The Essex Murders: Private investigators say new evidence ‘points to different killer’ in 1995 Range Rover shooting
It has been almost 30 years since one of the UK’s most notorious murder cases – the gangland shooting of three drug dealers whose bodies were found in a Range Rover parked up on farmland in a small village in Essex.
Patrick Tate, 37, Tony Tucker, 38, and Craig Rolfe, 26, were each shot in the head at point-blank range in December 1995.
In 1998, two men, Michael Steele and Jack Whomes, were jailed for the triple murder that became known as one of the UK’s biggest gangland executions.
Search for any of these names online – or type in Essex Boys Murders, Rettendon Murders, Range Rover Murders, and you’ll get thousands of results – news stories, details of appeals, films based on the stories of those involved, interviews with associates, commentary on internet forums, and social media pages set up by armchair detectives.
The killings inspired films in The Rise of the Footsoldier franchise, as well as the 2000 film Essex Boys, starring Sean Bean.
Michael Steele and Jack Whomes (below) were jailed in 1998
Essex Police say the case has been “exhaustively examined” over the years – but despite the convictions, many believe there is more to the story.
Now, private investigators from the firm TM Eye, who began looking into the case in 2020, have told Sky News they have uncovered evidence that casts doubt on the convictions. They believe the real killer has walked free.
The investigation, headed by David McKelvey, a former Met Police detective, will be featured in an upcoming three-part series, The Essex Murders, on Sky Documentaries.
“We would not be doing this if we had any doubts at all,” he told Sky News. “We’re career detectives, we’ve put bad people in prison.
“We would not be trying to get anybody out of prison who we didn’t believe was innocent. Jack Whomes and Michael Steele did not do this.”
Mr McKelvey says the pair were involved in drugs offences, for which they should have been punished.
“But they did not carry out this murder,” he added. “And the important point here is: they didn’t do it, someone else did – and that person or those people are still on the streets.”
The original investigation
TM Eye private investigator David McKelvey. Pic: Sky UK
The bodies of Mr Tate, Mr Tucker and Mr Rolfe were discovered in the Range Rover on farmland in Rettendon, near Chelmsford, on the morning of 7 December 1995.
The scene provided little in the way of forensic evidence, according to reports from the time.
All three men were known by Essex Police; part of the reason the case became so high-profile was that Mr Tucker ran security for Raquels, the nightclub where Leah Betts had taken the ecstasy tablet that led to her death less than a month before the murders.
The TM Eye investigators question Essex Police’s timeline of the night of the murders, alleging the shooting happened at about midnight, rather than just before 7pm – a farmer who heard gunshots backs this in the programme – as well as mobile phone evidence presented during the trial.
But they believe the case against Whomes and Steele rested largely on the testimony of a man called Darren Nicholls.
The word of a ‘supergrass’
In May 1996, the man then known as Darren Nicholls was arrested on suspicion of possessing a large amount of cannabis that had been imported into Clacton from the Netherlands.
While being questioned by police over this case, he told officers it was Steele and Whomes who were behind the Essex Murders and that he had been the getaway driver.
Nicholls, who said the three men had been killed over a bad drugs deal, became known as a “supergrass”; he was placed under witness protection and given a new identity after giving evidence against the pair.
“Our start point was: did Darren Nicholls tell the truth?” Mr McKelvey said. “If he told the truth, then Michael Steele and Jack Whomes are guilty and that’s the end of it. But as we’ve delved into it all a different story has emerged.”
Albert Patrick, another former detective who worked on the private investigation, says: “You have got to be ultra careful when you’re dealing with the evidence of another criminal against a criminal, as simple as that.”
The documentary includes interviews with associates of the three men who died, as well as interviews with experts and police officers who investigated the case.
Former detective Ivan Dibley, who investigated the case at the time, says the right men were jailed. Pic: Sky UK
Former detective superintendent Ivan Dibley admits physical evidence was “scant” and there was an element of Nicholls “saving his own skin”, but that his account had an “enormous” amount of detail; he says his evidence was examined thoroughly and “it was pretty clear that what he said was true”.
There is “no doubt in my mind” that the right men were convicted, he adds. But the TM Eye investigators spoke to criminals, who feature anonymously in the documentary, who tell a different story.
‘A professional assassination’
One man, known as Witness A in the series, maintains the murders were linked to organised crime in east London and that the three men were actually killed over part of the proceeds of a £495,000 armed robbery allegedly being stolen by Mr Tucker.
This man was interviewed by Essex Police shortly after the deaths, the TM Eye investigators say, but his account was not taken any further.
This is the word of another self-confessed criminal – one of the various different accounts of what happened, from people who could have ulterior motives.
The investigators say they have to be cautious, but believe they were able to corroborate this account.
“Because of our backgrounds, our history and our knowledge of organised crime, particularly in east London, we were able to get behind that,” Mr McKelvey says. “We were able to identify officers who dealt with him, criminals who knew him, and his account is compelling.”
Towards the end of their investigation, they spoke to another anonymous witness who tells them he organised the hit.
The target was Mr Tucker, he says, because of the armed robbery. Mr Tate and Mr Rolfe were “collateral damage… wrong place, wrong time”.
“When you put the whole thing together, you had serious and organised crime behind this,” Mr McKelvey says. “You had a professional assassin, a sophisticated assassination.”
The Rise of the Footsoldier
Carlton Leach features in The Essex Murders documentary series. Pic: Sky UK
One person featured in the series is former football hooligan Carlton Leach, a friend and associate of Mr Tucker whose autobiography inspired The Rise of the Footsoldier film franchise.
He tells Sky News he wanted to take part to “speak up” for his friend. While he admits his lifestyle “wasn’t right”, he says there were “a lot of people living in that world, making money [from drugs]”.
He says Mr Tucker had told him of a “meet” with Steele. “So I do know that Mickey Steele was there or involved in how they got there. I can’t say for definite, because I wasn’t there… but I do know he was part of it. As far as I’m concerned, whether he pulled the trigger or not, he was part of the parcel that killed them.”
Read more:
Rise of the Footsoldier origins: The story behind cult Essex films
However, he believes there was at least one other person involved. “I don’t think the person who’s actually killed them has ever been caught, who pulled the trigger. And I think whoever did kill them was an assassin and had done it before… it wasn’t just a random shooting, it wasn’t someone just someone running up to the car. It was a planned murder. And it was done professionally.”
Where are Whomes and Steele now?
Michael Steele and Jack Whomes leaving the High Court under armed guard in 2006, when the sentences were appealed
Since the convictions, the case has been taken to the Court of Appeal several times.
The appeals have been rejected and in 2006 Lord Justice Kay said there was no “element of unsafety” relating to the original convictions of both defendants.
The case has also been reviewed by the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) and the decision was made in January 2023 not to refer the case back to the Court of Appeal.
Whomes, now 61, had his life sentence reduced in 2018 after making “exceptional progress” in prison and was approved for release under strict licence conditions in 2021, while Steele, 78, has a parole hearing in May.
What do Essex Police and the CCRC say?
The TM Eye investigators say they hope the documentary will encourage even more witnesses to come forward and that they believe the case should be reviewed by an independent police force.
A spokesperson for the CCRC said in a statement: “A comprehensive review has concluded there is no real possibility that the Court of Appeal would overturn these murder convictions.
“The decision notifications were shared with the applicants and their legal representatives.”
A spokesperson for Essex Police said there had been “an exhaustive” investigation into the murders and that the force welcomed the CCRC’s decision “as this case has been exhaustively examined over the last 27 years and there is no fresh evidence identified which would call the original verdicts into question”.
The Essex Murders starts at 9pm on 15 April on Sky Documentaries.
UK
Ryland Headley: Man, 92, who raped and murdered Louisa Dunne in Bristol nearly 60 years ago, jailed for life
A 92-year-old man has been sentenced to life with a minimum term of 20 years in prison for the rape and murder of an elderly widow nearly 60 years ago.
Ryland Headley was found guilty on Monday of killing 75-year-old Louisa Dunne at her Bristol home in June 1967, in what is thought to be the UK’s longest cold case to reach trial, and has been told by the judge he “will die in prison”.
The mother-of-two’s body was found by neighbours after Headley, then a 34-year-old railway worker, forced his way inside the terraced house in the Easton area before attacking her.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
The UK’s longest cold case to reach trial
Police found traces of semen and a palm print on one of the rear windows inside the house – but it was about 20 years before DNA testing.
The case remained unsolved for more than 50 years until Avon and Somerset detectives sent off items from the original investigation and found a DNA match to Headley.
He had moved to Suffolk after the murder and served a prison sentence for raping two elderly women in 1977.
Prosecutors said the convictions showed he had a “tendency” to break into people’s homes at night and, in some cases, “target an elderly woman living alone, to have sex with her despite her attempts to fend him off, and to threaten violence”.
Louisa Dunne in 1933. Pic: Avon and Somerset Constabulary
Headley during his arrest. Pic: Avon and Somerset Constabulary
Headley, from Ipswich, who did not give evidence, denied raping and murdering Ms Dunne, but was found guilty of both charges after a trial at Bristol Crown Court.
Detectives said forces across the country are investigating whether Headley could be linked to other unsolved crimes.
Mrs Dunne’s granddaughter, Mary Dainton, who was 20 when her relative was killed, told the court that her murder “had a big impact on my mother, my aunt and her family.
“I don’t think my mother ever recovered from it. The anxiety caused by her mother’s brutal rape and murder clouded the rest of her life.
“The fact the offender wasn’t caught caused my mother to become and remain very ill.
“When people found out about the murder, they withdrew from us. In my experience, there is a stigma attached to rape and murder.”
The front of Louisa Dunne’s home. Pic: Avon and Somerset Constabulary
Louisa Dunne’s skirt. Pic: Avon and Somerset Constabulary
Finding out her grandmother’s killer had been caught after almost six decades “turned my life upside down,” she said.
“I feel sad and very tired, which has affected the relationships I have with those close to me. I didn’t expect to deal with something of such emotional significance at this stage of my life.
“It saddens me deeply that all the people who knew and loved Louisa are not here to see that justice has been done.”
Palmprint images. Pic: Avon and Somerset Constabulary
After her statement, Mr Justice Sweeting told Mrs Dainton: “It is not easy to talk about matters like this in public.
“Thank you very much for doing it in such a clear and dignified way.”
The judge told Headley his crimes showed “a complete disregard for human life and dignity.
“Mrs Dunne was vulnerable, she was a small elderly woman living alone. You treated her as a means to an end.
“The violation of her home, her body and ultimately her life was a pitiless and cruel act by a depraved man.
“She must have experienced considerable pain and fear before her death,” he said.
Sentencing Headley to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 20 years, the judge told him: “You will never be released, you will die in prison.”
Detective Inspector Dave Marchant of Avon and Somerset Police said Headley was “finally facing justice for the horrific crimes he committed against Louisa in 1967.
“The impact of this crime has cast a long shadow over the city and in particular Louisa’s family, who have had to deal with the sadness and trauma ever since.”
The officer praised Ms Dainton’s “resilience and courage” during what he called a “unique” case and thanked investigators from his own force, as well as South West Forensics, detectives from Suffolk Constabulary, the National Crime Agency and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).
Read more on Sky News:
Lucy Letby hospital leaders arrested
UK heatwave latest updates
Tailgating deaths prompt new campaign
Charlotte Ream, of the CPS, described Headley’s crimes as “appalling”.
She said Louisa Dunne “died in a horrifying attack carried out in the place where she should have felt safest – her own home.
“Mrs Dunne’s death continues to have a traumatic impact on her family members: the passage of time has not lessened their pain.
“For 58 years, this appalling crime went unsolved and Ryland Headley, the man we now know is responsible, avoided justice.”
Jeremy Benson KC, defending Headley, offered no personal mitigation on behalf of the defendant.
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.
Please refresh the page for the latest version.
You can receive breaking news alerts on a smartphone or tablet via the Sky News app. You can also follow us on WhatsApp and subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with the latest news.
Three managers at the hospital where Lucy Letby worked have been arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter.
They were in senior roles at the Countess of Chester Hospital in 2015 and 2016 and have been bailed pending further enquiries, Cheshire Constabulary said. Their names have not been made public.
Letby, 35, was found guilty of murdering seven children and attempting to murder seven more between June 2015 and June 2016 while working in the hospital’s neonatal unit.
Detective Superintendent Paul Hughes explained that gross negligent manslaughter focuses on the “action or inaction of individuals”.
There is also an investigation into corporate manslaughter at the hospital, which began in October 2023.
That focuses on “senior leadership and their decision-making”, Mr Hughes said. The intention there is to determine whether any “criminality has taken place concerning the response to the increased levels of fatalities”.
The scope was widened to include gross negligence manslaughter in March of this year.
Lucy Letby was found guilty of murdering seven children and attempting to murder seven more
Mr Hughes said it is “important to note” that this latest development “does not impact on the convictions of Lucy Letby for multiple offences of murder and attempted murder”.
He added: “Both the corporate manslaughter and gross negligence manslaughter elements of the investigation are continuing and there are no set timescales for these.
“Our investigation into the deaths and non-fatal collapses of babies at the neo-natal units of both the Countess of Chester Hospital and the Liverpool Women’s Hospital between the period of 2012 to 2016 is also ongoing.”
Read more from Sky News:
Stab victim describes horrible reality of knife crime
Royal train to be scrapped with family to rely on helicopters
A public inquiry has also been examining the hospital’s response to concerns raised about Letby before her arrest.
In May, it was announced the inquiry’s final report into how the former nurse was able to commit her crimes will now be published early next year.
Earlier this year, lawyers for Lucy Letby called for the suspension of the inquiry, claiming there was “overwhelming and compelling evidence” that her convictions were unsafe.
In February, an international panel of neonatologists and paediatric specialists told reporters that poor medical care and natural causes were the reasons for the collapses and deaths.
Their evidence has been passed to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), which investigates potential miscarriages of justice, and Letby’s legal team hopes her case will be referred back to the Court of Appeal.
As we pulled back the hospital curtain, he was hunched over and clearly in pain.
He had climbed off the hospital bed to greet us with a polite smile, then hobbled back to lie down again.
Every breath was uncomfortable, but he wanted to share the horrible reality of knife crime.
The young knife attack victim in Manchester
“I’ve never in my life been stabbed so I don’t know how it’s meant to even feel,” he said.
“The pain came when I realised the blood’s just spitting out of the side of my rib cage and that’s when I started panicking.
“My lungs felt like they were filled with blood… I thought each breath that I take, I’m going to drown in my own blood.
“I just felt as though I was slowly slipping away.”
Paramedics helped save his life and got him to the hospital in Manchester.
Sky News cannot name the young victim or go into the details of the attack because the police are investigating his case.
We were alongside a support worker called Favour, who is part of a growing team called Navigators. They go into hospitals to help young victims of violence.
While checking on how his recovery is going, she gently asked what he wanted to do next.
“You should have the right to feel safe,” she said to him.
“So don’t blame yourself for what happened… we are going to be there to help you.”
Favour talks with the victim
‘Scarring and traumatic’
In a corridor outside the major trauma ward at the Manchester Royal Infirmary, Favour said: “They are often scared, often really tired from being in hospital.
“It does stay with you, not just for a couple of weeks, but it can go on for months, years, because it is something very scarring and traumatic.
“Having someone to talk to, being able to be very vulnerable with… that can lead you to find different spaces that are safe for you, can make a huge difference.”
In the adjacent Children’s Hospital in Manchester, we met the clinical lead at the Greater Manchester Violence Reduction Unit.
Support worker Favour is part of a team called Navigators
Dr Rachel Jenner is a senior consultant who expanded her emergency department work into the wider mission of violence reduction after treating one particular young stab victim.
“When he arrived at the hospital, he was obviously very distressed and stressed,” she said. “A little bit later on, when things were stable, I asked him if he wanted me to call his mum.
“When I asked that question, he just kind of physically crumpled on the bed and just looked like the vulnerable child that he was, and that was really impactful for me.”
Dr Rachel Jenner
‘Positive results’
The Violence Reduction Unit was established in 2019 with a commitment from the city’s authorities to work together better to prevent violence and deal with it efficiently when it occurs.
Dr Jenner still treats young knife crime victims, but revealed the number of stab-related admissions is falling in her hospital.
“The trend is downwards,” she confirmed. “We’ve definitely seen some positive results.”
The latest statistics in England and Wales show the number of hospital admissions for assault by a sharp object fell by 3% to 3,735 admissions in the year ending September 2024.
“We’re never complacent,” Dr Jenner said. “You reality check yourself all the time, because obviously if… someone gets stabbed, then it’s quite possible that I’ll be treating them.”
She said the Navigators are crucial to working with young patients.
“They have a really different way of engaging with young people, they’re much better at it than many other professionals,” she said.
“It’s not a one-size-fits-all model, they actually wrap around that support according to circumstances… that’s a really positive improvement.”
Tacking violence ‘like infectious disease’
Dr Jenner added: “We try and take a public health approach to violence reduction. In the same way that we would address an infectious disease, if we can use those methods and principles to look at violence.
“Not just reacting when it happens, but actually looking at how we can prevent the disease of violence, that in the long term will have a bigger impact.”
The key is teamwork, Dr Jenner said. Collaboration between the police, community leaders, victim support, health workers and people in education has noticeably improved.
Read more:
What are UK’s knife crime laws?
Plans for two types of ID to buy knives online
Students practise stopping a bleed
Children describe knife crime threat
The hospital also sends consultants into schools to teach pupils how to stop bleeds as part of an annual nationwide initiative that reaches 50,000 young people.
At a Stop The Bleed session in Bolton, Greater Manchester, we met 11 and 12-year-olds growing up with the threat of knife crime.
One Year 7 boy said: “There was a stabbing quite near where I live so it does happen, but it’s very crucial to learn how to stop this bleed and how to stop deaths.”
Another two friends talked about a boy their age who had been involved in an incident with a knife.
“No one would expect it for someone that young,” one said. “They’re just new to high school, fresh out of primary, and they shouldn’t just be doing that, too young.”
Sanaa Karajada
‘We are dealing with it every day’
Their school has decided to tackle the problem of knife crime head-on rather than pretend it isn’t affecting their pupils.
The pastoral lead at the school, Sanaa Karajada, told Sky News: “We are dealing with it every single day, so we have policies and procedures in place to prevent any escalations in our schools or in the community.
“It is very, very worrying and it’s upsetting that [students] are having to go through this, but you know we’ve got to be realistic… if we are shying away from it, we’re just saying it’s not a problem.
“But it is a problem within the community, it’s a problem in all of the UK.”
The government has pledged to halve knife crime within a decade.
These signs of progress may offer some hope, but there is still so much work to do.
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Sports2 years agoButton battles heat exhaustion in NASCAR debut
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike