Stalked like an animal, gangland Mr Big shot 6 times by hitman who spied through his fence
A PROFESSIONAL killer stalked one of Britain’s most notorious criminals ‘like an animal’ before murdering him, his partner said yesterday.
John ‘Goldfinger’ Palmer, 64, was shot dead while burning documents in the back garden of his luxury house in 2015.
The gunman made a hole in a 5ft boundary fence, possibly with a nail, to keep an eye on his target, detectives said. The spy hole was in a spot near a wooded area, where the killer may have hidden while familiarising himself with his victim’s routines. It was also the only stretch not covered by CCTV that monitored every other part of the sprawling Essex estate.
The hitman, who was probably hired by a rival underworld Mr Big, simply leapt over the fence and fired six shots into his victim with a silenced revolver before possibly melting away into the woodland.
Timeshare conman Palmer once boasted a fortune of £300million, putting him at 105 on the Sunday Times Rich List. The new information was released as Palmer’s family doubled through Crimestoppers the reward for information to find his killer to £100,000.
His partner, Christina Ketley, said: ‘It haunts us every day to think that whoever was responsible was clearly watching John, stalking him like an animal before so brutally and callously ending his life. Losing a loved one is hard enough, but in this case we have the added stress of not only not knowing who did it but why.’ Police also revealed for the first time the injuries Palmer sustained as the killer emptied all six 8mm bullets from the .32 revolver into his victim. He is believed to have been standing when he was hit in the elbow, chest and upper abdomen, all on the right side of his body.
The father-of-three is thought to have fallen before he was shot in the left bicep, top of his back and near the left kidney. He may have staggered 60ft before collapsing and dying.
The spread of wounds raises fresh questions about the farcical manner in which police failed to realise Palmer had been murdered when his body was found at the property near Brentwood, on June 24, 2015. They initially attributed blood to recent gallbladder surgery and it was days before a pathologist discovered the blunder. Two Essex police officers were later disciplined for failing to carry out proper checks. Detectives believe the person responsible for organising Palmer’s killing is a major player in the criminal underworld, either a contact from previous dealings or a rival. The former scrap metal dealer turned jeweller and gold trader earned his nickname for allegedly handling stolen bullion in the £26million Brinks-Mat raid in 1983. An Old Bailey jury acquitted him.
He was jailed for eight years in 2001 for swindling more than 17,000 holidaymakers in a timeshare scam in Tenerife but served only half the term. Four years later he was declared bankrupt.
Days before his death he was warned he faced up to 15 years in a Spanish jail over charges including fraud. Spanish prosecutors claimed he had run a criminal enterprise from his cell at HMP Long Lartin in Worcestershire. Authorities in Spain were also looking into the deaths of expats Billy and Flo Robinson, who had worked for Palmer in Tenerife.
Detective Chief Inspector Stephen Jennings yesterday said he suspected the execution was connected to the Spanish charges. It may have been ordered by ‘someone very high up in the criminal underworld’ who thought he was cutting a deal with the authorities,’ he said.
DCI Jennings previously said Palmer’s death could be linked to the Hatton Garden raid. One theory is he had inside knowledge of the heist and posed a threat to North London gangsters the Adams family who were allegedly involved in the planning.
Shot dead in garden, ‘Goldfinger’ gangster once worth £300m