Latest news with #JackWhomes
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
'Essex Boys' triple-killer Michael Steele released from prison after 27 years
A triple killer convicted of the notorious "Essex Boys" murders has been released from prison after 27 years. Michael Steele was jailed alongside Jack Whomes in 1998 for the murders of Patrick Tate, 37, Tony Tucker, 38, and Craig Rolfe, 26. They were shot dead at point-blank range on an isolated farm track at Rettendon, , in 1995 in what prosecutors said was a row over a drug deal. The gangland executions, also known as the Rettendon Murders or the Range Rover Murders, inspired the 2000 film Essex Boys, starring Sean Bean, as well as The Rise Of The Footsoldier franchise. All three of the victims were known to police. Steele and Whomes maintained their innocence following their convictions, which were based in part on evidence from "supergrass" Darren Nicholls, who said he was the getaway driver. Their appeals were rejected and in 2006 Lord Justice Kay said there was no "element of unsafety" over the convictions. The case was also reviewed by the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), which decided in 2023 not to refer it back to the Court of Appeal. The Parole Board after a "marked improvement" in his behaviour and because keeping him locked up was no longer necessary to protect the public. Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood challenged the decision, arguing it was legally irrational, and asked for his case to be looked at again. However, the Ministry of Justice has confirmed Steele was let out in May. An MoJ spokesperson said: "Our thoughts remain with the family and friends of Craig Rolfe, Tony Tucker and Pat Tate. "This decision was made by the independent Parole Board after a thorough risk assessment. "Michael Steele will be on licence for the rest of his life, with strict conditions and intensive probation supervision. He faces an immediate return to prison if he breaks the rules." Read more from Sky News: Those conditions include staying at a designated address, giving up his passport, wearing an electronic tag and having a curfew. Other rules on using technology and speaking to the media are in place - and he won't be able to own a firearm, plane or boat. Whomes was released from jail in 2021 and is also subject to strict licence conditions
Sky News
3 days ago
- General
- Sky News
'Essex Boys' triple-killer Michael Steele released from prison after 27 years
A triple killer convicted of the notorious "Essex Boys" murders has been released from prison after 27 years. Michael Steele was jailed alongside Jack Whomes in 1998 for the murders of Patrick Tate, 37, Tony Tucker, 38, and Craig Rolfe, 26. They were shot dead at point-blank range on an isolated farm track at Rettendon, Essex, in 1995 in what prosecutors said was a row over a drug deal. The gangland executions, also known as the Rettendon Murders or the Range Rover Murders, inspired the 2000 film Essex Boys, starring Sean Bean, as well as The Rise Of The Footsoldier franchise. All three of the victims were known to police. Steele and Whomes maintained their innocence following their convictions, which were based in part on evidence from "supergrass" Darren Nicholls, who said he was the getaway driver. Their appeals were rejected and in 2006 Lord Justice Kay said there was no "element of unsafety" over the convictions. The case was also reviewed by the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), which decided in 2023 not to refer it back to the Court of Appeal. The Parole Board said in February that Steele could be freed on licence after a "marked improvement" in his behaviour and because keeping him locked up was no longer necessary to protect the public. Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood challenged the decision, arguing it was legally irrational, and asked for his case to be looked at again. However, the Ministry of Justice has confirmed Steele was let out in May. An MoJ spokesperson said: "Our thoughts remain with the family and friends of Craig Rolfe, Tony Tucker and Pat Tate. "This decision was made by the independent Parole Board after a thorough risk assessment. "Michael Steele will be on licence for the rest of his life, with strict conditions and intensive probation supervision. He faces an immediate return to prison if he breaks the rules." Those conditions include staying at a designated address, giving up his passport, wearing an electronic tag and having a curfew. Other rules on using technology and speaking to the media are in place - and he won't be able to own a firearm, plane or boat.
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Essex Boys gangland killer Michael Steele is released from jail despite ministers' last-ditch bid to keep triple murderer behind bars
Essex Boys killer Michael Steele has been released from jail after 27 years despite a last-ditch attempt by ministers to keep him behind bars. Along with accomplice Jack Whomes, the triple murderer killed Tony Tucker, 38, Pat Tate, 37, and Craig Rolfe, 26, with a pump action shotgun in Rettendon, Essex, in 1995. He was jailed for life at the Old Bailey three years later aged 55 after being found guilty of murder and conspiring to import drugs into the country. After Whomes's release in 2021, Steele, now 82, has also been freed after a decision by the Parole Board, the Ministry of Justice told the BBC. A spokesperson said: 'Our thoughts remain with the family and friends of Craig Rolfe, Tony Tucker and Pat Tate. 'This decision was made by the independent Parole Board after a thorough risk assessment. 'Michael Steele will be on licence for the rest of his life, with strict conditions and intensive probation supervision. He faces an immediate return to prison if he breaks the rules.' The Parole Board first ruled that his imprisonnment was 'no longer necessary for the protection of the public' back in February and released the murderer on licence. (Left to right) Execution victims Patrick Tate, Anthony Tucker and Craig Rolfe, who were found in a Range Rover with extensive injuries But the move was stalled after Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood branded the decision 'legally irrational' and caled on the body to reconsider. After a 'thorough' risk assessment, the Parole Board pressed on with the move to free Steele, despite previously expressing concerns about his chances of reoffending. It had said of his crime: 'Mr Steele had offended for financial gain and out of greed. 'He had sought to maintain a level of status or respect from others by exerting power. There had also been an element of thrill-seeking in his actions.' However, it noted his behaviour in prison had shown a 'marked improvement' and a psychologist commissioned by his legal team told the panel the risk levels of release were 'minimal'. The killer will be required to surrender his passport and cannot own a boat, airplane or firearm. He will also be required to reside at a designated address. Steele has maintained his innocence since being convicted. His three victims, known as the Essex Boys, were found dead in a Range Rover on isolated farmland near Chelmsford, after each being shot in the head by the shotgun. Tate, meanwhile, had also been blasted in the stomach. Spotting the vehicle on a snowy morning in December, farmer Peter Theobald and his friend Ken Jiggins initially thought they were poachers. But they soon discovered they had fallen victim to a horrific slaughter, with their identities only established through their fingerprints, such was the brutality of their injuries. During the trial in 1998, the court heard that the trio had been ambushed amid a row about drugs. Steele, from Great Bentley, near Colchester, was handed a minimum prison term of 23 years, which elapsed in 2019. The convictions have been the subject of some controversy and are the subject of a new Criminal Cases Review Commission probe after new evidence was found and submitted earlier this year. The CCRC previously said there was 'no real possibility' of the verdicts being overturned. And Essex Police has said the case was 'exhaustively examined' and there was no fresh evidence to dispute the original verdicts. But David McKelvey, a former Met Police detective chief inspector, believes Steele was convicted on the basis of a poor witness account by informant Nicholls. Mr McKelvey, who arrested Nicholls in the first place before he turned grass, told the BBC in February: '(Steele) should never have been convicted in the first place.' Connections were made between the killings and the 1990s rave scene - including the drugs death of Leah Betts in Basildon. It was thought she was sold the drugs by Tony Tucker as she celebrated her 18th birthday at a nightclub where security was controlled by his outfit; one theory was that the executions were done in revenge. The killings later inspired a number of films, including Essex Boys starring Sean Bean, which coined the popular term for the killings. It also inspired the Rise of the Footsoldier film series, which featured fictionalised depictions of the three murdered men and their killers. But its interest among ghoulish true crime enthusiasts led to the brother of the man who discovered the bodies begging people to stop visiting the area. Bill Theobold, whose brother Peter made the discovery, said in 2023: 'Most people just go down there without asking and some weren't even born when it happened - it's very bizarre.' Timeline of the Essex Boys murders 7 Dec 1995: Anthony Tucker, Pat Tate and Craig Rolfe found shot dead in a Range Rover in Rettendon May 1996: Darren Nicholls arrested for drugs offences - but he turns grass and gives evidence against Michael Steele and Jack Whomes Jan 1998: Steele and Whomes jailed for life at the Old Bailey July 2000: Essex Boys starring Sean Bean is released, putting the killings in the public eye again October 2001: Case referred to the Criminal Cases Review Commission for the first time February 2006: Court of Appeal rejects appeal against convictions. February 2013: Steele appeals against his conviction again, and it is refused January 2016: Steele's appeals again - but it falls May 2018: Whomes has life sentence reduced January 2021: Parole Board approves Whomes for release from prison February 2025: Parole Board approves Steele's release March 2025: Justice Secretary seeks to intervene but her intervention is refused
BBC News
3 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Essex Boys murderer Michael Steele released from prison
A triple murderer infamous for killing the so-called Essex Boys has been released from Steele, now 82, was jailed for life alongside Jack Whomes at the Old Bailey in 1998 for the gangland murders of Tony Tucker, 38, Pat Tate, 37, and Craig Rolfe, three drug dealers were ambushed and shot dead with a pump action shotgun while in a Range Rover parked in Rettendon, Essex, three years who has always denied the murders, has now been released from prison following a decision by the Parole Board, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) confirmed. "Our thoughts remain with the family and friends of Craig Rolfe, Tony Tucker and Pat Tate," a spokesperson for the MoJ told the BBC."This decision was made by the independent Parole Board after a thorough risk assessment."Michael Steele will be on licence for the rest of his life, with strict conditions and intensive probation supervision." Steele's release comes about four years after that of Whomes, previously of Brockford, near Stowmarket, Suffolk, who was released in Parole Board first said that Steele would be released on licence in February after a panel ruled imprisonment "no longer necessary for the protection of the public".This was temporarily blocked when Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood asked for his release to be reconsidered, saying the decision was "legally irrational".But after a "thorough" risk assessment the Parole Board, which had previously been worried about the chances of him reoffending, decided to go ahead with his release."He faces an immediate return to prison if he breaks the rules," the MoJ warned. The Essex Boys killings, as they became known, were carried out on a snowy December morning on isolated farmland near Peter Theobald and his friend Ken Jiggins found the Range Rover parked on a little-known track and suspected the occupants were upon further inspection it became clear the trio had been subjected to a brutal killing - the severity of their injuries leaving them only identifiable by their fingerprints. During Steele's trial in 1998, the court heard how the three victims had been ambushed in a row about aged 55, and from Great Bentley, near Colchester, he was found guilty of murder as well as conspiring to import drugs into the minimum prison term was set at 23 years, which expired in 2019. The case has since been endlessly examined and reconstructed in TV dramas, films, documentaries and books, each exploring its links to other high-profile homicides and the 1990s rave scene.A Sky Documentaries series in 2023 interviewed detectives involved with the 1995 case who were critical of the original police Met Police detective David McKelvey claimed "credible lines of investigation were not followed" and that the assassination was related to an armed robbery, not drug Police previously said the case was "exhaustively examined" and there was no fresh evidence to dispute the original verdicts. Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
The Sun
4 days ago
- General
- The Sun
Notorious ‘Essex Boys' triple killer released from jail after 29 years as bid to keep him locked up fails
TRIPLE 'Essex Boys' killer Michael Steele has been freed after a failed bid to keep him in jail. Steele, now 82, was released to an undisclosed location last month following a 21-month parole battle. 1 He has never admitted the 1995 murders of drug dealers Pat Tate, 37, Tony Tucker, 38, and Craig Rolfe, 26, on a remote farm track at Rettendon. In February the Parole Board deemed him fit to be freed after nearly 29 years in a category-A jail. Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood put his release on hold with a reconsideration application which was dismissed last month. Steele's supporters have now vowed to 'prove conclusively' he is not guilty. He is unlikely to speak publicly as his release comes with strict licence conditions, including a ban on giving media interviews. The Ministry of Justice said: 'He faces an immediate return to prison if he breaks the rules.' Steele and co-defendant Jack Whomes were convicted of the three murders — which have spawned several movies — at the Old Bailey in 1998. They got life with a minimum of 23 years. Whomes was released in 2021.
