On January 17th, 2004, a plastic barrel was discovered at the bottom of the cliffs at Beachy Head, East Sussex, England. Inside were the remains of a bound and gagged man whose face was slashed and who had been stabbed multiple times with what appeared to be a screwdriver. The cause of death was one stab wound to his back that had penetrated a kidney.
The victim went unidentified for six weeks, but finally, DNA evidence revealed that the man was thirty-nine-year-old Orville Gordon, who lived in south London but was originally from Jamaica. Once his identity was established, police discovered a large quantity of his blood on a chair in an abandoned restaurant in Brixton; this was believed to be the site where he was murdered.
During the investigation, detectives found possible witnesses very reticent to talk to them, though they did develop a theory that Orville had perhaps been killed as revenge for a robbery.
Not long after the body was found, three men were arrested in connection with the crime, but no charges were ever brought. The so-called “Barrel Death,” therefore, remains unsolved, more than two decades on.
Crime Immemorial 