In the midst of the post-Christmas period in 1995, a brutal shooting shocked the Handsworth Wood area of Birmingham, England. On December 27th, 1995, thirty-seven-year-old Trevor Lee Hamilton was gunned down on a residential street, marking one of the many unsolved murders that plagued the West Midlands during that era.
Trevor Lee Hamilton was chased down Beechglade, a quiet street in the Handsworth Wood estate, before being shot with a 9mm handgun. According to reports from the time, the attack appeared targeted: Trevor was pursued into the residential area and fatally wounded in the chest. He died at the scene from bullet wounds. The murder occurred in the evening, in a neighborhood known for its mix of community tensions amid rising gun crime in parts of Birmingham during the mid-1990s.
Handsworth, including Handsworth Wood, had seen spikes in violent incidents linked to gang activity and drug-related disputes in the 1980s and 1990s, though specific motives for Trevor’s killing were never publicly confirmed.
Authorities launched an immediate investigation, appealing for witnesses who might have seen the chase or heard the gunfire. Despite their efforts, no arrests were made, and the killer—or killers—remained at large. The case joined a growing list of unsolved homicides in the region, many involving firearms.
Freedom of Information releases from West Midlands Police and reports in local media, such as the Birmingham Post and Birmingham Live (formerly Birmingham Mail), have consistently listed Trevor Lee Hamilton’s death as unsolved. As recently as 2024, it appeared in compilations of cold cases dating back decades, highlighting over 100 unresolved murders across the West Midlands since the 1940s.
Nearly thirty years later, the murder of Trevor Lee Hamilton remains open, with West Midlands Police occasionally reviewing cold cases using modern forensic techniques, such as advances in DNA analysis and ballistics. No suspect has ever been charged, and the motive remains unclear.
Crime Immemorial 