Twenty-two-year-old Lucy Hargreaves was a devoted mother of three young children. Friends and relatives described her as caring, devoted to her family, and uninvolved in criminal activity. She lived with her partner, Gary Campbell, and their children in the Walton neighborhood of north Liverpool, England.
On the night and early morning of August 2nd and 3rd, 2005, two of Lucy’s children had gone to stay with relatives, while her two-year-old daughter slept upstairs beside Campbell. Lucy had fallen asleep on the sofa downstairs.
At around two thirty a.m. on August 3rd, three men wearing dark clothing and concealing their faces forced entry into the house.
Lucy, asleep in the living room, was shot twice with a shotgun; once in the chest and once in the head. Investigators later concluded she died almost instantly. The attackers then poured accelerant inside the property and deliberately started a fire before fleeing the scene. The blaze rapidly engulfed the ground floor.
Upstairs, Gary Campbell awoke to smoke filling the house. He managed to escape through an upstairs window with the couple’s young daughter.
Firefighters extinguished the blaze and discovered Lucy’s body inside. Initially, it appeared she may have died in the fire, but post-mortem examinations revealed the horrifying truth.
Witnesses reported seeing three men dressed in dark clothing behaving suspiciously in the area shortly before the murder. The precision of the assault, combined with the use of firearms and arson, suggested experienced offenders who knew exactly what they intended to do. Police also believed the fire served two purposes: to destroy forensic evidence and potentially kill anyone else inside the house.
Investigators later recovered evidence linking the attackers to a gold Lexus that was later found burned out, adding another layer to the complex investigation.
One of the central questions surrounding the case has always been whether Lucy herself was the intended victim. Police came to believe the attack may actually have been aimed at Gary Campbell rather than Lucy. Campbell had associations with Liverpool’s criminal underworld, although he denied involvement in serious criminality. Investigators explored whether the murder formed part of an ongoing feud between organized crime groups operating in Merseyside at the time. Despite years of investigation, detectives have never publicly confirmed a definitive motive.
The murder triggered one of Merseyside Police’s largest investigations of the decade. More than twenty people were arrested over the years in connection with the slaying, and numerous public appeals sought information about the attackers and the burned getaway vehicle.
In 2007, two men were charged with Lucy’s murder. However, during court proceedings the prosecution case collapsed after a judge ruled there was insufficient evidence for the trial to continue. Both men were formally acquitted.
The investigation has long focused on Kevin Thomas Parle, a suspected organized crime figure who fled the United Kingdom before he could face trial. Parle is wanted in connection with both Lucy Hargreaves’ murder and the earlier 2004 murder of teenager Liam Kelly. Authorities believe he left Britain shortly after being released on bail and has been reported to have spent time overseas, particularly in Spain. He remains one of Britain’s most wanted fugitives, although investigators have never publicly confirmed his exact whereabouts. Police continue to appeal for information regarding his location.
On the twentieth anniversary in 2025, Lucy’s family released a previously unpublished photograph and made an emotional public appeal for anyone with information to come forward. Detectives confirmed that a comprehensive review of the investigation remains ongoing and stressed that even seemingly insignificant information could prove crucial.
No one has ever been convicted of Lucy’s murder.
Crime Immemorial 