Originally from Norwich, Norfolk, England, twenty-eight-year-old Andrew Charles Brown had moved to London in the late 1990s. He lived alone and ran a busy scooter and motorcycle shop called Trade Scooters Direct on Westcote Road in Streatham, south London. Colleagues and customers remembered him as a friendly, hardworking entrepreneur who had built a successful local business.
Andrew had only recently moved into his flat at Percy House, Pringle Gardens, in Streatham. On Thursday, November 7th, 2002, he left work between six fifteen and six thirty p.m. in his red P-registered Vauxhall Vectra. He made a brief stop on Ribblesdale Road, Streatham, where his car was seen double-parked with hazard lights on, before the vehicle was spotted outside his home around six fifty p.m. That was the last confirmed sighting of him alive.
When Andrew failed to turn up for work the next day and friends and family could not reach him, concern grew. His girlfriend, accompanied by a locksmith, entered the flat around two thirty p.m. on Friday, November 8th. They discovered his body with multiple stab wounds. A post-mortem examination at St. George’s Hospital confirmed the cause of death as a stab wound to the neck; he had also been stabbed in the chest (and reportedly the leg, according to some accounts).
There was no immediate sign of forced entry or major disturbance reported in initial coverage, and police kept an open mind on the motive. The attack appeared targeted rather than a random burglary, though nothing definitive was ruled out.
The Metropolitan Police’s Serious Crime Group launched a murder inquiry led by Detective Chief Inspector Darrell Shephard. Appeals were made for information about Andrew Brown’s movements on the evening of November 7th, particularly anyone who saw anything suspicious around Percy House or Ribblesdale Road. Officers also sought contacts from his time in Norwich who might have known him.
Investigators examined his shop and flat, and tributes to the well-liked businessman continued to appear at both locations. Despite the publicity at the time, no arrests were ever made, and the case went cold. As of May 2026, the murder of Andrew Brown is still unsolved.
Crime Immemorial 