A police force has admitted failings in the handling of the murder of the notorious criminal John “Goldfinger” Palmer after officers mistook six gunshot injuries for surgery wounds.
At an inquest into Palmer’s death, DCI Stephen Jennings of Essex police said officers did not properly inspect the gangster’s dead body as it lay in the garden of his home in South Weald, nor did they conduct appropriate background checks that would have revealed his high-profile criminal background.
As a result, Palmer’s death was not treated as suspicious until six days after he died.
Palmer, who was 64 when he was killed on 24 June 2015, was cleared of handling proceeds from the £26m Brink’s-Mat bullion raid at Heathrow in 1983, but his alleged involvement earned him the nickname Goldfinger.
He was jailed in 2001 for an estimated £33m timeshare fraud, and served half of an eight-year sentence. He spent the last eight years of his life on bail following his arrest in Tenerife in 2007 where he was charged with fraud, firearm possession and money laundering.
After a short hearing in Chelmsford, the coroner, Caroline Beasley-Murray, concluded that Palmer had been unlawfully killed. The police investigation into his murder is ongoing. A separate inquiry by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) into Essex police’s handling of the case is also ongoing.
“There were failings on behalf of Essex police,” Jennings told the inquest. “The body was not completely searched and relevant intelligence checks were not taken which would have identified his lifestyle of criminality.”
He said 700 lines of inquiry had been opened and 200 witness statements had been taken as part of the investigation. The force believed the murder had all the hallmarks of a “contract-style killing”, he added.
Considering motives for taking out a hit on Palmer, the investigation has looked at his criminal past, including his links to the Brink’s-Mat robbery. Palmer was also connected to some of the men convicted for their roles in the more recent Hatton Garden diamond heist.
There were 16,000 victims in the timeshare fraud case, which Jennings described as “16,000 motives” to kill.
Jennings told the inquest that Palmer had gall bladder surgery on 17 June 2015, five days before his death, and initially his injuries were believed to be linked.
Palmer’s home was remote and set amid three acres of land with fencing around the property, Jennings said. CCTV footage showed Palmer using a motorised buggy in his grounds at 5.18pm. He was found lying dead in the grass by his son’s partner after stumbling about 15 metres from the site of the shooting.
After a postmortem concluded the cause of death was gunshot wounds to the chest, Essex police launched a murder inquiry. Detectives discovered a small hole drilled in the perimeter fence of the property, which they believe was used by Palmer’s killer to spy on his movements.
The gun used was an 8mm pistol with .32 calibre and most likely had a silencer fitted, Jennings said, adding that Palmer had been burning paperwork in the corner of his garden when he was shot.
The investigation will continue in 2017, Jennings said. “The search is not just for the gunman but for the person who wanted someone to kill him.”
Ashley Thilthorpe, the partner of Palmer’s daughter, was the only relative to attend the hearing.
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