Rettendon murders

The Rettendon murders (also known as the Range Rover murders or Essex murders) occurred on 6 December 1995 in the village of Rettendon in Essex, England, when three drug dealers were shot dead in a Range Rover on a small farm track. The murders were the subject of a major police investigation and various special operations, including Operation Century. The murders have also been the subject of books and feature films.

Triple murders

On 6 December 1995, drug dealers Anthony 'Tony' Tucker, born in 1957, a head of a security firm that provided security for nightclubs across Essex and also the security guard for former super middleweight champion Nigel Benn; Patrick Tate, an amateur bodybuilder, born on 7 August 1958 from Rochford Essex; and the youngest, Craig Anthony Rolfe, born in 1969, were shot dead in a metallic blue Range Rover on a small farm track in Rettendon. The bodies of the three men were found the following morning, 7 December, by farmer Peter Theobald and his friend Ken Jiggins.

Police investigation

Main article: Operation Century

A police investigation codenamed Operation Century produced no arrests or evidence leading to a criminal prosecution. A prosecution that was eventually brought in connection with the murders was based on police operations subsequent to the closure of Operation Century.

Two men, Jack Arthur Whomes of Brockford, Suffolk, and Michael John Steele of Great Bentley, Colchester, were convicted of the murders on 20 January 1998 after an Old Bailey trial, and sentenced to life imprisonment. The key witness was police informer Darren Nicholls from Braintree, Essex, who gave evidence against his former friends at their trial. Questions were raised over the reliability of mobile phone records used to corroborate the informant's testimony.

During the investigation it was suggested that the murders may have been linked to the death of Leah Betts, who died after taking an ecstasy tablet in November 1995, which Whomes was believed to be ultimately responsible for supplying.

In the two decades after their sentence, the pair unsuccessfully challenged their convictions. On 25 January 2021, after a Parole Board hearing, it was announced that Jack Whomes would be released from prison on licence after serving 23 years. His 25-year sentence was reduced by two years in 2018 due to his exemplary conduct whilst incarcerated.

Films

The following films are based, to varying degrees, on the crime:

• Essex Boys (2000), directed by Terry Winsor, inspired by the murders

• Rise of the Footsoldier (2007), a crime and gangster film franchise inspired by the murders
  • Rise of the Footsoldier Part II: Reign of the General (2015)
  • Rise of the Footsoldier 3: The Pat Tate Story (2017)
  • Rise of the Footsoldier 4: Marbella (2019)
  • Rise of the Footsoldier: Origins (2021)
  • Rise of the Footsoldier: Vengeance (2023)

• Bonded by Blood (2010), a crime, drama, thriller film inspired by the murders
  • Bonded by Blood 2 (2017)

• The Fall of the Essex Boys (2013), directed by Paul Tanter, inspired by the murders
  • Essex Boys: Retribution (2013)
  • Essex Boys: Law of Survival (2015)
• The Only Way Was Essex (2015)

Television

• The Essex Murders, a 2023 true crime documentary on Sky Documentaries

See also

• List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates
• Major crimes in the United Kingdom

Further reading

• Leach, Carlton (2003). Muscle. Blake Publishing. ISBN 978-1-904034-48-3
• Lonergan, Martin; BigFoot, Lord (2015). Once Upon A Time In Essex. London: Amazon Direct. ISBN 9781536904642.
• O'Mahoney, Bernard (2006). Bonded by Blood: Murder and Intrigue in the Essex Ganglands. ISBN 9781845961640
• Rugby, Ken and Thompson, Tony (2000). Bloggs 19: The Story of the Essex Range Rover Triple Murders. Sphere. ISBN 9780751522419
• Stepney Wall (2023) The Only Way Was Essex: Lets Put The Essex Boys To Bed https://amzn.eu/d/gm5Li3n

External links

• BBC: The Essex murders