Brother of West End star shot dead in ‘gangland execution’
THE brother of an award-winning West End actor has been shot dead in a gangland-style execution.
Will Henry, 31, was found slumped in a Range Rover parked at an industrial estate alongside the body of friend Brian Mcintosh, 29.
Mr Henry’s brother Matt, 41, is a musical theatre star who won a laurence olivier Award for playing lola in the london production Kinky Boots. He was made an MBE in 2018.
Mr Mcintosh, a father of two, was director of a waste management firm.
The two men were found dead in the vehicle in Dudley, in the West Midlands, after a member of the public approached asking them to move the car.
Detectives believe the victims were killed more than two hours before their bodies were discovered at 3.30pm on Wednesday.
Police arrested a man on suspicion of murder 130 miles away in Carnforth, lancashire, on Thursday. He was taken to the West Midlands for questioning.
Simeon Daniel, a friend of Will Henry’s described him as a ‘legend’, adding: ‘i can’t even put into words how devastated i feel, it’s only just beginning to sink in.’ Another friend said both men, who lived in Bartley Green, Birmingham, were ‘lovely lads’.
Police said a post-mortem examination was scheduled to take place yesterday. The scene of the shooting remains sealed off for forensic experts to carry out an investigation.
Brother Matt, who appeared on The Voice in 2013, was said to be ‘devastated’ by his brother’s death. A friend told The Sun: ‘He’s absolutely torn up. He’s so close to his mum and he’s devastated for her.’
Detective Chief inspector Jim Munro from West Midlands Police’s homicide unit said: ‘This is a fast-moving investigation, a real team effort involving officers who’ve worked around the clock since the discovery of the bodies to trace the person we believe is responsible. The arrest is a significant development but our inquiries continue and i would appeal to anyone with information about what’s happened, or anyone who was in the area at the time and saw or heard anything suspicious, to get in touch.’
in 2019 Mr Mcintosh was fined and given a suspended prison sentence after a 2,000-tonne pile of ‘stomach-churning’ rubbish was left abandoned.
The shooting is the third in the West Midlands in as many days and it is understood the police will examine whether they are linked.
on Tuesday night, a man was seriously injured after being shot in the neck and arm in Cradley Heath. He was found in a Vauxhall insignia. Bullets were also fired towards City of Wolverhampton College on Monday. no one was hurt.
Following the latest shooting, locals told of their alarm. They said they believed the gunman had fled on foot over a railway line after firing the shots.
West Midlands Ambulance Service said: ‘Crews discovered two male patients, both of whom were inside a car. it is believed they had been there for some time. unfortunately, it quickly became apparent nothing could be done to save either of them and they were confirmed dead at the scene.’