His father had been murdered by his mother's lover. As the drugs came in, Tucker, Tate, and Rolfe took more and more. The three dead men were heavily in debt—the Range Rover they died in was borrowed in a hire purchase agreement. On December 6, 1995, three members of a gang now known as the Essex Boys were lured to a deserted farm track near Rettendon, England on the pretense of planning a … He was well known in Essex after escaping from court while he was being sentenced for a robbery charge. Bouncers would control who could enter the clubs and sell the drugs, taking a portion of their profits in the process to feedback to Tucker.

These movies all follow the same format: the main characters are chipper, coke-snorting chappies who knock the shit our of their fellow human beings for the slightest perceived misdemeanor. Within seven months of Tate being released from prison, he'd been shot by a former friend. Hence not tooled up. It was a brutal triple gangland murder that sent shockwaves through the local underground community. Is it really a huge surprise that these 3 “people” ( and I use that term loosely ) were found dead with their bodies in a mess ? I moved my family into a hotel and waited for the worst. In the world of gangs and drugs, this meant death threats and continued ruthless violence. For them to go to a meeting without being tooled up means that they trusted those that they were meant to meet, so I suggest removing all those they trusted and what’s left are the prime suspects. Privacy Policy Agreement * Simple! That's why I set about trying to end the torment. They ripped off a lot of people, particularly criminals from Canning Town, which isn’t a smart move even for the more “respected” criminal. The truth about the Essex Boys firm is nothing like the films these ex-public schoolboys moonlighting as directors have made. Then another. We were all products of the world that we inhabited. Instead of taking a cut from the profits of the club's drug dealers, Tate suggested Tucker start supplying the dealers himself. Copyright © 2016 - 2020 Crime Traveller, a website owned and operated by Alythium | All Rights Reserved. The trio had planned to rob the cargo, but the whole thing turned out to be a baited hook. I wouldn’t take too much notice, the man’s got books he needs to sell. The Essex Boys were thieves, cowards, and murderers, but their kids deserve to know who killed them. So basically, they trusted people who hated them. They went on a rampage, threatening everyone they encountered. Turning ‘supergrass’ on his former partners granted Nicholls a reduced sentence of 15 months which he had already served on remand.

In the first case in UK history, Damon Alvin was the defendant and a prosecution witness in the same murder trial. Through Tucker I met Craig Rolfe, a sly individual with a huge chip on his shoulder. They also had previous exchanges with former Essex Boy, Steve "Nipper" Ellis, who'd already tried to shoot Tate once. For a start, they'd threatened me. I interviewed everyone involved for a book, The Final Word, which has now been made into a documentary. The criminal world and the psychology of crime is such a vast area and when money is involved they appear to become even more ruthless. It’s not surprising to seem him promoted to founding member of the essex firm though because every time I see his name mentioned, his status goes higher and higher. A teenager named Leah Betts had died after taking ecstasy that had been sold at Raquel's. Tate, was a nice enough individual, although extremely short tempered before he met Tucker. He worked with Michael Steele, a drugs smuggler bringing drugs in from abroad and distributing them through local clubs under the menace of Tucker and his associates. I needed to tell the truth about how and why the Essex Boys died. I agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy. I was the founder of the Essex Boys gang. When I told him I was encountering problems recruiting reliable doormen, he suggested we form a partnership. tucker killed himself then went on to kill the other two. The harder stuff made them even more deluded—they'd talk about killing off their rivals and the millions they were going to make after they had seized control of the Essex drug trade. Coronavirus(COVID-19) In December 2015 on the 20th anniversary of the Rettendon murders, Bernard O’Mahoney, a founding member of the Essex Boys firm and author of a tell-all book, reveals the truth of what happened on that December night.

Charged with triple attempted murder for the attack on the Tretton family, Damon Alvin turned on his associate, Ricky Percival, accusing him of murdering Dean Boshell and being involved in the Tretton shooting. It’s only not obvious who did it, to the people who really want it to be a conspiracy. In 1988, I took over security at a club called Raquel's in Basildon. Visit our. In the end it was drug smuggler Michael Steele and his associate Jack Whomes who were convicted of the Rettendon murders in January 1998. Things were getting crazy. Billy and Eddie Blundell—two of the most notorious and powerful ganglords in Essex—had warned them that they'd end up dead. Walking around the back of the vehicle, the second gunman aimed the shotgun at Tate, who was by now curled up in the fetal position and made no attempt to defend himself. When you put all the evidence together, it’s pretty obvious what went on. Tate was in the back seat. Covid-19: Are We Experiencing Medical Martial Law. P.S O’Mahoney was not a founding member of any firm. On December 6, 1995, three members of a gang now known as the Essex Boys were lured to a deserted farm track near Rettendon, England on the pretense of planning a robbery. According to Nicholls, he was the getaway driver for Michael Steele and Jack Whomes who he claims committed the murders. The Essex Boys firm has had more films made about it than any other gang in British history. In early 1996 Darren Nicholls, a local small-time criminal, was arrested and charged with conspiracy to import cannabis. O. J. Simpson: Murder in the First Degree, Reasonable Doubt: The Hendricks Family Murders, A Convicted Killer, Two Criminologists, and One Podcast: Direct Appeal Investigates ‘Suitcase Killer’ Melanie McGuire Case, Family Annihilation: The Crimes and Psychology of Familicide, A Dead Rose And A Black Widow: The Tragic Death Of Dorothy Jane Scott, Peru Hospital Staff Extort Families to Identify Coronavirus Victims, How Prisons Are Handling the COVID-19 Pandemic, Don`t Become a Victim: What Info Not To Share About Yourself Online, How Altering Our Education System Can Help Us Reduce The Crime Level, What You Should Do When You Become A Victim Of Carjacking, From Care To Adult Life: Children Are Being Preyed On By Criminal Gangs, Details are Unprintable: Wayne Lonergan and the Sensational Café Society Murder, Operation Jacknap: A True Story of Kidnapping, Extortion, Ransom and Rescue, United in Grief: The Murder of Stephanie Scott, Book Review: Reckless Speculation About Murder, David Lazar by Robert Kalich: A Book of Truth Merged With Fiction, An Interview with Dylan Howard: True Crime Books Release And The Truth Behind The Epstein Scandal, Psychiatric Killings In The UK: Blood, Voices and Missed Appointments, New True Crime Book Series from Skyhorse Publishing, She’s So Cold: Murder, Accusations and the System That Devastated a Family, 4 December, 2015 - Updated on 5 September, 2018, author of a tell-all book, reveals the truth of what happened, True Crime Documentaries From Morbid Minds Productions, New A&E Documentary Examines 11 Unsolved Murders of Texas Teenagers, The Killing Of America: A True Crime Docu-Film, How The Insanity Defence Against A Murder Charge Works, Early Intervention: What We Know About Juvenile Justice, and What Needs To Happen. He doesn’t know what happened that night, only the 3 men who are now dead & the 2 killers know the identities of the people who pulled the triggers. As their empire grew, further eruptions of violence saw Malcolm Walsh killed in 1998 in a ruthless attack in front of his own children, pushing Damon Alvin into retaliation. Tate began using heroin and not long afterward, he and Tucker began smoking crack.

Richard. In January 1998, Michael Steele and Jack Whomes were convicted of the December 1995 Rettendon murders with the evidence of their once associate Darren Nicholls being the basis of their conviction. But Whomes and Steele have maintained their innocence and are supported by many. Such a good short article, thank you! They demanded loyalty but mastered in deceit. Malcolm Walsh led the pack alongside his partners Damon Alvin, Ricky Percival, and Steve ‘Nipper’ Ellis. Required fields are marked *. Everyone who had met the three men had a motive to kill them. Trying to go into business with people you’ve betrayed before + adding people in that you’re betraying now. It was organised by people in London, not Essex.

Police claimed that they were murdered because they fell out with Steele over a shipment of cannabis from Holland, which proved unsellable. They shot him in the chest rather than the head.

The gunman finished off Tucker, then Rolfe, and then turned to his accomplice and invited him to shoot Tate. Not even a smart street strategy. In 1990’s Essex, the underground drugs trade was ruled by ruthless individuals who would stop at nothing to gain wealth from their illegal operations. Just weeks after the tragic death of Leah Betts, the Essex Boys as they had become known, were found dead.

The night they died, they'd been coaxed into a meeting by three men they'd previously threatened to kill. That’s it.. he had NO involvement in any of their other activities otherwise he would have found himself at the end of a shotgun barrel too. He later surfaced in Spain and was sent to prison in Britain. Tony Pay and Craig in the morgue photos. He operated a door under the control of Tucker’s door firm. We lived through turbulent times back then. They were trying to get in bed with people they’d fucked before (London mob), and they went one step further by adding another set of people to the mix that they were currently fucking over (Steele and Whomes). He'd been the catalyst of all the trouble that had been caused and so it was deemed essential that he should watch the murder of his friends before he was executed. Ours were hateful, miserable existences—totally the opposite of the glamorized garbage churned out in the movies about us which totally misrepresent how we really lived our lives and destroyed the lives of others. I believe the two they have in prison are the two who did the job, but I also believe that not everybody who was involved that night are in prison. A full unedited look at the photographs of the crime scene of the Rettendon murders in Essex 1995.

Leah Betts died after taking an ecstasy tablet purchased at Raquel’s nightclub where Bernard O’Mahoney ran the door. I met a man named Tony Tucker who ran a large and well respected door firm. Internal arguments rose between former friends and they began to turn on each other. He'd made the right connections in prison, and knew a way we could bypass the local wholesalers and start importing drugs from Europe ourselves—cutting out all the middlemen. He was simply a doorman.