitted to paying for sex in the Philippines but denied ever possessing child abuse imagery.

READ MORE: Harry and Meghan lose another key member of staff as Archewell's head of factual programmes steps down after more than five years

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Blake Lively looked as if she had some new pep in her step when she was spotted out in New York City on Tuesday night in a stunning little black dress.

The 39-year-old Gossip Girl star was spotted out in Manhattan's Upper East Side for an event celebrating the launch of jeweler Brent Neale's new holiday collection, according to E! News.

Although Lively was reportedly joined by friends, her husband Ryan Reynolds, 50, didn't appear by her side.

The Daily Mail has reached out to Lively's representative for comment but hasn't yet heard back. 

Lively – who recently revealed her over-the-top beauty regimen – channeled classic glamour in her skimpy black dress, which was decorated with glittering sequins.

The off-the-shoulder minidress featured a playful black bow that covered her cleavage for a touch of modesty.

Blake Lively looked as if she had some new pep in her step when she was spotted out in New York City on Tuesday night in a stunning little black dress

The 39-year-old Gossip Girl star was spotted out in Manhattan's Upper West Side for an event celebrating the launch of jeweler Brent Neale's new holiday collection, according to E! News

Lively – who recently revealed her over-the-top beauty regimen – channeled classic glamour in her skimpy black dress, which was decorated with glittering sequins

Lively's short skirt showcased her toned legs, which culminated in clear Louboutins that strapped around her ankles and featured black-tipped toes.

The It Ends with Us star, who is stepping out in the wake of her bruising legal drama with her former costar and director Justin Baldoni, wore her long blond hair in dramatic waves cascading down her shoulders.

She completed her glamorous ensemble with a simple black leather hobo handbag, and she added some extra sparkle with dangling earrings and multiple enormous sparkling rings.

Lively looked as if she was on top of the world as she beamed for photographers outside the shindig.

The outing comes after Lively revealed the secrets of the beauty regimen she uses to look as if she's in the 'first trimester of life' last week.

The actress took to her Instagram Story to share a candid clip of the nighttime routine she uses to maintain her 'natural beauty.'

She appeared to be wearing headgear with red-light therapy over her hair, in addition to a sheet mask with extra pieces she had pasted to her bare face. 

The Gossip Girl alumna was also bundled up in a brown fleece hoodie while seemingly winding down for the night with her beauty routine.

The off-the-shoulder minidress featured a playful black bow that covered her cleavage for a touch of modesty

Lively's short skirt showcased her toned legs, which culminated in clear Louboutins that strapped around her ankles and featured black-tipped toes

The It Ends with Us star wore her long blond hair in dramatic waves cascading down her shoulders

She completed her glamorous ensemble with a simple black leather hobo handbag

Lively added some extra sparkle with dangling earrings and multiple enormous sparkling rings

Lively looked as if she was on top of the world as she beamed for photographers outside the shindig

The outing comes after Lively revealed the secrets of her beauty regimen last week

She joked that her go-to products make her look as if she's in the 'first trimester of life'

The actress took to her Instagram Story to share a candid clip of the nighttime routine she uses to maintain her 'natural beauty' 

Lively gave a glimpse into her cozy wind-down routine shortly after the drama involving her film It Ends With Us and her director and costar Justin Baldoni. 

'Natural beauty is effortless,' she quipped at the bottom of her post, which pictured her taking a deep breath while the mask covered her face.

Lively also drew thought bubbles around her face, and in one, she wrote: 'If I don't look like I'm in the first trimester of life after this much effort I quit.' 

She continued: 'I miss the 2000s when we just used that handsoap with fish characters on it on our face & called it a day.' 

The Gossip Girl star also noted the lights in the background of her room in another thought bubble: 'My kids' star projector that I stole is a vibe tho.'

She set her candid post to the tune of Fergie and Ludacris' 2006 smash hit Glamorous.

The mother of four – who shares James, 11; Inez, ten; Betty, seven; and Olin, three, with her husband Ryan Reynolds – often shares snippets of her hair and beauty routines on social media.

In August, she shared a video of herself getting ready in her bathroom before rushing out the door as a busy mother and businesswoman. 

The mother of four – who shares James, 11; Inez, ten; Betty, seven; and Olin, three, with her husband Ryan Reynolds – often shares snippets of her hair and beauty routines on social media; above with Reynolds in April 2025 in NYC

In August, she shared a video of herself getting ready in her bathroom before rushing out the door as a busy mother and businesswoman

Her post comes after she was in a legal battle with Baldoni, and the former costars settled right before their trial was set to begin. Baldoni was ultimately ordered to pay $400,000 of Lively's legal fees earlier this year; pictured together in It Ends With Us

'The look: no time but need to look cute while ALSO raising children,' the movie star, who was seen using products from her Blake Brown haircare brand, wrote over the clip. 

'Moment of truth: bun out after running around the city,' she continued, before almost running out the door with her pants unbuttoned.

Her post comes after she was in a legal battle with Baldoni, and the former costars settled right before their trial was set to begin. 

Baldoni was ultimately ordered to pay $400,000 of Lively's legal fees. 

Lively previously sued Baldoni and his production company Wayfarer in December 2024. 

Right before their trial was set to begin earlier this year, Lively was awarded just over $400,000 of the $8 million she sought in legal fees from their dispute due to his countersuit. 

In her lawsuit, Lively asserted that she was subjected to sexual harassment as well as retaliation, alleging he orchestrated a smear campaign to harm her reputation after she brought up complaints about his behavior on set.  

In response, Baldoni denied harassment and claimed Lively made complaints to seize creative control of the movie. 

In June 2025, the countersuit was thrown out. In May of this year, just two weeks before the scheduled trial date, the former costars reached their settlement.

They also released a joint statement, writing that they 'remain firmly committed to workplaces free of improprieties and unproductive environments.' 

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