The One With the Essex Boys
AKA The Rettendon Murders
When a gangland murder happened in Rettendon, it hit headlines enough to be turned into a whole slew of subsequent movies. Here’s the story of what happened to the Essex Boys - and the downfall of the gang that gave the victims of the Rettendon Murders their moniker.
Killers: Jack Whomes and Michael Steele
Victims: Tony Tucker, Patrick ‘Pat’ Tate, and Craig Rolfe
Date: 7th December 1995
Location: Rettendon, Essex
Method of Murder: Shooting
Timeline 22.04.1995 | Patrick Tate survives assassination attempt 06.12.1995 | Tucker, Tate, and Rolf found dead 20.01.1998 | Whomes and Steele found guilty 19.10.1998 | Tony Tucker shot dead 10.09.2000 | Darren Rolfe shot dead
The discovery of the bodies in the Range Rover on December 7th, 1995, was a grisly scene that shocked the local community1.
Ken Jiggins was 47 years old and a bricklayer. On the morning in question, he wasn’t able to go to his job because of the severe frost that had settled across Essex, starting with snow at 4pm the previous day. He decided to fill his time instead by going to help out his friend Peter Theobald, a farmer with 800 pheasants. The birds needed to be fed twice a day, and the job went easier when you had a friend to help.
They scraped the ice from the windows of Theobald’s Land Rover and then drove towards the shooting range where the pheasants were kept, noticing another vehicle as they drove. The metallic blue car was parked in front of a locked gate near the shooting area and immediately roused their suspicions.
Theobald and Jiggins initially thought that the men were asleep2. However, as they approached the car, they realized that something was terribly wrong.
The three victims, Tony Tucker, Patrick Tate, and Craig Rolfe, had been executed in a brutal and calculated manner. They were all slumped in the back seat of the Range Rover, with gunshot wounds to their heads. The car's windows were heavily tinted, making it difficult to see inside from the outside.
The victims had been dressed in casual clothing, and Tucker and Tate were both wearing gold chains around their necks. The car's interior was spattered with blood, and there were bullet holes in the roof and the seats3.
All three of the victims were known to be members of the Essex Boys gang, with varying levels of success. They enjoyed lavish lifestyles at the expense of others: amongst other things, the gang was connected to the drug overdose death of teenager Leah Betts4 as well as other controversial overdoses.
The scene was cordoned off by the police, and a full forensic investigation was launched. The bodies were taken to a local hospital for post-mortem examinations, which confirmed that they had all died from gunshot wounds to the head.
The discovery of the bodies sparked a huge investigation, with hundreds of police officers and forensic experts working on the case. Despite their efforts, it would be several years before anyone was brought to justice for the brutal murders.
Detective Superintendent Ivan Dibley was one of the lead investigators on the Rettendon Murders case, and the investigation would become one of the defining moments of his career. From his perspective, the case was a challenging and complex one, with numerous twists and turns that kept the police on their toes.
Dibley was called to the scene of the crime shortly after the bodies were discovered, and he immediately recognized the severity of the situation. He knew that the Essex Boys gang was notorious in the area, and he suspected that the killings were the result of a violent feud between rival criminal organizations.
Det Supt. Dibley said “This is not an ordinary murder. It looks as if they were enticed down there. As far as murders go, you don’t get any more serious than this.”5
The location where they were found was significant for several reasons.
Firstly, the location was isolated and difficult to access, making it an ideal spot for a violent crime to take place. The farm track was hidden from view and was surrounded by fields and woodland, making it an ideal spot for a gangland hit.
Secondly, the location was known to be a popular spot for drug deals and other criminal activity6. The Essex Boys gang, of which the victims were members, was heavily involved in the drug trade, and it is likely that they chose the location because it was a place where they could conduct their business without attracting too much attention.
Finally, the location was significant because it was close to the homes of the victims. Tony Tucker, Patrick Tate, and Craig Rolfe were all from the Rettendon area, and it is likely that they felt comfortable meeting in a location that was close to home.
As the investigation progressed, Dibley and his team began to uncover evidence that pointed to a more specific motive. The mobile phone records that showed the victims had been lured to the remote location under false pretenses were a key breakthrough.
They had received a phone call from someone claiming to be their friend, inviting them to a meeting at the location7.
The phone records also showed that the victims had made several calls to the men who would become the prime suspects, Jack Whomes and Michael Steele, in the hours leading up to their deaths. This led the police to suspect that Whomes and Steele were involved in the murders8, and they were placed under surveillance.
But the case was far from straightforward. The Essex Boys gang was notoriously tight-lipped, and the police struggled to get anyone to talk. Dibley and his team had to rely on a combination of surveillance, wiretaps, and forensic evidence to piece together the puzzle.
One of the most challenging aspects of the case for Dibley was the sheer volume of information that they had to sift through. The investigation involved hundreds of suspects and witnesses, and the police had to painstakingly go through every piece of evidence to try and identify the culprits.
DS Dibley said, “The public aren’t too happy either about so much time being spent on such low-life. Buy my job isn’t to moralise. The killers have to be caught. There has been no tit-for-tat yet, and it has surprised me a little. But some intelligence indicates the families are keen to give us a chance to sort it out.”9
It is widely believed that Patrick Tate was the main target of the Rettendon Murders. Tate was a high-ranking member of the Essex Boys gang, and he was known to be involved in the drug trade and other criminal activities. He had also been involved in several violent confrontations with rival gangs in the past.
In the months leading up to the murders, there were rumors that Tate had fallen out with other members of the Essex Boys gang. Some reports suggest that he had been involved in a dispute over a drug deal that had gone wrong, and that this had led to tensions within the gang.
It is believed that the killers, Jack Whomes and Michael Steele, were hired by a rival gang to carry out the hit on Patrick Tate. However, Tony Tucker and Craig Rolfe were also in the car at the time of the shooting, and it is possible that they were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Tate had been the target of another assassination attempt prior to his death. The attack took place on April 22, 1995, just a few months before the Rettendon Murders.
On that day, Tate was driving his car in Basildon, Essex, when he was ambushed by two gunmen on a motorcycle. The gunmen opened fire on Tate's car, but he managed to escape with his life. Tate was injured in the attack, suffering gunshot wounds to his chest and leg, but he was able to flee the scene and seek medical attention10.
Following the attack, Tate went into hiding, and it is believed that he spent several months living in Spain under a false identity. However, he returned to the UK in the months leading up to the Rettendon Murders.
Despite the fact that Tate was the main target, all three victims were shot multiple times at close range and suffered fatal injuries11.
When Jack Whomes and Michael Steele were finally arrested and charged with the murders, Dibley knew that it was a major breakthrough. But he also knew that the trial would be a difficult one, and that the evidence against the two men was largely circumstantial. Thankfully, they were convicted12 - although Jack Whomes was released after serving 23 years13.
After the murders, there were several retaliatory attacks carried out against people believed to be associated with the perpetrators. In October 1998, Tony Tucker's father, John Tucker, was shot dead outside his home in Essex in what was believed to be a revenge attack. In September 2000, Darren Rolfe's brother, Craig Rolfe, was shot dead outside his home in Essex in another suspected revenge attack.
The Rettendon Murders and the subsequent violence that followed served as a stark reminder of the brutal and deadly nature of gangland crime. The case attracted significant media attention, and the trial and conviction of the perpetrators were seen as a major victory for law enforcement agencies in their fight against organized crime.
There was serious controversy around an operation set up to investigate the murders - Operation Century14. Intimidation tactics, police violence, and corruption were rife in this operation which actually secured no new evidence or witness statements. It was only after the operation was shut down and a new approach taken that the convictions were finally secured - shining a light on the fact that the police were perhaps not far off being as bad as the gangsters themselves.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/leah-betts-link-to-triple-killing-1524576.html
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/leah-betts-link-to-triple-killing-1524576.html
https://www.essexlive.news/news/essex-news/truth-behind-essex-boys-rettendon-3883268
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/leah-betts-link-to-triple-killing-1524576.html
https://www.essexlive.news/news/essex-news/truth-behind-essex-boys-rettendon-3883268
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/leah-betts-link-to-triple-killing-1524576.html
https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/1996/mar/07/fromthearchive
https://www.essexlive.news/news/essex-news/truth-behind-essex-boys-rettendon-3883268
https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/1996/mar/07/fromthearchive
https://www.theguardian.com/fromthearchive/story/0,,1715361,00.html
https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/1996/mar/07/fromthearchive
https://www.essexlive.news/news/essex-news/truth-behind-essex-boys-rettendon-3883268
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-55801318
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/life-for-men-who-killed-dealers-in-essex-drug-sting-1139897.html
Your info is out of date. Look at the private investigators ( ex MET cops) looking into the case and the wrongful conviction of Wholmes and Steele. It’s corruption and cover up by Essex Police.