A heartbroken mother has spoken of the ‘torture’ she has endured over the last 15 years not knowing where her son’s body is, after he was murdered by a gang over a £1million drugs debt, as police today announced a £10,000 reward for anyone with information.
Father-of-three Jesse Richards, 40, was killed in Evesham, Worcestershire, on July 31, 2009 in a violent attack over a drugs debt.
According to reports at the time, the ‘passive family man’ was said to have begged for his life before he was brutally assaulted with a range of weapons, including a pickaxe, and bundled into a van.
Five men were jailed for a total of 50 years in 2012 over his death.
Former boxing promoter Kevin Houston, 50, Matthew Taylor, 29, and James Doe, 38, all from Coventry, were jailed for manslaughter.
Jesse Richards was killed on July 31, 2009 in a violent attack over a drugs debt – but 15 years on his family still do not know where his body is
David Butler, 26, from Slough, admitted obstructing a coroner while Joseph Doe, 37, of Essex, pleaded guilty to assisting an offender.
However West Mercia Police detectives said his body was never found and they remain committed to finding Jesse and bringing closure for his family.
Every year, Jesse’s mother, Lucy Richards, has urged anyone with information to come forward and she hopes that this year, on the 15th anniversary of his death, someone will.
She said: ‘I have appealed for 15 years for the return of my Jesse and every year I hope for a positive result, but so far have been bitterly disappointed.
Police searched this property in Smorral Lane, Corley, in 2020, as part of an investigation into the whereabouts of Jesse Richards’ body
‘If you can’t come forward with the information I need for me and my family, then do it for the £10,000 reward that is available for the recovery of his body.’
West Mercia Police Detective Inspector Garath Evans said that someone must know where Jesse’s body is, adding: ‘If it was your loved one, you would want to know.’
Ms Richards continued: ‘I hope that this year is different and that this is the year I will be able to lay him to rest.
‘I’m not getting any younger and it worries me that I may never get to do that.
‘Every time I see on the news an unidentified body has been discovered I am put through the torture of wondering and waiting to see if it might be him.
‘It doesn’t get any easier as the time passes, but I live in hope and will keep doing so.
‘I would again re-iterate my previous plea that if anyone knows anything no matter how small it may seem, think about me, think about the rest of his family, think how you would feel if you were me and please, get in touch with the police.’
DI Evans said: ‘Despite any involvement in crime Jesse had at the time of his death, his family did not and they have been left to cruelly suffer for 15 years without the opportunity to lay their loved to one to rest.
‘Jesse would now be 55 and his mother, Lucy Richards, is all too aware that she will not be around forever. She lives with the hope that before it is too late for her, someone will do the decent thing and identify where his remains could be recovered from.
‘Someone knows where his body is and I would ask that person to tell us. If it was your loved one, you would want to know.
‘Alliances change over time so perhaps you didn’t feel you could come forward then but can now.
‘If that’s the case and you do not want to speak to police, please contact Crimetoppers. You can do so anonymously and in confidence.
‘Put yourself in the family’s shoes and do the decent thing while Jesse’s mother can still put her son to rest.
Police at the entrance to the property in Smorral Lane, in Corley, Warwickshire, in 2020, which was searched to find Jesse’s remains. Four years on his body has still not been found
‘West Mercia Police still remain actively committed to finding Jesse and implore anyone who is a mother, father, sister or brother themselves to imagine the pain and if they have knowledge to provide the information required to assist in the recovery of Jesse, anonymously if necessary.’
Anyone with any information is urged to contact Detective Inspector Gareth Evans on 07977 068 033 or gareth.evans@westmercia.police.uk, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
