Murder of Ross Parker
Ross Parker | |
---|---|
Born | Ross Andrew Parker[1] 19 August 1984 Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England |
Died | 21 September 2001 Millfield, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England | (aged 17)
Cause of death | Stabbing |
Resting place | Peterborough Crematorium, Marholm, Peterborough 52°36′17″N 0°17′23″W / 52.60471°N 0.2898°W |
Occupation | Bar worker |
Employer | The Solstice Pub |
Height | 5 ft 5 in (165 cm) |
Partner | Nicola Toms (now Foot)[2] |
Parent(s) | Davinia and Tony Parker |
Ahmed Ali Awan | |
---|---|
Born | c. 1980 (age 43–44) |
Occupation | Labour contractor |
Criminal status | In prison |
Conviction(s) | Murder (19 December 2002) |
Criminal charge | Murder |
Penalty | Life imprisonment (minimum 18 years) |
Date apprehended | 22 September 2001 |
Shaied Nazir | |
---|---|
Born | c. 1980 (age 43–44) |
Other names | Biggy |
Occupation | Door-to-door salesman |
Criminal status | In prison |
Conviction(s) | Murder (19 December 2002) |
Criminal charge | Murder |
Penalty | Life imprisonment (minimum 16 years) |
Date apprehended | 22 September 2001 |
Sarfraz Ali | |
---|---|
Born | c. 1977 (age 46–47) |
Occupation | Delivery driver |
Criminal status | In prison |
Conviction(s) | Murder (19 December 2002) |
Criminal charge | Murder |
Penalty | Life imprisonment (minimum 16 years) |
Date apprehended | c. 24 September 2001 |
Ross Andrew Parker (19 August 1984 – 21 September 2001), from
In December 2002, Shaied Nazir, Ahmed Ali Awan and Sarfraz Ali were unanimously found guilty of Parker's murder and sentenced to
A
match is played each year in his memory.Background
Ross Parker was born in Peterborough in 1984 to Davinia and Tony Parker. His mother worked as a waitress and his father ran a car bodywork repair business; he was one of two children.
Murder
Parker was murdered shortly after 1:15 a.m. on Friday 21 September 2001 while walking with his girlfriend, Nicola Toms.
Having finished work early, Parker and Toms were walking to visit her friend's house
Toms ran to a nearby
After the murder, four of the gang returned to a garage which they used as their headquarters. Ahmed Ali Awan, brandishing the bloodied knife, exclaimed "cherish the blood".
Arrests and charges
Parker's murder sparked what became one of the biggest police inquiries in the history of Peterborough.[20] During the weekend following the attack, twelve suspects of Pakistani descent were arrested on suspicion of murder. Members of the local Muslim community posted a £1,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the killers,[11][21] later increasing to £1,500.[22] Detective Chief Inspector Dick Harrison, who was overseeing the case, praised the city's Muslim community for their involvement in capturing the murderers.[4]
On 26 September 2001, Sarfraz Ali, Ahmed Ali Awan and Shaied Nazir appeared in court charged with Parker's murder.[14] Zairaff Mahrad was charged the following day.[18][23] However, by March 2002 all four defendants had been controversially released on bail. Parker's sister, Leanne, stated "we can't begin to comprehend why they've been allowed out of prison at this stage". Parker's family were so concerned about the decision that they wrote a letter of complaint to the Home Secretary, David Blunkett. The Home Office refused to comment on the case and the men remained free on bail.[24][25]
Trial
On 7 November 2002, Awan, Nazir, Ali and Mahrad all of Millfield, Peterborough, stood trial for Parker's murder at Northampton Crown Court, pleading not guilty.[20][25]
Awan, 22, ran a recruitment company and had previously attended the city's
During the six-week trial, transcripts of covert police recordings of the suspects discussing the attack were submitted as evidence. These conversations took place in police vehicles when the suspects were arrested and were translated from
The jury heard how the murder weapons had been found in a shed at Nazir's house along with two bags of bloodied clothes.
In court Nazir admitted to seeing the victim lying on the ground and attempting to spray him with CS gas and kicking him. He also acknowledged washing the murder weapon and stated Ali had hit Parker with the hammer and Awan used the knife.[42] Nazir also alleged prosecution witnesses Zaheer Abbas and Adeel Rehman had been involved in the attack too.[43] Mahrad had also admitted to being present at the murder scene, and claimed that the blood stains found on his trousers occurred as a result of his accidentally falling across Parker. Ali, defended by Mohammed Latif, denied being at the scene and claimed to have been asleep at the time of the murder, although a recording from a police van indicated this was a "story" that he had encouraged the others to "stick to".[17][31] Awan also denied being present and claimed he had been at home playing on his PlayStation with Shokat Awan, his brother.[44]
Nigel Rumfitt QC, defending Awan, summarised the crime by stating: "These people were not taking the night air. Every member of the group knew what was going on. These weapons had been selected before they set off. The knife was far too big to be hidden from the others. There is no doubt there was a hunting party looking for a victim."[45]
On 19 December 2002, Nazir, Awan and Ali were all found guilty of murder in
, summarised the murder during sentencing:You put your heads together with the purpose of arming yourselves and of attacking an innocent man you might find by chance simply because he was of a different race to yourselves. A racist killing must be one of the gravest kinds of killing.
The judge concluded that Awan had wielded the knife, was the ringleader of the group and had intended to kill.
Post-trial and appeals
After the trial it was revealed that Nazir had previously been cautioned for threatening behaviour in 1999 and fined for resisting arrest.[28] The two Labour politicians, Akhtar and Choudhary, who provided Ali's references were later jailed themselves for forgery in relation to vote rigging.[46][47]
Awan and Nazir
Reporting
The BBC Editorial Standards Committee in 2007 found that "there was no evidence to suggest that the BBC had shown a specific and systemic bias in favour of cases where the victim had been black or Asian", but accepted it had "underplayed its coverage of the Ross Parker case" and repeated the failings in its coverage of the murder of Kriss Donald.[51]
In 2006, a Sunday Times investigation by Brendan Montague examined British newspaper archives for coverage of racist crimes, finding "an almost total boycott of stories involving the white victims of attacks" whereas "cases involving black and minority ethnic victims are widely reported".[54]
Peter Fahy, the spokesman on race issues for the Association of Chief Police Officers said: "A lot of police officers and other professionals feel almost the best thing to do is to try and avoid [discussing such attacks] for fear of being criticised. This is not healthy". Montague suggests the lack of police appeals in cases involving white victims may be a cause of the lack of media coverage.[54] Evidence of this was seen in the Parker case, with the police initially appearing keen to dismiss the possible racist aspect of the murder, stating "there was no reason to believe that the attack was racially motivated".[55]
American
The newspaper which covered Parker's murder more extensively faced criticism. The
The leader of Peterborough City Council called the report by Dr Green unfair.[58]
Impact
Parker's murder led to increased racial tensions in Peterborough. At his former school, three Asian pupils were suspended for an attack on an Afro-Caribbean pupil; a relative of the victim then attacked an Asian teacher.[59] A number of taxi firms stopped work early in the days after the attack in fear of reprisals.[60] In November 2001 Home Secretary David Blunkett banned all marches in Peterborough for three months as it was feared violence would be caused by the Anti-Nazi League and National Front who both sought to hold protests on the same day.[61]
Parker's death also had a major impact on his family. His mother, Davinia, was unable to work for three months after Parker's funeral and came close to attempting suicide on a number of occasions. Parker's room was left largely untouched for three years after the incident because his parents were reluctant to tidy it. They described the room as a place they "feel close to Ross".[10][13][23]
Legacy
As a result of the murder of Parker, local authorities set up a unity scheme, whereby gang members from different communities were trained as youth workers to ease racial tensions and reduce violence.
BBC News editor
Tributes
Parker's funeral took place at Peterborough
The murder received little attention from politicians, although in 2003
A plaque was installed in Netherton in Peterborough as a memorial to Parker, and a further memorial is located at Peterborough Crematorium.[4] His former football team mates and friends also play a match every May in his memory and formed a team called "Ross' Rangers".[23]
A rose bush was also planted at the Parker family home in remembrance.[13]
See also
- Murder of Richard Everitt – 1994 murder in England
- Murder of Kriss Donald – Scottish murder case
References
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- ^ a b Kennedy, Dominic (24 September 2001). "Muslims offer reward to find Asian gang behind white youth's death". The Times. London. p. 3.
- ^ a b c d Morris, Steven (20 December 2002). "Three get life in jail for racist killing". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 28 July 2011.
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- ^ a b "Court: Chilling warning to accused after being told to deliver bloodied clothes". Peterborough Evening Telegraph. Peterborough: Johnston Press. 19 November 2002. Retrieved 3 January 2012.
- ^ a b "Court: 'I slept as Ross was murdered', claim". Peterborough Evening Telegraph. Peterborough: Johnston Press. 6 December 2002. Retrieved 3 January 2012.
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