The Rettendon murders (also known as the Range Rover murders or Essex murders) occurred on 6 December 1995 in the village of

Rettendon Rettendon is a small village and civil parish in the Borough of Chelmsford in Essex, England, about south east of the city of Chelmsford. Situated near the River Crouch, the village was once owned by the Bishop of Ely. The A130 formerly passed ...

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...

, England, when three

drug dealers The illegal drug trade or drug trafficking is a global black market dedicated to the cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of prohibited drugs. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types of drugs through ...

were shot dead in a

Range Rover Range may refer to: Geography * Range (geographic), a chain of hills or mountains; a somewhat linear, complex mountainous or hilly area (cordillera, sierra) ** Mountain range, a group of mountains bordered by lowlands * Range, a term used to ...

on a small farm track. The murders were the subject of a major police investigation and various special operations, including

Operation Century Operation Century was the code name for a sting operation by Essex Police for investigating the Rettendon murders of three violent drug dealers that happened at Rettendon, Essex, England, in December 1995. It was assisted by RUC Special Branch of ...

, which were undertaken to uncover the perpetrators and as many other details as possible. The murders have also been the subject of books and feature films.

Triple murders

On 6 December 1995, drug dealers Tony Tucker (38), Patrick Tate (37) and Craig Rolfe (26) were shot dead in a

on a small farm track in

. The bodies of the three men were found the following morning by farmer Peter Theobald and his friend Ken Jiggins.

Police investigation

A police investigation codenamed Operation Century produced no arrests or evidence leading to a criminal prosecution. A prosecution that was eventually brought in connection with the murders was based on police operations subsequent to the closure of Operation Century. Two men, Jack Arthur Whomes of Brockford, Suffolk, and Michael John Steele of

Great Bentley Great Bentley is a village, civil parish and electoral ward in the Tendring district of north Essex, England, located seven miles east of Colchester. The parish includes the hamlets of Aingers Green and South Heath. It is home to the second lar ...

, Colchester, were convicted of the murders on 20 January 1998 after an Old Bailey trial, and sentenced to life imprisonment. The key witness was police

informer An informant (also called an informer or, as a slang term, a “snitch”) is a person who provides privileged information about a person or organization to an agency. The term is usually used within the law-enforcement world, where informan ...

Darren Nicholls from Braintree, Essex, who gave evidence against his former friends at their trial. Questions were raised over the reliability of mobile phone records used to corroborate the informant's testimony. Over the last two decades the pair have unsuccessfully challenged their convictions. On 25 January 2021, after a Parole Board hearing, it was announced that Jack Whomes would be released from prison on licence after serving 23 years. His 25 year sentence was reduced by two years in 2018 due to his exemplary conduct whilst incarcerated. During the investigation it was suggested that the murders may have been linked to the

death of Leah Betts Leah Sarah Betts (1 November 1977 – 16 November 1995) was a young woman from Latchingdon, Essex, United Kingdom, who died at age 18 after taking an ecstasy (MDMA) tablet, and then drinking approximately of water in a 90 minute period. Four ...

who died after taking an ecstasy tablet.

Films

The following films are based, to varying degrees, on the crime: * ''

Essex Boys ''Essex Boys'' is a 2000 British crime film. It was directed by Terry Winsor and stars Sean Bean, Alex Kingston, Tom Wilkinson, Charlie Creed-Miles and Holly Davidson. Plot The film is based loosely around events in December 1995 that culmina ...

'' (2000), directed by Terry Winsor, inspired by the murders * ''

Rise of the Footsoldier ''Rise of the Footsoldier'' is a British crime film, crime and gangster film franchise written and directed by Julian Gilbey, Will Gilbey, Ricci Harnett, Zackary Adler, Andrew Loveday and Nick Nevern, distributed by Optimum Releasing. The franc ...

'' (2007), a crime and gangster film franchise inspired by the murders ** '' Rise of the Footsoldier II: Reign of the General'' (2015) ** '' Rise of the Footsoldier 3: Pat Tate Story'' (2017) ** '' Rise of the Footsoldier 4: Marbella'' (2019) ** '' Rise of the Footsoldier 5: Origins'' (2021) * ''

Bonded by Blood ''Bonded by Blood'' is the debut studio album by American thrash metal band Exodus. Although the album was completed in the summer of 1984, it was not released until 1985 due to issues with Exodus and the record label. It is considered one of t ...

'' (2010) * '' The Fall of the Essex Boys'' (2013) * ''Essex Boys: Retribution'' (2013) * ''Essex Boys: Law of Survival'' (2015) * ''Bonded by Blood 2'' (2017)

Television

* ''The Essex Murders'', a 2023

true crime True crime is a nonfiction literary, podcast, and film genre in which the author examines an actual crime and details the actions of real people associated with and affected by criminal events. The crimes most commonly include murder; about 40 pe ...

documentary on

Sky Documentaries Sky Documentaries is a British pay television channel owned and operated by Sky, a division of Comcast, which launched on 27 May 2020. Sky Documentaries broadcasts imported programming from US networks HBO and Showtime, alongside new origina ...

References

External links

BBC: The Essex murders
1995 in England 1995 murders in the United Kingdom 1990s in Essex 1990s trials City of Chelmsford Deaths by firearm in England December 1995 crimes December 1995 events in the United Kingdom Murder in Essex Murder trials Murdered British gangsters Organised crime events in the United Kingdom Organised crime in England People murdered by British organized crime Trials in London Violent non-state actor incidents in the United Kingdom