£50k to find our son’s killers
Parents hope cash will help break five-year wall of silence:
FIVE years ago today devoted mum and dad Carolyn and Stephen Wilcox got the shattering news their son had been found dead.
Craig Wilcox’s body had been recovered from Dovestone Reservoir in Saddleworth, a popular beauty spot in the hills above Oldham.
Half a decade has now gone by since the fateful discovery, but they still do not know how Craig, 28, died. No one has been brought to justice for what police believe was his murder.
And they hope a £50,000 reward, announced today, will bring people forward to give detectives the evidence they need to prosecute those they believe were responsible.
The dad-of-one was last seen at his parents’ home on Norfolk Crescent, Failsworth, on Monday, January 6, 2014.
On the evening Craig disappeared, a signal from his mobile phone – which has never been found – was plotted moving north from Newton Heath in north Manchester towards Oldham town centre and then on to the reservoir, known as Dovestones, where it arrived at 10.10pm.
His phone signal remained at the reservoir for 20 minutes before it headed back to the Newton Heath area. But officers don’t believe he came back with it. Craig had no reason to be in Saddleworth that evening, police say. In fact he had never visited the reservoir before. He did not drive or have any way of travelling to the area and there was also no car left at the scene where his body was found.
Police learned after his disappearance that Craig had confided in a friend that he feared for his safety.
His body was then recovered from the water six weeks after he vanished, on February 24. A post-mortem could not determine his cause of death.
And despite a wide-ranging and major investigation, detectives have so far hit a wall of silence.
And his family and police believe the £50,000 reward will make those in the ‘close circle’ of those who know what happened rethink and speak up.
Mum Carolyn said: “It’s very frustrating because the police think they know who’s involved and up to now can’t prove it, so it’s very frustrating.”
Dad Stephen said: “There is a close circle of people who know what’s happened. And none of them have come forward yet.
“They have kept the information to themselves from five years ago and hopefully this might just unlock somebody’s conscience. Alright if it takes money, it takes money. It is what it is – you have got to do what you need to do.
“The truth will always come out, it’s just a matter of when. Hopefully these people said something to someone, either within their own group or outside their own group who just may say something.”
A theory detectives are working on is that Craig was killed after gangsters wrongly believed he double crossed them.
Before his death, it is said he had been made to watch small-scale cannabis farms by criminals active in Oldham and Newton Heath.
But when thieves swiped the stash in one of the houses, it’s believed Craig was blamed for it.
“We’re not blind to the fact that Craig was involved in something he shouldn’t have been,” Stephen said.
“Craig was no big-time drugs king. He was a low level plant waterer who was doing it for some money. If he’d known the consequences he would have to face, I don’t think he would have got involved, quite honestly.”
Craig has a son who is now 11 and his grandparents say it is not getting any easier, watching him grow up without his dad.
“It’s very hard when you get all the milestones: Christmases, birthdays.” said Stephen.
Detective Chief Inspector Terry Crompton said: “We are committed to finding his family the answers they deserve and hope, with the life-changing £50,000, we’ll get information leading to the conviction of those responsible for his death.”
Anyone with information on Craig’s death is asked to call police on 0161 856 4711, or Crimestoppers, anonymously on 0800 555 111.