Luke Deeley, 26, then student at the University of South Wales, butchered & beheaded mum June Fox-Roberts, 65, in her home – before ghouls pinned blame on grieving daughter. ‘Code Blue: The Killing of June Fox-Roberts‘ is the new documentary about this tragic story.
June Fox-Roberts is described as an “unforgettable mum” who was living in Llantwit Fardre, South Wales. However, her life came to a violent end in the early hours of November 21.
In court it was claimed Deeley noticed the full moon and believed he was being instructed to kill a stranger by a “higher power”.
He found an axe and claimed to have put on a werewolf mask – which was never found – before entering June’s home through an unlocked door at around 1.45am.
It’s believed the noise alerted the mum, who came downstairs to investigate and was savagely beaten unconscious by Deeley.
The killer then dragged her body from the hallway into the dining room onto a tarpaulin sheet, where he decapitated and dismembered her with an axe.
The police investigation into Deeley’s crime has been documented in ITV’s July 2023 series Code Blue: The Killing Of June Fox-Roberts.
It reveals chilling details, including Deeley’s obsession with Satan and refusal to cooperate with police – and how online trolls turned on the victim’s family.
The documentary reveals Deeley shaved and dyed his hair to change his appearance in June’s bathroom before fleeing the scene.
But who is Luke Deeley, the murderer branded online as the “Container Man” and what exactly did he do to the mum-of-three? Read on for more.
Who is Luke Deeley?
Luke Deeley is a young man who gained fame for committing a murder. He was 25 at the time and a student at the University of South Wales.
Luke, now 26, murdered a stranger in their own home in November 2021.
Deeley, a paranoid schizophrenic who was reported to be obsessed with “Satan and demons”, had been studying illustration at university before he killed June Fox-Roberts.
Deeley is dubbed “container man” after CCTV footage proved he wwas seen sleeping in a trailer just a five-minute walk from June’s home.
He carried out the murder of June ten days after leaving his student accommodation.
He left the residence after having complaints made against him by fellow students, who had asked for him to be removed.
One complaint came after he called a female fellow student a “b****” and a “c***” and threw water over her.
What did Luke Deeley do to June Fox-Roberts?
On November 21, 2021, Luke entered the home of mother, grandmother and great-grandmother June Fox-Roberts.
IT consultant June, who had been widowed over ten years before, had never met Deeley before and was a complete stranger to him.
She had lived in her house since 1985.
After letting himself into June’s Llantwit Fardre, South Wales home, Deeley bludgeoned June and knocked her out.
He then decapitated her with an axe, chopped up June’s body, and stuffed her limbs in plastic bags.
Deeley was also armed with a chainsaw.
Prosecutor John Hipkin KC told Newport Crown Court at Deeley’s trial that a forensic reconstruction of the killing showed a chainsaw covered in blood.
The weapon was “not used in the dismemberment process,” however.
June’s dog was in the house at the time of her death.
After killing June, Deeley fled the scene and the aftermath of the horrific event was later found by one of June’s daughters.
In a bid to change his appearance, Luke then shaved and dyed his hair.
A post mortem found that mum-of-three June was still alive when she suffered blunt force injuries to her head.
She showed evidence of injuries that indicated “stamping”, as well as the initial blow to the forehead had knocked her out.
Where is Luke Deeley now?
As of 2023, Deeley has been detained indefinitely in a psychiatric hospital under the Mental Health Act.
He pleaded guilty to manslaughter by way of diminished responsibility in March 2023.
Deeley was arrested on November 23 in a nearby village two days after June’s murder and claimed to police that he had been instructed to kill someone by a “higher power”.
In custody, Deeley claimed to be a man named Lewis Thomas and declined to give his date of birth.
He also refused to answer questions during police questioning and refused to give a DNA sample.
Police identified him as Deeley, who was a missing person, and had 96 hours to charge or release him.
The court later heard that, at the time of June’s murder, Deeley was having a delusion that a group of people were “out to get him”.
After Deeley’s sentencing, June’s family released a statement saying their “world imploded” on the day of her death.
Describing June as someone who “had a huge heart”, they said their family member had been taken from them “in a horrific way”.
Their statement continued: “June was not afraid of death, but she wanted to die peacefully with her family around her and Luke stole that right from her and all of us when he took her life years before her natural time.”
Defendant Roger Elias read a letter from Deeley’s parents saying: “The case is disturbing, shocking and tragic, our hearts go out to her family.
“We can only imagine the grief and trauma they are going though. We wake up every day wishing their mother was alive and well.”
June’s daughter Abi’s life has been traumatised after sighting on the murder scene of her mom.
Around 12 hours after the killing, June’s daughter Abi visited her mum’s home with a friend after becoming concerned when they couldn’t contact her.
Opening the front door, they walked into what was described as a “murder scene of nightmares” and phoned the police.
In a recording, Abi describes “blood going from the door” and “something covered in plastic” that she believed to be her mum.
Abi, who suffers from PTSD, tells the documentary: “I’ll never get those images out of my head.
“That’s something that I’ve got to live with now for the rest of my life.”
The attack shocked the 16,000-strong village community to its core.
June’s daughter Trish was wrongly accused of being her mum’s killer online until further investigation proved otherwise.
When killer Luke Deeley disguised himself, Police say he stood out due to his “very strange, dyed haircut” and wore clothes that matched a photo of June’s daughter Trish.
June’s daughter Trish Fox says friends quizzed her about the volume of police outside her mother’s home.
Soon social media trolls and have-a-go sleuths began to speculate about what had happened.
Trish says: “There were photos on social media with the speculation that I murdered my mother.
“It’s quite hurtful that people thought I was capable of doing something like that.
“Everything I have is from my mum and we were each other’s world.”
Abi also started receiving questions about the case including “if my sister had killed my mum”.
She says: “I couldn’t believe that people would do that – put pictures up of someone going through the worst time of their life, and the damage that it was causing was absolutely horrendous.”
Police visited his former student home near Cardiff to glean more information including isolating himself and drawing image of Satan.
Deeley had moved into a house share in September 2021 but his behaviour soon became challenging. He played “excessively loud music” and even damaged a fire alarm.
Imogen, who lived with him for two months, says: “He seemed like someone we would click with, but it became more apparent, the more we lived with each other, that it was harder for us to be around each other.”
His odd behaviour included eating liver for breakfast and leaving blood on the floor, as well as worrying sketches.
Imogen says: “He spent quite a lot of the day in the kitchen area drawing pictures of Satan and self-portraits, which made him look quite evil. It freaked us out.”
In November 2021, 10 days before he killed June, Deeley vacated the property after an explosive row with Imogen that led her to call the police and complain to their landlord.
She claims they were in shock after he called her a “c***” and a “b***”, threw water at her and used loud, threatening language.
He left many of his possessions in his room; police found photographs of “women tied up in various positions” and other items that hinted at his deteriorating mental state.
In a journal, inscribed with the words “THOUGHTS BEST NOT SAID ALOUD”, Deeley detailed plans to dupe those assessing his wellbeing.
“Don’t tell the psychiatrists what’s going on in your head… Tell them you are ok,” one entry read.
Police found sketches of Satan and demons and another described as “half human, half animal, sadistic”.
They also found a threatening tweet that read: “I’ll break your neck, rip out your spine. I honestly don’t think people should underestimate how much of a f*****g psycho I am nowadays.”
Who are June Fox-Roberts’ daughters?
June Fox-Roberts was a mother to her three grown-up children – Trisha, Sebastian and Abigail Shepard. She was also a grandmother, and great-grandmother to her great-granddaughter who was born earlier that month and she sadly never got the chance to meet.
The family described how their “world imploded” when June died and admitted they are struggling to piece their lives back together.
June’s daughters remember their mum as “an incredible woman” who touched the lives of everyone she met.
Abi says: “She was an unforgettable person. She just loved people; she loved talking, she loved communicating and she just had a lot of heart. She loved being a mum as well, and a grandparent.
“My mum taught me to make the best of every situation because we only have one life.”
Abi admits she hasn’t had a chance to grieve yet because she feels her mum is still “with us”.
Trish adds: “She’s everywhere. My mum’s legacy will live on. She’ll always be in our memories, and in our hearts.”
