Jonathan “Jonny” Bristow was thirty-nine years old, and a familiar fixture around Chatham, Kent, England. He owned a small building firm called SEC Environmental Services and also held a stake in the Chequered Flag, a pub on Chatham’s High Street. In the summer of 2000, he was in the midst of renovating the rooms above the pub, with the goal of eventually turning the property into a bed and breakfast.
Jonny was a devoted family man: he had two grown children from his first marriage, and four younger children with his second wife Kerrie, from whom he had amicably split in 1999. In 2000, he was living with his new girlfriend and taking his children on outings every weekend.
He was a well-liked, friendly chap who liked to drink in the local watering holes and seemingly didn’t have a beef with anyone.
Jonny was at the Chequered Flag on the night of Friday, August 4th, having a few beers and spending time with friends as usual. He had plans to take his children on a trip that weekend, and witnesses noted that he carried a green duffel bag containing a change of clothes. He left the pub at around eleven-thirty p.m., driving off in his black Chrysler. After that, he was never seen alive again.
The following morning, Jonny’s car was found parked in front of the flat he shared with his girlfriend, but of Jonny himself, there was no sign. His green bag was also nowhere to be seen.
It was a week before the victim’s fate was known. On August 11th, two men were out on a boat in the River Medway, near the port of Sheerness on Kent’s northern coast, when they spotted what they believed was a bundle of rags floating in the water. Upon approaching, they instead discovered the decomposing remains of Jonny Bristow, who had a single shotgun blast to the head.
His body had been wrapped in chains that were then attached to weights, suggesting that the killers had dumped the corpse and expected it to never be found. They hadn’t taken the strong water currents into account, however, which had dislodged enough of the weight for the body to rise to the surface. Authorities were certain that the killer or killers had somehow lured Jonny onto a small fishing boat, where they subsequently shot him and pushed his body overboard.
The only other significant detail about the discovery of the remains was that a distinctive, chunky gold ring that Jonny always wore was missing.
Because the slaying was so clearly an execution, police surmised that Jonny must have been involved with some criminal activity that had put a target on his back. It was reported in some sources, moreover, that he may have been carrying £20,000 in cash on his person at the time of his death, leading investigators to speculate that the murder may have involved a drug deal gone bad.
The more detectives delved into the victim’s background, though, the more mysterious the crime became, as it appeared that Jonny Bristow had no criminal associations whatsoever, at least as far as law enforcement could determine. Though Chatham at the time was a well-known haven for drug dealers and criminals of every stripe, it appeared that Jonny himself was just what he appeared to be: a family-oriented businessman who made a comfortable, middle-class living and seemed to stay on the right side of the law.
Due to the professional nature of the slaying, police had a difficult time getting information, complaining that potential witnesses had erected a “wall of silence” around the possible suspects, likely out of fear of retaliation.
A forty-year-old man was arrested in connection with the crime in September of 2000 but was released without charge, and since that time, there have been no further developments in the investigation.
Crime Immemorial 