A look into the chilling reality of contract killers in the UK, their motives, methods, and the types that exist.
Sanchez Gayle was jailed for 20 years. He became Britain’s youngest hitman at 15. Te Rangimaria Ngarimu is the UK’s only known female contract killer. Criminologist David Wilson studies hitmen.
He says there are four different types. Jill Dando was murdered outside her London home. Alistair Wilson was killed at his front door in Scotland. Martin Ready paid Bitcoin to a fake website.
He sought a hitman to kill a prosecutor. Ready was diagnosed with a delusion. He was convicted of conspiracy to murder. Wilson says the topic fascinates, though we condemn it.
His research found the reality is seedy. It is not like the media portrays it. Hitmen are often down on their luck. Divorce, job loss, and debts can drive them.
A pub remark can lead them astray. They often fail and then end up dead. Wilson’s team studied old newspapers. They listed contract killing cases.
They found 27 murders by 36 hitmen. Fees ranged from £200 to £100,000. The average killer was 38. The youngest was 15.
Their victims averaged 36 years old. Wilson identified four types of hitmen. These are Dilletantes, Novices, Journeymen, and Masters. Dilletantes have little criminal history.
They lack experience with guns due to gun laws. They try other methods. Guns sometimes malfunction for them. Their hits cost little more than a used car. Carlton Alveranga, 20, and Richard Austin, 19, provide an example.
They stormed a pub in Salford in 2006. They failed to kill their targets. They owed money and took the job to pay debts. They lacked experience and were in over their heads.
Austin fired shots, but Alveranga’s gun jammed. The targets retaliated and killed them. Paul Cryne was a bodyguard and swimmer. He killed Sharon Birchwood in 2007.
He sought to settle debts from Thailand. He strangled her and tied her up. DNA evidence on Birchwood and the tape caught him. Her ex-husband, Graham, ordered the hit.
He was jailed for life and died in prison. Cryne also got life but died in 2018. Te Rangimaria Ngarimu is Britain’s only known female hitwoman. She was a Maori bar worker in London.
She killed Graeme Woodhatch for £7,000. She only received £1,500. In 1993, she shot him four times in a hospital. She dressed as a man to disguise herself.
She then went back to New Zealand. She had a religious awakening. She confessed in Britain and went to prison. She now works as a fitness trainer in New Zealand.
People liked her and called her Sparky. She had a good upbringing and was a surfer. She also spoke Japanese and studied science. People found her bright, personable, and good company. Novices are different from Dilletantes.
Novices are doing their first hit. But they have crime experience. They were in gangs or young offender programs. They gained violent reputations in prison.
They used that after release. Santre Sanchez Gayle is a Novice example. He was only 15 years old. He killed Gulistan Subasi for £200.
He spent it on a fake Gucci hat. He wore a forensic suit, acting calm. Police thought he was professional. He bragged and got caught. UK’s youngest hitman got away with the crime initially.
Police did not believe he could be a killer. The victim died in her mother’s arms. The teen wanted to prove himself. His family was in prison.
He knew to wear a forensic suit. Police thought it was a professional job. He could not stop bragging, so police caught him. A CCTV camera captured the murder.
Gayle showed no nerves. He left no trace behind. The police called it a dead end. He bragged to his mates. Another gang member threatened someone.
He talked about the “Turkish woman” murder. The killer did it for £200. Peer pressure factored into that. The killer was not bright.
He lacked schooling and control. People easily manipulated him. He was a victim himself. He was jailed for at least 20 years. Billy got life, with at least 22 years.
Gayle’s brother is also imprisoned. He killed someone at a festival. Another brother is also serving a life sentence. Journeymen are connected to organized crime.
Police know them already. They get support from their crime groups. Prison is just part of the job. They target members of rival groups. Roger Vincent and David Smith murdered David King.
King was known as Rolex Dave. The detectives thought King was a police informant. He was a gangster with enemies. King was hit by an AK-47 by a guy in a stolen van.
It was the first gun of its kind in Britain. It was called an old-fashioned detective investigation. King was charged after officers caught heroin. His release caused suspicions he was an informer.
The initial shooter got scared when he saw King. Vincent and Smith then did the job. Famous gangs operate across the UK and Dublin. Other groups exist in neighborhoods.
Lyons members attempted to murder Daniel members. These attacks happened over 15 months. They received 104 years in prison for all crimes. Masters are different than other hitmen types.
They are sent to a town to commit a hit. They know little about the area themselves. The killing happens at the victim’s home. Think Jill Dando and Alistair Wilson.
Dando was a BBC host murdered in 1999. The victim is targeted for unkonwn reasons. She had left her fiancé’s home that morning. She returned to her home alone by car.
She was shot in the head at her front door. Barry George was convicted, but acquitted later. Forensics were proved faulty and excluded. No one else has been charged. Alistair Wilson was a bank manager.
He lived in Nairn, Scotland with his wife. A man in a cap came to his door. The visitor gave him an empty envelope labeled “Paul.” Wilson went back to the door.
His wife heard gunshots. Her husband was dead. The case remains unsolved. The gun is left to obscure forensic evidence. These killers are described as “Ghosters”. They enter the community and then leave.