Man, 38, charged with seaside town 'axe attack' murder as victim is pictured for first time

Published: 20:00 BST, 9 October 2026 | Updated: 20:08 BST, 9 October 2026

A man has been charged with murder after a woman was killed in an alleged late-night axe attack in a seaside town.

Emergency services rushed to a property in Dartmouth, Devon, at 9.20pm on Tuesday, where Rebecca Grass, 46, was found dead.

Luke Rigby, 38, of Dartmouth, has been charged with her murder and is due to appear before Plymouth Magistrates' Court on Saturday.

The incident also saw a man, in his 40s, taken to hospital with facial injuries as Rigby is also charged with assault occasioning grievous bodily harm.

He is also charged with three further separate alleged offences of assault by beating, a racially aggravated public order offence and assault on an emergency worker. 

Rigby currently remains in police custody. 

Police have not released details of a suspected weapon or a possible motive for the killing, but neighbours reported seeing someone 'with an axe' in the area around the time.

A local business owner said: 'Everybody in the town is saying the victim was hit with an axe, it's just sickening if that is the case.' 

Rebecca Grass, 46, was found dead at a property in Dartmouth, Devon, on Tuesday evening

A team of forensic officers outside the property in Dartmouth, Devon, on Wednesday

There was a huge emergency service response to the incident from police, ambulance, and the fire brigade 

Miss Grass's family have been informed and are being supported by specially trained officers.

Her son, Reece Romeril, paid an emotional tribute to his mother, who was known to her friends and family as Bex, and has set up a GoFundMe page to raise funds for the 'send-off the kindest of souls deserves'.

He wrote: 'As many few have been informed on Wednesday morning I had CID turn up to my work to inform me with some bad news

'In Dartmouth, there was a murder of a 46-year-old woman on Tuesday evening... my own mother. 

'How someone can brutally kill my mother in such a horrible way is absolutely terrifying to think about

'Dealing with this is something I would have never expected in life and times have been difficult lately for sure, my thoughts are with the ones who loved her and my family.'

Ending his tribute, he wrote: 'RIP MUM I love you so much and miss you already.'

One local said she witnessed two police cars and a white van racing through the town's narrow winding streets on Tuesday night.

She said: 'I was almost run over by them. I was walking along Above Town (correct, road name) heading away from the church around 9.45pm and a white van came flying past followed by two police cars then a third soon after.'

Another said: 'It was mayhem last night. Paramedics and police doing a fab job and thoughts and prayers with the victims.

'I'm shocked. I have never heard of anything like this in Dartmouth. My thoughts are with anyone caught up in this.'