Police close in on murderer of Burntwood dad Richard Deakin

Dec 19 2010

POLICE are closing in on the cold-blooded hitman who gunned down businessman Richard Deakin, a source close to the police investigation revealed last night.

Detectives are said to be working on ‘positive leads’ after the brutal killing of the father-of-two was featured on BBC Crimewatch on Tuesday. Richard, 27, was gunned down in the bedroom of his home in Chasetown, Staffordshire, on July 5.

The TV programme showed CCTV footage of the killer entering through a back gate of the Meadway Street property he shared with partner Megan and their two young children, Ellie and Jessica.

The gunman waited until 8.20am, when the mum had left to take the girls to school, before entering the house, finding Richard’s bedroom and firing two shots as his victim slept.

The murderer then calmly walked out of the house. An accomplice drove him from the scene in a stolen black Vauxhall Corsa, later found abandoned in nearby Coppy Nook Lane.

Meanwhile, questions have been raised about why it took Staffordshire Police almost SIX MONTHS to release images of the killer.

Richard’s mother, Carol, said she was surprised by the move. “It’s a strange one,’’ she said. ‘‘If they had been released earlier, maybe we would be further forward – I really don’t know.

‘‘I haven’t been told why they waited until now.”