Monday 6 October 2014

Unsolved Murder Casebook: Brian Adams

This unsolved murder has all the hallmarks of a professional hit, but the lack of motive, in that the victim ran a small business and was not a criminal, has left Police no solid clues to act upon.  Brian Adams, 48, ran a windscreen replacement service for heavy plant machines, so such a business would not have brought him into contact with unsavoury characters.  The story begins on August 14th 1990, when Mr Adams arrived back at his home on Thorndike Avenue, Alvaston, Derbyshire.  The father of three had earlier  purchased a Kawasaki motorcycle with his girlfriend Marion Hoyle, and it was 11.30pm as he got off his bike and put it on the centre stand.  It was then that a person walked out of hiding, put a shotgun to his head, and blasted him through his helmet.  As Mr Adams fell on his bike, the gunman put a second shot into his throat.  Then he made off.

    Police from Cotton Lane Police Station formed a task force that comprised of up to 80 officers, and carried out interviews with more than 4,500 people but made no headway.  Mr Adams had been a member of a couple of gun clubs, but this did not give any leads.  A newspaper claimed that Mr Adams had a reputation as a ladies man, so this could have been a crime of passion, with the possibility that the killer was an enraged boyfriend or husband.  It would seem that it would be an extreme measure to kill somebody over an illicit liaison, but this happens all the time.  Affairs of the heart are the most difficult to come to terms with, and embittered spouses are capable of anything.  Nothing can hurt somebody more than an emotional dagger through the heart.  That can sound a touch dramatic but it is true.  The hunt for the killer ran cold and the case is subject to review by the Police every couple of years, with fresh appeals for anybody who knows anything to come forward, and hopes that forensic advances yields evidence. 

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