Kentish Express Ashford & District
THE HUNT FOR JUSTICE CONTINUES
From a man shot dead as he slept in his own home to 11 marines murdered in a terrorist bombing, there have been many horrific crimes in Kent over the decades.
But perhaps the most disturbing aspect of cases such as these is that those responsible have never been caught.
Of the hundreds of murders that have taken place in the county since 1960, 55 remain unsolved.
The violent nature of the deaths - which include stabbings, drownings, strangulations, shootings and an explosion - makes the lack of closure even harder to bear.
In some cases, arrests have been made and suspects charged, but no one has ever been brought to justice.
Over the years, police and relatives have issued fresh appeals for anyone harbouring information to come forward.
In spite of this - as well as advancements in crime detection technology such as DNA profiling - dozens of killers remain at large.
There are cases, such as that of mum-of-five Sarah Wellgreen from New Ash Green, where police continue to search for a body despite Ben Lacomba serving life for her murder, and others, like the brutal slaying of pensioner Roy Blackman, where even though some of those responsible have been brought to justice, investigations continue to track down other killers.
Among the youngest victims is a baby girl found strangled with a pair of tights, wrapped in plastic and dumped in Singleton Lake in Ashford.
This year marks 25 years since the unidentified child named April by police - was discovered in the water.
Despite a murder investigation spanning two decades, which has involved exhuming the body in 2011, neither the killer nor the baby’s parents have ever been traced. A couple who turned up at April’s grave were soon ruled out.
The most recent “cold case” is that of Steve Berry who was found beaten to death at his home in 2016.
In 2018, two years and two trials after the “vulnerable” grandad was found bludgeoned and stabbed in his Chatham flat, Paul ‘Noodles’ Campbell walked free having spent 18 months in custody.
The 30-year-old’s palm and finger prints were found at the 59-year-old’s flat but he insisted he’d never been there, juries failed to reach a verdict and in the interests of justice a judge ruled out a third trial. The court heard how “extreme violence” was meted out on Mr Berry but no motive was ever advanced. It was heard that the victim was “reasonably wealthy” despite his appearance suggesting otherwise and that a prostitute had once fleeced him out of £30,000. No one has been arrested since Campbell was released. Adrian
Milner died 12 days after being hit in the face in a brutal and unprovoked attack in Murston just after Christmas 2010. The single blow caused Mr Milner to fall to the floor and hit the back of his head.
Despite emotional pleas from his family and two arrests shortly after the attack, no one was ever charged.
In Thanet, the anguish felt by the family of murdered businessman David O’Leary is plain to see for anyone who has passed his father’s second-hand shop in Northdown Road, Cliftonville.
The businessman was gunned down at his home in Valley Road, Lydden, in February 2008, and his father Dan has displayed large appeal posters ever since.
Speaking in 2009, he said: “I wake up crying in the middle of the night. It never leaves me, not for a second. I can never ever be happy again. But I will carry on.”
Another case was that of Alan Decabral, 40. He was gunned down in an Ashford car park six months after testifying against M25 road-rage killer Kenneth Noye in 2000.
He was parked outside the Halford’s store on the Warren retail park when a gunman approached him, aimed a gun through his open window and shot him dead.
Police also investigated links to a possible drug dispute but no one has ever faced justice. Antoine Denis also met a violent end. The 66-year-old’s body was discovered at his Chatham flat with
a single stab wound in