In the early hours of Thursday, October 16th, 2003, fifty-three-year-old Michael John Jones was gunned down outside his front door at Bromleigh House on Abbey Street in Bermondsey, southeast London. He was shot thirteen times, reportedly in the head and abdomen, after apparently answering a knock at his door. Neighbors heard the gunfire shortly before one a.m., and police were called to the scene. Michael was found near his doorway and was pronounced dead at the scene.
The brutal, close-range nature of the attack, described in some accounts as an execution-style killing, suggested a targeted hit rather than a random or opportunistic crime. Two men, believed to be Black, were reportedly seen leaving the area in a dark-colored car around the time of the shooting. Despite this, Detective Chief Inspector Peter Valentine, who led the investigation from an incident room at Putney, stated that police were keeping an open mind about the motive.
Michael Jones worked as a delivery driver, and neighbors described him as a quiet man. His son, Mike Jones (a footballer who later played for clubs including Canvey Island), later spoke publicly about his father’s criminal past and the impact of his death. According to the younger Jones, his father had a history involving robberies and drug-related activities, including a long prison sentence for being caught with a large quantity of marijuana. He reportedly shared stories of his criminal exploits with his young son as “bedtime stories.”
The family life was fractured. The younger Mike Jones was taken into foster care at age six, spent time in Spain with foster parents, and had a difficult upbringing marked by his mother’s personal struggles and limited contact with his father. He had only recently reconnected with his father shortly before the murder, seeing him for the last time about a month or two prior during a visit to the UK. Michael John Jones was killed when his son was around fourteen years old.
Police launched an appeal for witnesses, particularly anyone in the Abbey Street area near the junction with Maltby Street in the early hours. They sought information about anyone who heard shots or saw a car speeding away. A renewed public appeal was made in June 2004.
The murder occurred in an era when Bermondsey had seen other high-profile shootings, including the 2001 killing of taxi firm boss Brian Perry (linked in some reports to Brink’s-Mat robbery proceeds), though there is no confirmed connection between the cases.
Despite the high number of wounds and the public nature of the shooting in a residential block, the case generated relatively limited media coverage at the time. No one has ever been charged in connection with the killing of Michael Jones.
Crime Immemorial 