Who was John ‘Goldfinger’ Palmer? Gangland boss shot dead outside house in Essex
The coroner in his inquest was told there were 16,000 fraud victims and any one of them would have had a motive to kill him
JOHN “Goldfinger” Palmer was shot and killed while he pottered around his garden at his Essex home in 2015.
The convicted timeshare fraudster and Brink’s-Mat smelter was shot six times after lighting a bonfire.
Who was John Palmer?
John ‘Goldfinger’ Palmer was 65 when he was killed in the garden of his Essex home.
Police said at the inquest into his death on December 20, 2015, there could have been 16,000 fraud victims of his who would have had a motive to kill him.
They also suggested that links to last year’s Hatton Garden jewellery heist and the 1983 Brinks Mat gold bullion robbery could have been a factor in his death.
Long time criminal Palmer was jailed at the Old Bailey for eight years for swindling 16,000 timeshare holiday customers out of £33m.
The gang boss was also suspected of selling proceeds from the £10m Hatton Garden jewellery heist.
And years previously he had been arrested over the £26m gold bullion robbery at Heathrow airport in 1983.
He was suspected of smelting some of the stolen gold, which led to his nickname ‘Goldfinger’.
Palmer amassed an alleged £300m fortune over the years though suspected swindles and money laundering.
He owned a complex network of 122 companies, many offshore.
How did he die?
Palmer was shot in the back, arms and chest by a low-calibre gun with a silencer on June 24, 2015.
His killer is thought to have drilled a hole in a wooden fence and spied on him several hundred yards from a main road.
The inquest heard the killer then hopped over the fence and shot Palmer six times.
Palmer was found unconscious shortly before 6.30pm by his 25-year-old son James.
His mother Christina Ketley, Palmer’s long-term partner, was out at the time.
It was initially thought that his injuries were due to recent gall bladder surgery he had undergone.
In June, 2018, police revealed that Palmer’s hitman spied on him through a hole in his fence.
Cops said the contract killer leapt over the 5ft fence and opened fire with a .32 revolver fitted with a silencer.
After shooting Palmer three times from 6ft away, the gunman pumped three more .8mm bullets into him after he collapsed.
What did the 2016 inquest into his death find?
An officer present at the Chelmsford inquest said police had followed up 700 leads and taken 200 witness statements.
He added there was still work to be done in the investigation to find out who killed him and why.
Ashley Thilthorpe, the partner of Palmer’s daughter, was the only family member present at the inquest.
Coroner Caroline Beasley-Murray concluded Palmer was unlawfully killed.
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