Forty-five-year-old Ian Newtion was a well-known reggae performer in Greenford, a large town in Ealing, west London. Under his stage name Scoobie Santino, he’d had a hit single in 1990 with Sweetie Irie called “Money Honey.” He had also been working as a delivery driver to supplement his income.
On the evening of March 21st, 2009, Ian had been performing for free at a 60th birthday party for a friend, held at the Scout Hut on Rockware Road. After the party, he began walking home.
He was last seen alive shortly before eight a.m. on March 22nd by a jogger who later told police that he appeared “agitated.” Only an hour later, his body was discovered in a pedestrian underpass beneath the Greenford Roundabout.
His throat had been slashed with a broken beer bottle, which was found at the scene. Because nothing had been stolen from the victim and Ian was not found to have any links to crime, the motive for the slaying was a complete mystery. Authorities wondered if Ian may have simply run across a completely insane passerby who killed him in a frenzy.
Police worked diligently to find the beloved man’s attacker, but came up short. In November 2016, a suspect was arrested in connection with the murder but was later released without charge.
The underpass where Ian was killed served as a shrine to the performer, and his friends and family would often stop by to pay their respects. But despite a number of appeals for information and a £20,000 reward, the case remains unsolved as of June 2024.
Crime Immemorial 