Essex Boys Murders
True Crime Case Study
“This is not an ordinary murder”
RETTENDON MURDERS: THE RANGE ROVER MURDERS
On a lonely farm lane in the Essex village of Rettendon, the bodies of three men were discovered in a Range Rover. The victims had been blasted to death by a shotgun wielding assailant who then slipped away into the night. The three men, Pat Tate, Tony Tucker and Craig Rolfe, were well-known to the police as local gangsters and drug dealers involved in supplying drugs in Essex bars and nightclubs.
The investigation into the Rettendon murders of the Essex Boys would prove to be a long and complicated endeavour, with police exploring many different theories about why the three men had been murdered. Michael Steele and Jack Whomes were eventually identified as suspects, charged and imprisoned as a result of testimony from an underworld supergrass, who gave police the alleged reason for the triple murders.
RETTENDON MURDERS: VICTIMS
The Essex Boys, underworld figures involved in drug dealing and violence, were well-known figures in the Essex underworld. Led by Tony Tucker, a reputed businessman who provided security for clubs around Essex, along with his associates, Pat Tate, a notoriously violent individual and Craig Rolfe, who acted as a driver for the trio.
Heavily involved in the Essex drug scene, the Essex Boys, along with fourth member Carlton Leach, made many enemies from their ruthless attempts to keep control of drug trafficking and the dealing of ecstasy pills that funded the gang’s drug empire. Their deaths were a direct result of the violent nature of their illegal activities.