 Among William de Cantilupe's ancestors were royal councillors, bodyguards and, distantly, Saint Thomas de Cantilupe.De Cantilupe's death by multiple stab wounds was a cause célèbre.The chief suspects were two neighbours—a local knight, Ralph Paynel, and the sheriff, Sir Thomas Kydale—as well as de Cantilupe's entire household, particularly his wife Maud, the cook and a squire.