DETECTIVES who worked to bring the teenage boys who killed a vulnerable man in his own home to justice have revealed the key details which helped secure murder convictions.
Edward Reeve was fatally stabbed in his address in Heath Road, Walkford, on New Year’s Eve by Jack James Hindley, aged 17 and of Christchurch, and Samuel Roy Jones, aged 17 of Bournemouth.
The boys, who were aged 16 at the time of the killing, were found guilty of murdering the 35-year-old following a trial at Winchester Crown Court. They received life sentences with a minimum term of 18 years behind bars at a hearing on September 28.
Dorset Police’s major crime investigation team launched enquiries into Mr Reeve’s death after his body was found by two concerned friends on January 4.
The Daily Echo sat down with senior investigating officer Detective Chief Inspector Simon Huxter and case officer Detective Sergeant Sarah Gedge to discuss the investigation – named Op Landslide.
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DCI Huxter said the investigation included many strands, with house-to-house enquiries, CCTV, telephones and forensic evidence standing out as the key.
“So much work and effort goes into investigations of this nature,” he said.
“Clearly when someone has lost their life that is the only and right thing to do.
“When we consider we have initially arrest someone you have got 24 hours, it is relentless.
“This was a case we would refer to as a cold start murder enquiry.
“We find the tragic victim and at that point we have no idea who is responsible. That initial huge effort from Sarah and the team here working crazy hours allows us and gets us to a point whereby we then identify our suspects.”
DCI Huxter said Hindley and Jones became “determined suspects” within days of Mr Reeve’s body being found, with information provided by members of the public following multiple appeals in the press proving crucial.
A challenge to the case came in the timing of the crime. Police launched Op Landslide four days after the attack and over the Christmas period people’s memories were not what they might have been due to them being out of their normal routines, the detectives said.
One key and prominent element of the case was material and evidence obtained from mobile phones.
While the knives used in the attack were never recovered, a recorded phone conservation from a prison inmate to the boys in the minutes after they left Heath Road was obtained by police.
“A key thing for me on this was the call from the prison inmate,” DCI Huxter said.
“The timing was just perfect. As Jack is leaving the shop you see him reaching for his phone and take it out, so you can timeline the call from the prison and thankfully because of Covid, certain prisoners did have access to phones.
“The fact that that call was made and because of the circumstances we were entitled to recover the recording of that phone, that became so, so crucial to the case.
“It was almost like they were proud of what they had done.”
Reflecting on the court process, DS Gedge, who gave evidence at the trial, said: “It is stressful because you are aware of the importance of making sure you get that conviction.
“Ultimately the decision isn’t down to us, it is down to the jury, but we have to put the best case forward that we can and that isn’t just about what we found, it is about what we haven’t found because that can bolster our case as well.
“Only a fraction of what we gather and what we obtain is actually heard in court.”
DCI Huxter said the core team in the investigation worked round the clock from the outset to gather as much evidence as possible to present to the Crown Prosecution Service before working to get the complex case ready for trial in just six months.
He said: “That approach allows us to be able to look Ed’s family in the eye afterwards and say ‘we can’t bring Ed back, but the people that have taken him from you are going to prison for a long, long time’ and that is why I joined the police."
DS Gedge said even after the trial there is still “no real reason” to explain why the boys attacked Mr Reeve.
Assessing the nature of the offence, DCI Huxter said: “Sixteen-year-old boys doing this in Dorset. It is shocking.
“Every homicide is a tragedy because someone has lost their life but what made this case particularly terrible is Ed is within his own home. He should be safe within his own home.
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“I don’t think we should shy away from the fact that two 16-year-old boys have been convicted of this and it is what makes this a particularly shocking crime – the fact that they are so young.”
He added: “Clearly Ed’s family should be the focus but I don’t think we should lose sight of the fact that those two boys have destroyed their own families as well through their actions.”
The senior detective said he felt proud of the team for their professionalism and commitment to the investigation.
“Sarah and the core team throughout that whole period worked crazy hours,” DCI Huxter said.
“Especially at a time whereby sadly actions by some of our colleagues elsewhere make our job sometimes more difficult, to actually be part of a team that do what really good policing should be doing, makes me proud to be a police officer and part of this really effective team.”
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