Murderer jailed over ‘Essex Boys’ shooting to face parole hearing in …
A man jailed for life over a now infamous gang shooting in Essex faces a two-day Parole Board hearing in a bid to be released from prison early. Michael Steele, now 80, and his accomplice Jack Whomes were convicted by a jury of killing Tony Tucker, 38, Patrick Tate, 37, and Craig Rolfe, 26, back in 1995.
The trio were shot dead in a Range Rover on a small farm track in Rettendon. Whomes, now 61, was freed from prison after a decision by the Parole Board in March 2021, while Steele is still a serving Category A prisoner.
Now Steele has been given a rare chance to be released early due to a two-day Parole Board hearing to take place next month.
In the decades since the murders, the case has been subject to extensive media coverage through books, documentaries and feature films, including Essex Boys in 2000 starring Sean Bean, and the later Rise of the Footsoldier films. Since their conviction, both Whomes and Steele have continually preached of their innocence.
A spokesperson for the Parole Board said: “A two day oral hearing has been listed for the parole review of Michael Steele and is scheduled to take place in May 2023. Parole Board decisions are solely focused on what risk a prisoner could represent to the public if released and whether that risk is manageable in the community.
“A panel will carefully examine a huge range of evidence, including details of the original crime, and any evidence of behaviour change, as well as explore the harm done and impact the crime has had on the victims.
“Members read and digest hundreds of pages of evidence and reports in the lead up to an oral hearing. Evidence from witnesses including probation officers, psychiatrists and psychologists, officials supervising the offender in prison as well as victim personal statements are then given at the hearing.
“The prisoner and witnesses are then questioned at length during the hearing which often lasts a full day or more. Parole reviews are undertaken thoroughly and with extreme care. Protecting the public is our number one priority.”
The bodies of Tucker, Tate and Wolfe were found the morning after December 6 1995 by farmer Peter Theobald and his friend. The victims had all been shot with a pump-action shotgun.
Jack Whomes, pictured here in 2006, was released from prison on parole in 2021 (Image: 2006 Getty Images)
Leading the investigation, detective superintendent Ian Dibley is believed to have said at the time: “This is not an ordinary murder. It looks as if they were enticed down there. As far as murders go, you don’t get any more serious than this.”
Whomes and Steele were found guilty at London’s Old Bailey of the killings two years later and received three life sentences with a minimum of 15 years.
Sentencing the pair Mr Justice Hidden said: “There is little that can be said usefully to either of you at this stage. You two men were responsible, in my view, for taking away their lives in a violent and summary way. You lured them to a quiet farm track and summarily executed them.”
References
- ^ Ex-cop believes convicted Rettendon Essex Boys killers are ‘undoubtedly innocent’ (www.essexlive.news)