Forty-five-year-old Patrick Hurling worked as an accountant and lived in a house on Bengeo Street in Hertford, England. He had recently parted ways with his wife and was living alone after she and their three children had moved out.
On the evening of November 30th, 1990, he was drinking in The Angel pub across the street from his office in Waltham Abbey. He left at about eleven p.m., driving home in his BMW.
Hours later, on the early morning of December 1st, Patrick was found beaten and strangled to death in his residence. He was naked, and his body was badly charred from the several fires that had been set in the house, likely to cover up the murder.
Patrick had been a fairly wealthy man, so robbery seemed the obvious motive. Backing up this theory was the fact that several items were found to be missing from his home, including his wedding ring, a black leather wallet, and pieces of expensive gold and diamond jewelry.
Police arrested three men in connection with the crime shortly after it occurred, but all were eventually released without charge.
The murder of Patrick Hurling remains unsolved, a quarter century later.
Crime Immemorial 