In the early hours of Friday, April 11th, 2003, forty-seven-year-old Stephen Colby was found lying face-down in a pool of blood on the living room floor of his terraced home in Audley Street, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, England. He had been battered to death with a blunt instrument in what police described as a savage and sustained attack.
Stephen Colby was a divorced retired builder who lived alone in the modest terraced house on Audley Street. He was the father of two sons, Adam (then twenty-four) and Lewis (then twenty-two).
Stephen had cared for an elderly woman and, shortly before his death, inherited nearly £100,000. Court evidence later revealed he had received a £54,000 inheritance check about a week before he was killed and had told his sons he planned to give each of them £10,000.
He was, by all public accounts, living a quiet life in the seaside town after retirement. His sons did not live with him; Adam resided nearby on Albion Road in Great Yarmouth.
Stephen Colby was killed sometime between ten p.m. on Thursday, April 10th, 2003, and around three a.m. on Friday, April 11th. He died from severe head injuries after being struck repeatedly—experts later estimated up to a hundred blows—with a blunt instrument. His skull, breastbone, cheekbone, and jaw were also smashed. The attack was ferocious and prolonged.
He was discovered by his two sons in the early hours of April 11th, lying face-down in the living room in a pool of blood. An ornamental metal fire guard was missing from the scene, along with the victim’s cell phone and wallet. These missing items led police to consider a botched burglary as an early line of inquiry. The fire guard was never recovered and remains the suspected murder weapon.
Norfolk Police immediately launched a murder inquiry. Initial theories focused on a robbery gone wrong. However, as the investigation progressed, forensic evidence and witness statements led detectives in other directions. One significant piece of evidence was blood traces found on Adam Colby’s wristwatch. Adam later explained in court that the blood came from when he checked his father’s pulse after discovering the body.
In August 2003, four months after the murder, Adam Colby was charged with his father’s murder. He appeared before Great Yarmouth Magistrates’ Court and was remanded in custody.
Adam Colby’s trial took place at Norwich Crown Court in 2004. He faced charges of both murder and manslaughter. The prosecution presented evidence including the blood on his watch, the inheritance context, and the circumstances of the discovery. Adam denied the charges throughout.
After an eleven-hour jury deliberation, Adam Colby was found not guilty of both murder and manslaughter on Monday, July 5th, 2004. He was cleared and walked free.
Following the acquittal, a Norfolk Constabulary spokesman stated that police would consult the Crown Prosecution Service to review the proceedings and determine whether further lines of inquiry could be pursued. The investigation did not end with the verdict.
As of this writing, marking twenty-three years since the killing, Norfolk Police confirmed the case remained an active unsolved cold case. No one else has ever been charged. The murder weapon was never found, and no other suspects have been publicly identified or prosecuted.
Crime Immemorial 