Revisiting the murder case that shocked England

One of Harry Roberts' closest friends warned him he could face 15 years in prison if caught carrying a gun. However, the arrogant petty criminal always thought it was okay to carry a weapon. As a result, on August 12, 1966, he committed a murder that shocked Britain.

Murder of 3 police officers

Robert, then 30, and his underworld friends Jack Witney, 36, and John Duddy, 37, spent the day loitering around west London in a 1954 Vanguard Estate, looking for a car to steal and use to rob. The three had several fake number plates in the back of the car, along with a bag containing Roberts' three loaded guns.

The search for the car ended when they turned onto Braybrook Street near Shepherd's Bush, where they were spotted by plainclothes officers driving an unmarked car. The three officers, Christopher Head, 30, David Wombwell, 25, and Geoffrey Fox, 41, were about to pick up a colleague from court. But for some reason, perhaps because the Vanguard looked too old to be roadworthy, the officers asked the car to pull over.

Wombwell approached the car and spoke to Witney, who was driving. He discovered that the car had not been taxed and that the insurance Witney had provided was expired. Wombwell briefed Head, who then approached Roberts' window and asked to see the bag.

Roberts thought of his friend's warnings. It was too late to hide the weapon, and having served time for armed robbery, he had sworn never to go back. For a few seconds, Roberts seemed to have only one choice. He grabbed a 9mm Luger semiautomatic pistol, leaned into the driver's seat, and aimed it at Wombwell's left eye, killing him instantly. The officer fell to the ground, still holding the pencil.

Officer Head ran back toward the police car, but Roberts and his accomplices had nowhere to go. In front of a group of children playing on the street, Roberts jumped out of the car and shot Head in the back. The officer collapsed, bleeding profusely. Roberts stood over Head, pointed the gun at his face, and pulled the trigger. However, the gun jammed. Fox, trying to save his colleague, reversed the car straight into Roberts. He shouted to Witney and Duddy, “Come on. Get the driver.”

Duddy grabbed his Enfield, got out of the car, and fired three shots into the police car. The last shot hit Fox in the temple, killing him and sending him sprawling in the seat. Fox slammed on the gas, causing the car to rear up and run over Head. All three officers were killed.

Price

A manhunt was launched by the British police on an unprecedented scale. Witney was tracked down within hours after a witness remembered the Vanguard's registration number. Duddy was arrested a few days later in Glasgow following a tip-off from his brother.

But Roberts disappeared. He used his military skills to hide in a makeshift tent in Epping Forest for several weeks, living off scraps of food he found and stole. Hundreds of police officers joined the search for Roberts. His mother and girlfriend appeared on television, pleading with him to turn himself in. Initially, police offered a £1,000 reward for any information leading to his capture.

The murder made headlines for weeks. 16,000 wanted posters with Roberts’s picture were circulated. Border alerts were sent to 95 countries. Police received 5,000 calls from the public. Finally, on 15 November, three months after the police killing, Roberts was arrested while sleeping in a barn near Bishops Stortford in Hertfordshire.

The three criminals went on trial the following month. After six days of evidence, the jury took just 30 minutes to convict them of murder. Judge Glyn-Jones recommended a minimum sentence of 30 years before allowing them to be released on bail. He said the murder of the three policemen was the most barbaric crime in Britain in a generation.

The verdict came just eight months after Britain abolished the death penalty. Public anger was so great that calls for the death penalty to be reinstated to execute Roberts. The timing of the crime spared the three Shepherd's Bush killers from death. They spent most of their time behind bars. Duddy died in Parkhurst prison in 1981 of natural causes at the age of 52. Witney, released in 1991 after 25 years, was bludgeoned to death with a hammer by his drug-addicted housemate in 1999, at the age of 69. Roberts had a series of appeals for clemency rejected. He was released in November 2014 at the age of 78 after serving 48 years in prison. The release was also controversial.

After the three police officers were murdered, a fund was set up for their families. The fund has since paid out £47 million to nearly 7,000 beneficiaries.

Half a century later, the motive for the cold-blooded murder remains elusive. Roberts may have carried a gun to appear intimidating, to differentiate himself from petty criminals. He and his gang were petty criminals, not gangsters. However, he was cold-blooded. He had been imprisoned twice for violent crimes, one of which involved robbing an elderly man, tying him up, and beating him with a glass jar. During police interrogation, Roberts showed no remorse for the murder. He even joked, “It was the first day of shooting season.”

Explaining Roberts’ actions, the friend who had warned him he would go to jail if caught with a gun by police felt responsible. “I told these guys over and over again that they would go to jail for 15 years if caught with a gun. That must have been going through their minds when they were stopped by the police. It was just panic,” he said.

According to Baotintuc