Birmingham blackmailer caught after naked display

Nov 29 2009 by Mark Cowan, Sunday Mercury

The former security guard was not your typical blackmailer.

The 6ft 4in tall oddball lived alone in a bedsit in Deakin Road, Erdington.

He was deep in debt, owing £35,000 on credits cards, after being let go by a Milton Keynes based security firm that had employed him until the spring of 2008.

A regular customer at the Erdington Co-op, he would habitually do his weekly grocery shopping there every Thursday, the day his ransom note was delivered.

Sources described him as a “bit of a strange character” who had a penchant for “cops and robbers movies”.

One of his neighbours, who did not wish to be named, said: “We know people in the street have had problems with him walking around his living room with nothing on.

“When we saw loads of police taking boxes out of his house we just thought it had something to do with that.”

Other residents described him as a “bit of a loner”.

In May, officers swooped. Hazel answered the door in a silk dressing gown. Realising it was the police he tried to slam to door, but detectives managed to barge their way in and he was arrested on suspicion of blackmail.

Detective Chief Inspector Colin Avern, from West Midlands Police Serious and Organised Crime Unit said: “When interviewed he denied being the author of the note but when officers asked him what asked what his favourite film was, he admitted it was Dirty Harry and even alluded to the character of Scorpio.

“He also said to the officer that being picked up for blackmail was the most exciting thing that had ever happened in his life.

“It was odd because if you put yourself in the mind of that person, you ask yourself what would a guy like that do with £3 million?”

During their inquiry, officers also established Hazel had bought a DVD copy of the Dirty Harry blockbuster as a present to himself last Christmas.

A handwriting expert later confirmed to police that Hazel’s writing matched that of the ransom note.

While police and prosecutors now acknowledge that it was a fairly “amateurish and inept” extortion attempt, detectives said they could not dismiss the threats.

Det Chief Insp Avern said: “It was such an extravagant demand and such an extravagant threat.

“Trying to determine who the author was took us in all directions, whether it was an ex-employee with a grudge or a disgruntled customer.

“We had to take it seriously because anyone going to the lengths of writing a letter could pose a significant danger to the public.

“These people are potentially very dangerous because you never know if they are going to carry out the threats.

“But it highlight the benefits of the fingerprint database. While there was no match when the forensic examination recovered the print, it was just a matter of time until he was arrested and his prints taken for the match to be made.”

At court it was said that Hazel had become overwhelmed by his debts. In a “moment of madness” he had sent the letter but never intended to act on the threats and regretted it instantly.

A pre-sentence report suggested there was a confusion in his mind between the reality of his financial problems and fantasy.

He later landed a job as a double glazing canvasser, but is still deep in debt and may have to declare himself bankrupt.

Despite his guilty plea, detectives still do not know what was behind the blackmail attempt. With few convicted blackmailers in jail, officers expect academics will want to go and interview Hazel in prison for an insight into the mind of someone involved in the particularly rare crime.