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2024

 In  2024, Virginia McCullough was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murders of her parents, John and Lois McCullough, in Chelmsford. She poisoned her father and fatally stabbed and bludgeoned her mother, concealing their bodies in their home for four years. Her motive was financial gain, as she had been exploiting her parents' finances prior to their deaths 

2024

 Daniele Aldegheri committed multiple armed robberies in Braintree, targeting Morrisons and Co-op stores while wearing a Halloween mask. He used weapons such as knives and metal batons to threaten staff and steal cash. Aldegheri was arrested in September 2024 and has been convicted of five counts of robbery and three counts of possessing a knife in public. 

2024

 In July 2024, Gavin Plumb was sentenced to life imprisonment for plotting to kidnap, rape, and murder television presenter Holly Willoughby. Plumb had an unhealthy obsession with Willoughby and sought to recruit others to execute his plan, which included chloroforming and inflicting violence upon her. The plot was uncovered by an American undercover police officer, leading to Plumb's arrest and conviction. 

2024

 In April 2024, Essex coroner Lincoln Brookes received a series of threatening letters and emails from a group calling themselves the "Federal Postal Court" or the "Court of the People."

 The communications accused Brookes of "detrimental necromancy" and included threats of "corporal punishment" and "seizure of goods and persons." Four individuals were charged with conspiracy to kidnap and false imprisonment in connection with these threats. 

2019

The Essex lorry deaths refer to a tragic incident that occurred on October 23, 2019, when 39 Vietnamese migrants were found dead in a refrigerated lorry container in Grays.  The victims, 31 men and 8 women, died from asphyxia and hyperthermia due to the severe conditions within the container.

The lorry, which had arrived from Zeebrugge in Belgium, was discovered in the early hours of the morning. Emergency services were called, but all 39 individuals were pronounced dead at the scene. 

1988-1992

The Loughton incinerator thefts were a notable criminal case involving four employees of the Bank of England's incinerator plant in Debden, Loughton, Essex, who conspired to steal banknotes intended for destruction. The thefts took place over four years, from 1988 to 1992, and involved approximately £600,000 to £700,000.

The primary perpetrators were Christine Gibson, Kenneth Longman, Michael Nairne, and Kevin Winwright. Christine Gibson played a central role by smuggling the stolen notes out of the plant in her underwear.

 2014

The Colchester serial killer, also known as the "Colchester Slasher," refers to a series of murders that occurred in Colchester, Essex, England in 2014. The perpetrator, James Fairweather, was a teenager at the time of the crimes.

Fairweather was convicted for the murders of two people: James Attfield, who was found fatally stabbed with over 100 wounds in Castle Park in March 2014, and Nahid Almanea, a Saudi Arabian student who was stabbed 16 times while walking on a footpath in Colchester in June 2014. Both attacks were random and brutal, causing widespread fear in the community.

2012

In 2012, Danielle Jones, a 15-year-old girl from East Tilbury, Essex, UK, was tragically murdered. The case garnered significant media attention and sparked widespread concern within the community. Danielle was last seen on June 18, 2001, as she left her home to catch a bus to school. However, she never arrived at her destination, and her disappearance prompted a massive search effort.

Initially, suspicion fell on Danielle's uncle, Stuart Campbell, who had a troubled relationship with her family and was known to have inappropriate feelings towards her. Despite this, he maintained his innocence throughout the investigation. 

2014 

Breck Bednar was a 14-year-old boy from Surrey, England, who was murdered on February 17, 2014. 

His killer, Lewis Daynes, was an 18-year-old computer engineer who befriended Breck through an online gaming community. Daynes used his technical skills and charm to manipulate and groom Breck over the internet, eventually luring him to his flat in Grays, Essex, under the pretense of discussing a business venture.

2008 

Maria Stubbings was murdered in December 2008 in Chelmsford, Essex, by her ex-boyfriend, Marc Chivers. This tragic case highlighted significant failings in police responses to domestic violence.

Maria Stubbings had previously been assaulted by Marc Chivers, who had a history of violent offenses, including serving a sentence in Germany for the murder of his then-girlfriend. Despite this history, the police response to Stubbings' calls for help was inadequate. She had reported her fears to the police after Chivers, upon his release from prison, began contacting her again.

2002

 In the early hours of July 18, 2002, a tragic event unfolded at Baldwin's Farm in Upminster, Essex, which would lead to years of investigations, accusations, and a family's relentless quest for justice. The death of Lee Balkwell, found in the drum of a cement mixer, was initially deemed an accident by local authorities. However, persistent claims of foul play by his family, particularly his father, Les Balkwell, have transformed what seemed like a straightforward industrial accident into a complex and controversial murder case. 

2001

Stuart Lubbock was a 31-year-old man who tragically died under suspicious circumstances at a party hosted by entertainer Michael Barrymore at his home in Roydon, Essex, in March 2001. The circumstances surrounding Lubbock's death shocked the public and led to a lengthy investigation, which has since become one of the most high-profile unsolved cases in the UK.

Lubbock had attended the party at Barrymore's mansion, where numerous guests were present. 

 1996

The M25 road rage murders, also known as the "M25 Three," refer to a series of three interconnected incidents that occurred in 1996 on the M25 motorway.  These incidents resulted in the deaths of three men and drew significant media attention due to their brutal and seemingly senseless nature.

The first incident took place on February 28, 1996, when a van driver named Kenneth Noye stabbed 21-year-old Stephen Cameron to death following a confrontation on the motorway near Swanley in Kent. 

1995 

The Rettendon murders, also commonly referred to as the "Essex Boys" killings, involved a notorious triple homicide that took place on December 6, 1995. The victims were three drug dealers: Tony Tucker, Patrick Tate, and Craig Rolfe, who were found shot dead inside a Range Rover on a remote farm track in Rettendon.

This brutal event is believed to have stemmed from rivalries within the criminal underworld, specifically linked to the drug trade. The three men were known to be involved in the distribution of ecstasy and other drugs, and their murders marked a significant and violent episode in the UK’s criminal history.

1985 

The White House Farm murders, also known as the Jeremy Bamber case, took place in the early hours of August 7, 1985, at White House Farm, near the village of Tolleshunt D'Arcy. This tragic event resulted in the deaths of five members of the same family.

The victims were Nevill and June Bamber, both in their sixties; their adopted daughter, Sheila Caffell, aged 28; and Sheila's six-year-old twin sons, Daniel and Nicholas Caffell. Initially, the police considered the possibility that Sheila, who had a history of mental illness and was found with the gun, had killed her parents and children before turning the weapon on herself in a tragic case of murder-suicide.

1983

The "Babes in the Wood" murders refer to a tragic and infamous case that occurred in Epping Forest, Essex, England. This term has been used in various contexts over the years to describe crimes where children are victims, and the Epping Forest incident is one of several cases bearing this name.

In the Epping Forest case, in 1970, two young children, Susan Blatchford, aged 11, and Gary Hanlon, aged 12, went missing from their homes in Enfield, North London. They were last seen alive on the evening of March 31, 1970. Their disappearance triggered an extensive search. Tragically, nearly two months later, their bodies were discovered hidden in a wooded area of Epping Forest. 

1983 

 Diane Jones, a 35-year-old woman from Coggeshall, Essex, disappeared on July 23, 1983, after a night out with her husband. Her body was discovered three months later in a copse near Brightwell, Martlesham, Suffolk. At the time of her disappearance, Diane was reported to be two months pregnant. The case remains one of the UK's most notable unsolved murders. Despite years of investigation, including renewed appeals for information and media coverage, no one has been convicted in connection with her death.  

17th Century

 In the mid-17th century, England was engulfed in civil war and religious upheaval, setting the stage for one of the darkest chapters in its judicial history—the witch hunts led by Matthew Hopkins, known infamously as the Witchfinder General. From 1644 to 1646, Hopkins and his associates were responsible for the persecution and execution of hundreds of people accused of witchcraft, with a significant number of these tragic cases occurring in Essex.