Ricky Reel: Hope for family as police re-investigate his death after 25 years
Police say they will re-examine the death of a student whose body was found in the River Thames 25 years ago, after more than two decades of campaigning by his family.
Ricky Reel was just 20 years old when he went missing on a night out with friends on 15 October 1997 in Kingston upon Thames.
Ricky, who was south Asian, had been with a group of friends when they were racially attacked by two white men.
He and his friends all ran in different directions to escape the abusers, but whilst the rest of his pals made it back home safely, Ricky was never seen again.
Seven days later, his body would be found at the bottom of the River Thames.
No one was ever arrested or charged with his death, and his mother Sukhdev Reel says this was down to institutional racism.
“My race, my colour, played a big part in Ricky’s investigation, simply because I’m an Asian woman,” says Mrs Reel.
Ricky’s mother says that “from day one” she had to fight for justice for her son as she claims that rather than investigating the tragic death of their son, they instead investigated the family.
‘They were stereotyping’
Mrs Reel says despite friends telling the police they had been subjected to an attack, they initially ignored these lines of inquiry, and tried to place blame on the family.
She claims they suggested he had ‘run away from home’ because he ‘may have been gay’ or escaped to ‘avoid an arranged marriage’.
“They were stereotyping and pointing fingers at my race.
“They carried out this so-called investigation with racist views in their mind,” Mrs Reel claims.
Eventually, the police would conclude that Ricky had probably died after falling into the river whilst trying to urinate.
However, a jury inquest into Ricky’s death in 1999 would return an open verdict and according to Ricky’s mum, it criticised police for not gathering enough evidence, or properly following other lines of inquiries.
“I have been fighting for the last 25 years,” says Ricky’s mother.
Ricky’s mother Sukhdev Reel
‘I lost a lot of family time’
Battling through her tears, she explained the toll that her son’s death, and subsequent treatment by police, has had on her family.
“Campaigning for 25 years has really deteriorated my health because, for the last 25 years, there hasn’t been a night where I have slept throughout the night.
“I lost a lot of family time. I missed lots of family birthdays, I missed my [other] children’s upbringing.”
“But I had to do what I had to do. Because my children, my family needed to know what happened,” she says.
The decades spent campaigning may have finally paid off.
After hearing reports that the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, Sir Mark Rowley, had made a genuine commitment to reform the police and acknowledge its failings, Mrs Reel called its bluff, demanding a meeting to discuss her son’s case.
She met Commissioner Rowley on 11 January and police have now agreed they will re-investigate the case.
‘Actions speak louder than words’
In a statement, a spokesperson for the Met said: “The details of this meeting remain private.
“The Met’s Major Inquiries Specialist Casework team has re-examined the case and is now looking more closely at certain lines of inquiry from the original investigation.
“These lines of inquiry are being followed up with fresh eyes and the benefit of modern technology so we can explore every possible avenue in the hope of providing answers to Ricky’s family.”
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But Mrs Reel says “actions speak louder than words” as she explains she has been “promised” lots of things in the past.
“Time will tell,” she says.
“He promised us a lot of things and I hope he does. So that finally, I can put my feet up and say; ‘good, I’ve done it. I can look at my son’s picture and say, Ricky, I have given you what I promised’.”
The first known victim of serial paedophile Richard Burrows has told Sky News he regrets not reporting his assault at the time to save others from “falling into the same trap”.
Burrows, 81, will learn his sentence at Chester Crown Court today after being convicted last month of dozens of sexual offences against young boys.
The judge told him it is “inevitable” he might never be released.
The former scout master had spent 27 years on the run, living in what he called “paradise” in Thailand, after stealing the identity of a friend and fleeing the UK when he was due in court in 1997.
A police photo of Burrows from the 1990s. Pic: Cheshire Police
He was arrested when he arrived at Heathrow in March last year.
The trial heard that Burrows had obtained positions of authority and systematically abused boys from the 1960s to the mid-1990s.
He had worked as a housemaster at a school for troubled boys and befriended other youngsters through amateur radio clubs.
One of those was his first victim, aged 14 at the time in the late 1960s, and now 71.
He told Sky News: “It’s been an awfully long time and after 57 years I’ve got to see the results at the end of it.
“It does actually feel like a weight’s been lifted. You hear that expression all through life, but it’s the first time ever really felt it.”
He described Burrows as a “devious, nasty creature”.
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The man, who cannot be identified as he is the victim of a sexual offence, attended Burrows’s trial and delivered a victim impact statement at his sentencing.
He said he wanted to do this because of the regret he carries to this day.
“I wish I’d said something when it happened because I feel that, in retrospect, if I would have said something, then maybe it would have stopped other people from falling into the same trap that I did,” he added.
“But at that time, at that age, I thought I probably wouldn’t have been believed, and I felt too ashamed and embarrassed and even guilty to even mention it to anybody else. So, I didn’t, and I regret not doing that.”
Photos of Burrows in Thailand. Pic: Cheshire Police
The man contacted police after seeing an appeal for help in finding the fugitive Burrows on the BBC’s Crimewatch programme in 2011. It would be another decade before he was arrested.
He said: “I really begrudge him those 27 years. It’s 27 years and he’s just left a trail of wreckage behind him while he’s enjoying himself.
“It’s a shame he’s not got another 27 years to look forward to in jail.”
Although he was the earliest victim on the indictment at Burrows’s trial, like detectives from Cheshire Police, he believes there could be other victims who have not come forward.
He said: “Personally, I don’t think I was the first victim. I think that he was probably fairly well practiced in the art of what he was doing prior to my meeting him.”
Burrows being met by police at Heathrow. Pic: Cheshire Police
Burrows was initially charged in May 1997 but failed to attend a hearing later that year.
He remained on the wanted list until police using facial recognition software matched him to a man using the name Peter Smith. He had stolen the identity of a terminally ill friend to obtain a passport.
After his conviction in March, judge Steven Everett told Burrows he had caused “untold distress and trauma to the victims and their families”.
The UK has joined US forces in attacking a Houthi target in Yemen for the first time since Donald Trump was re-elected.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) confirmed the strikes took place on Tuesday as part of the government’s response to Houthi attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
The ministry said careful intelligence analysis identified a cluster of buildings used by the Houthis to manufacture the sort of drones used to attack ships, located 15 miles south of the capital Sanaa.
RAF Typhoon FGR4s conducted strikes on several buildings using Paveway IV precision-guided bombs.
The planes had air refuelling support from Voyager tankers.
The ministry said the strike was conducted after dark to reduce the likelihood of civilians being in the area.
All the aircraft returned safely.
John Healey. Pic: Reuters
Defence Secretary John Healey said: “This government will always act in the interests of our national and economic security.
“Royal Air Force Typhoons have successfully conducted strikes against a Houthi military target in Yemen and all UK aircraft and personnel have returned safely to base.
“We conducted these strikes, supported by the US, to degrade Houthi capabilities and prevent further attacks against UK and international shipping.”
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Houthis a ‘persistent threat’ to ‘freedom of navigation’
Mr Healey said Houthi activities in the Red Sea are a “persistent threat” to “freedom of navigation”.
“A 55% drop in shipping through the Red Sea has already cost billions, fuelling regional instability and risking economic security for families in the UK,” he said.
“The government is steadfast in our commitment to reinforcing global stability and protecting British working people. I am proud of the dedication and professionalism shown by the service men and women involved in this operation.”
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
US intensifies strikes on Houthis
It was the first time UK forces have struck a target in Yemen since May last year, the ministry confirmed.
The US has intensified its strikes on the Iran-backed Houthis under Mr Trump’s presidency, after his re-election in November 2024.
The group began launching attacks on shipping routes in November 2023 saying they were in solidarity with Palestinians over Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza.
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Footage showing people being pulled from rubble has been released by Houthi rebels in Yemen
The strike came after a Houthi-controlled TV channel claimed a US strike killed 68 people at a detention centre for African migrants in Yemen on Monday.
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