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.
Entertainment
New Universal theme park set to open in UK – with promise of ‘billions’ of pounds for the economy
A deal for a new Universal theme park in Bedfordshire has been confirmed, which Rachel Reeves says will bring “billions” to the economy and create thousands of jobs.
It will be the first Universal-branded theme park and resort in Europe and is set to open in 2031, when it is expected to become the UK’s most popular visitor attraction.
The government said it will bring an estimated £50bn into the British economy and will create about 28,000 jobs – nearly 20,000 during the construction phase, and 8,000 more in hospitality and the creative industries when it opens.
A 500-room hotel and a retail and entertainment complex is planned alongside the theme park, which will be built on a former brickworks.
Universal, which is owned by Sky News’ US parent company Comcast, expects the 476-acre site just south of Bedford to generate nearly £50bn for the economy by 2055, with 8.5m visitors in its first year.
The plan remains subject to a formal planning decision process from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
Universal has committed to working with local colleges and universities to train students for hospitality jobs.
There are Universal theme parks in Florida (pictured), California, Japan, Beijing and Singapore. Pic: AP
Among some of the famous Universal films are Wicked, Minions, Oppenheimer, Bridget Jones, Fast and the Furious, and Jurassic World.
There are five Universal theme parks already: Orlando in Florida, Hollywood, Japan, Beijing, and Singapore.
The new Universal theme park will be just south of Bedford
Speaking to Wilfred Frost on Sky News Breakfast, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said the deal was “huge”.
“This is not just about numbers on the spreadsheet,” she said.
“This is about good jobs. It’s about growth. It’s about raising people’s living standards and putting money in people’s pockets. And it’s a massive vote of confidence in the United Kingdom.”
Welcoming the timing of the announcement, Ms Nandy added: “This deal comes off the back of one of the most tumultuous few weeks in global markets that I think anyone can remember within living memory.”
She said the fact that the government had been able to show it kept a “cool head” and “we don’t take knee-jerk decisions in response to global events” was one of the reasons it was able to announce the deal.
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The proposals to transform the site, a former brickworks, remain subject to a formal planning decision process
The government has said about 80% of employees at the theme park are expected to come from local areas, and it will support the “Oxford-Cambridge corridor” revived by the chancellor in January after the Conservatives scrapped plans for an Abingdon-Milton Keynes train link in 2021.
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It will also commit to a “major investment” in infrastructure around the Universal site to ensure it is well-connected and easily accessible.
The announcement comes days after the government approved an expansion of nearby Luton Airport.
Mike Cavanagh, President of Comcast Corporation, said: “We could not be more excited to take this very important step in our plan to create and deliver an incredible Universal theme park and resort in the heart of the United Kingdom, which complements our growing US-based parks business by expanding our global footprint to Europe.
“We appreciate the leadership and support of Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Chancellor Rachel Reeves, Minister for Investment Poppy Gustafsson, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy and their teams, as we work together to create and deliver a fantastic new landmark destination.”
Entertainment
BAFTA Games Awards: Astro Bot tops leaderboard – with psychological horror close behind
Astro Bot was the big winner at this year’s BAFTA Games Awards, taking home five prizes, including the coveted best game.
The 3D platformer, which was launched to critical acclaim in September to mark PlayStation’s 30th anniversary, was nominated for eight gongs, while Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II, led with 11 nods.
But in the end, the critics – some of whom had dubbed Astro Bot a “perfect game” – were right as it dominated the awards at London’s Queen Elizabeth Hall, hosted by comedian Phil Wang for the second year running.
Astro Bot. Pic: Team Asobi
Nicolas Doucet with his five awards for Astro Bot. Pic: PA
BAFTAs for audio achievement, game design, animation, and best family game completed the set for developers Team Asobi, who designed multiple galaxies and dozens of levels for the titular Astro to journey through, retrieving spaceship parts and rescuing lost robots.
“We’re a team based in Japan, but we have over 12 nationalities. We really mix it up and get ideas from everyone,” Nicolas Doucet, president of Team Asobi, told Sky News.
“We do a lot of jokes in the game, but the joke has a different meaning depending on where you are in the world. So it’s really, really nice to go around and ask everyone ‘is that joke fine in your country?’ And then together we come to a kind of universal playfulness.”
Among the gongs for Astro Bot was the best game award. Pic: BAFTA
It’s a very different atmosphere than that generated by British psychological horror Still Wakes The Deep, which won three awards for best new intellectual property and best supporting and leading roles.
Compared to John Carpenter’s 1980 sci-fi horror The Thing but on a Scottish oil rig, the game sees players take on the role of an electrician trapped on a damaged facility while being pursued by monsters.
Still Wakes The Deep. Pic: Sumo Digital Limited
Developer The Chinese Room has been praised for using home-grown talent to voice the characters, including comedian and actress Karen Dunbar, who picked up best performer in a supporting role for voicing Finlay.
“I’ve been nominated for quite a few BAFTAs in my time in Scotland, and I’ve never won one,” said Dunbar.
“It was such a great category, so many great performances. When they shouted my name, I think I started clapping for someone else!”
Read more: See full list of winners
Still Wakes The Deep star Karen Dunbar won best performer in a supporting role. Pic: BAFTA
Meanwhile, best multiplayer game went to Helldivers II – a satirical, sci-fi shooter that sees players fight bugs, aliens and robots with the gumption and gullibility of the characters in Paul Verhoeven’s Starship Troopers.
It has gained a cult following since launching in February 2024 with so much initial interest it created server problems.
“Games for me are about connecting people and forging those bonds of friendship and the multiplayer award is exactly what it stands for,” said Johan Pilestedt, chief executive of Arrowhead Game Studios.
Helldivers II. Pic: Arrowhead/Sony
From outer space to a fictional Yorkshire town called Barnsworth. Thank Goodness You’re Here! – a cartoonish, comedy platformer – won Best British Game. Like Still Wakes The Deep, it has won praise for the authenticity of its actors and setting.
“I think it’s been a real privilege to be able to represent Barnsley on the silver screen,” said Will Todd, who is from the town and one of two game designers behind the project.
Thank Goodness You’re Here! Pic: Coal Supper/Panic Inc
Co-creator James Carbutt added: “Me and Will wrote everything in our tone of voice, quite literally. The further along development we got, the more we lent into it. I think the voices from different parts of the UK and different voices in gaming are super important, and hopefully we’re one of them.”
By the time the BAFTAs wrapped up, Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II was only handed one of the 11 BAFTAs it was nominated for, technical achievement.
Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II. Pic: Ninja Theory
But developers Ninja Theory are already adding this year’s win to a tally of five BAFTAs they were awarded for the first game in the series, which created a protagonist with psychosis by drawing on clinical neuroscience and the experiences of people living with the condition.
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