Cumbria killer: Derrick Bird's parting gift

With the Inland Revenue chasing him for thousands of pounds and at loggerheads with his twin brother David over their parents’ will, the 52-year-old taxi driver drove to son Graeme’s house the evening before the shootings.

With his deadly plan already fixed in his head, he arrived unannounced and handed over a large sum of money. Graeme, 28, looked perplexed but Bird simply said: “It’s for the baby” and drove away. As police yesterday continued to piece together the events that led to Wednesday’s murderous rampage in Cumbria, it became increasingly clear that Bird set about the carnage with a definite plan.

A long-standing and lethal combination of bitterness, jealousy and perceived injustice appear to have finally pushed him over the edge, sending him on the spree which saw him first shoot dead his brother David and then the family solicitor Kevin Commons.

But the beginnings of the story date back more than 12 years to when Derrick’s twin David was given £25,000 by their late father Joseph.

Years of jealous brooding ensued, finally culminating in a morning of violence which would cement his name alongside the worst mass murderers in UK history.

For more than a decade, Bird watched with envy as David used the £25,000 payout to build up a farming business, selling off property which would eventually secure him a fortune of over £1million.

Bird, meanwhile, struggled, earning a pittance as a taxi driver, chased by the Inland Revenue for up to £60,000 and living in a modest, ­pebble-dashed terrace.

In recent weeks, the bitterness grew into rage when the twins’ mother Mary, 90, became ill and rows began over her will and the family money which had been passed on to her by their father Joseph.

A final summit meeting between the twins earlier this week, in the presence of lawyer Mr Commons, was the tipping point.

Under the threat of being jailed for tax evasion, Derrick demanded he be left a substantial sum but was furious when he discovered that David, once again, was to be the main beneficiary.

Mark Cooper, a friend and fellow taxi driver, said: “He said, ‘I’ll go to jail’. He just asked me if he could handle jail. He didn’t want to go.”

Another friend said that after a few drinks, Bird gave an ominous warning: “I’ll shoot the lot of them.”

Documents obtained by the Daily Express reveal that when Joseph Bird died in October 1998, neither Derrick nor his older brother Brian received an immediate payout, with the bulk of their father’s wealth going to their mother.

Joseph’s will stipulated that David would have to subtract the £25,000 he had been given a year earlier from any money he later inherited.

It is not known whether David ever repaid this money. In recent weeks, the twins’ mother Mary suffered a number of strokes, sparking furious rows over the contents of her will. It is believed the brothers clashed over how much each should receive in light of the gift from their father to David.

The rancour increased, with the family rift opening even further as Mrs Bird’s will was redrafted.

Probate records reveal details of the £25,000 gift to David. Joseph, a retired county council employee, lived with wife Mary at Darren Garth, Ennerdale Bridge, Cleator, Cumbria, at the time of his death.

Probate was granted by the High Court less than a month later on November 30, 1998, which is exceptionally quick.

The records reveal that he left a gross estate worth less than £200,000 and reduced after liabilities to a net estate of £10,000.

It is likely that this figure would not have included savings jointly held with Mary or the value of any property they jointly owned.

His will, originally drawn up in November 1987, left everything to his wife – after payments of debts and funeral expenses – on condition that she survived him.

But it added that should Mary have died, then the estate should be shared equally between his three sons Brian, David and Derrick.

If any of his sons died before such a payout, then their share should go to their children. Joseph added a note in his will stating that any children benefiting in such circumstances should “include my grandson Graeme Bird and any other children of my son Derrick Bird”.

Graeme and his wife Victoria have a new baby Leighton, the intended recipient of Derrick Bird’s parting gift. Bird shot himself in woods near the hamlet of Boot, the 13th victim of the tragedy.

Another 11 people were wounded as Bird drove round Cumbria on his 45-mile rampage. Five were still in hospital yesterday.

Police last night stressed they had no chance of stopping Bird. Chief Constable Craig Mackey said 10 victims were killed within an hour as Bird drove across west Cumbria. “At no stage did any police officer have the chance to end this any sooner.”

David Cameron and Home Secretary Theresa May visited the devastated community yesterday. The Prime Minister described local ­people as “incredibly brave”.