Forty-three-year-old Richard Rayner lived in Millwall, London, England. He worked as a plumber for his brother’s company on Gillender Street.
On the morning of May 25th, 2001, Richard had gone for breakfast at the River Bank Cafe in Bow when a man on a motorbike suddenly rode up and shot him in the head, killing him instantly.
Less than a week after the murder, police arrested two men, aged nineteen and twenty-one, in connection with the crime. However, these individuals were eventually released without charge.
Witnesses had seen a man running away from the cafe and heading toward the A12 after the shooting, and authorities were keen to track down this person. He was described as a black male who stood about five feet six and was wearing dark clothing and a black helmet. This man was never identified.
As Richard Rayner was not known to be involved in any shady activities that might have made him the target of a gang-style slaying, it is believed that his murder was a case of mistaken identity.
The homicide investigation has since gone cold.
Crime Immemorial 