Homicide in England and Wales 1898 to 2023

This post aims to provide some historical context to homicide statistics across England and Wales, based on publicly available data. It will hopefully be updated every year.

Firstly, when we talk about homicides we count not only murder but also manslaughter and infanticide. A significant proportion of cases are investigated as ‘murders’ but end up as manslaughter cases because of a lack of intent to cause serious harm, the suspect’s diminished responsibility due to mental illness at the time or some other legal defence such as loss of control.

Also we have to recognise that the recording of statistics varies in consistency over the years for many different reasons (for example, are we are better at detecting homicides now than 100 years ago?) Having said that, homicides are perhaps the crime statistic least open to manipulation by police or other agencies. It’s therefore worth having a look how homicide has changed over time as it might help us to work out why it varies and how we can go about driving the number of homicides down towards the ideal level of zero.

The available statistics for homicide in England and Wales from 1960 onwards show the number of recorded offences peaking in 2003 before decreasing to a low point in the 2014, followed by an another peak from 2016 onwards which appears to have been halted by the Covid pandemic and may now be in reverse. Note that there was a change from counting by calendar year to financial year in the late 1990s, presumably so it matched the annual budget period for police etc.

That graph reveals how the number of homicides for a specific year itself can also change over time, as the cases are fully investigated – with a small proportion being recategorised as “not a homicide” (Blue shows the initial count of homicides at the end of the year and red shows the number of offences “currently recorded as homicide). It also shows the effect of major events on statistics gathered by the government, as it includes terror attacks and other types of mass killing.

These are:

  • 15 victims of Michael Ryan (1987)
  • 58 people who suffocated in a lorry on the way to the UK (2000/01)
  • 172 victims attributed to Harold Shipman (2002/03)
  • 20 cockle pickers who drowned in Morecambe Bay (2003/04)
  • 52 victims of the London July 7 terror attacks (2005/06)
  • 12 victims of Derrick Bird (2011/12)
  • 96 victims of Hillbsorough (inquest verdict in 2016/17) and 4 in Westminster Bridge terror attack
  • 31 victims of Manchester and London Bridge terror attacks and 11 victims of Shoreham air crash
  • 39 human trafficking victims found dead in a lorry in Essex (2019/20)

The yellow line shows what the totals would have been without these incidents included.

If you examine the 100 years between 1898 and 1997 you can see how homicide remained pretty steady (apart from spikes in 1942 and 1945) until the 1960s, when it shot upwards.

The population of England and Wales has grown steadily over the last two hundred years (there was no census data for 1941).

If we look at homicides per million population since 1970, to try and take account of this growth, we can see that there is still a rise to around 2003 before a drop (and then recent rise). As one commenter below has suggested, it would be interesting to see whether changes in specific age groups are more relevant given that there is a high proportion of murder victims (and suspects) aged between 16 and 30. This also applies to crime in general and is known to academics as the age crime curve – as in the number of crimes committed peaks at between 16 and 20 before decreasing through adulthood. If you look at the statistics page on the 2022 murder map you can see this in the age range graph of homicide victims.

So what caused that rapid growth in homicides from the 1960s onwards? Was it population change, the state of the economy, the new ‘permissive society’, a breakdown of ‘family values’, or the effect of hard drugs like heroin and cocaine? Or a complicated combination of these factors (and others, such as the way the data is recorded)? And why did that trend reverse from 2003? Heavier sentences? Better policing? Improvements in emergency medicine?

It has been suggested that the downturn since 2003 is down to a sustained fall in the level of domestic violence, given that a significant proportion of murders are carried out by partners, former partners or family members. (For the year 2021/22 the number of victims in England and Wales who knew the suspect was 301 out of 696 (of which 78 were partner or ex-partner and 71 were family of some kind). Perhaps there now seems to be less tolerance of violence in society.

Another possible factor is the improvement in the level and quality of “security” in society. Although this may apply more to other crimes which decreased from the 1990s onwards, such as burglary and theft (think car immobilisers, alarms, CCTV, phone locks etc), you can see how improvements in technology also help to detect and deter murder. Police can now link suspects to the scene of the crime by mobile phone location data and CCTV images as well as by witness statements and forensic evidence (which has also improved).


This post was originally published in 2012 (as you can see from the comments below). It was updated in March 2022 with recent statistics and will be updated every year. Future updates will hopefully involve charts for age ranges, weapons, relationships etc for recent years.

Another post (yet to be completed) will look at the historical data for London only, although at the moment it is only readily available from 1960.

Statistics from the ONS, Homicide in England and Wales, and Population estimates.

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How police solved the 1994 cold case murder of Marina Koppel

On the evening of Monday 8 May 1994 David Koppel was becoming increasingly worried about his 39-year-old wife Marina.

Unusually, he had not been able to reach her by phone that day. So at 9pm he left his home in Northampton and drove all the way into central London to visit her flat near Baker Street, Marylebone, in the City of Westminster.

Marina Koppel, nee May, in 1994

He arrived at the Flat in York Mansions in Chiltern Street at about 11.30. As he went through each room he found his wife lying on the floor of the second bedroom, wrapped in bedding.

She had been stabbed at least 140 times to the neck, chest and back, and her blood could be seen splashed over the floor, the bedding, the furniture and the walls.

Marina also had knife injuries to her arms and hands, which suggested she had attempted to fend off the blows during the attack.

David Koppel immediately called police, who began a murder investigation.

Detectives established that Marina, a colombian national, had moved into the flat two weeks before her death and used it to see clients while working as a masseuse offering sexual services.

Her husband, who had married her in 1983 after meeting her in a casino, was aware of the arrangement. He told police that her clients were usually well-to-do professionals and businessman and that her usual rate was £80 (roughly around £250 in 2024). She would usually stay at the flat during the week and stay with her husband in Northampton at weekends.

So was the killer one of her clients? Or was robbery the motive? One clue was that Marina’s bank card was stolen from her flat and used at a cash point to withdraw cash shortly after the murder, and several times in the next two days, having somehow gained knowledge of her PIN.

Other evidence recovered from the scene were Marina’s ring and a brown plastic shopping bag.

Inside Marina’s flat in York Mansions

A fingerprint found on the bag was identified as belonging to Sandip Patel, then 21, who worked at his father’s shop named “Sherlock Holmes News” in Baker Street.

However the bag in question was from the shop and therefore it could be argued that finding his fingerprint on it was not unexpected. As a result he was not treated as a suspect and the police investigation failed to make any further headway for more than a decade.

Sandip Patel as he would have appeared in 1994

Sadly David Koppel died in 2005 before further crucial evidence was identified.

When the evidence was re-examined in 2008, a single hair was found stuck to Marina’s ring. However it was not until 2022 when scientists were able to use new techniques to obtain a DNA profile from it.

When the profile was run through the database it came up with a match to Patel, whose DNA had been added to the database as a result of a conviction for actual bodily harm in September 2013 after he punched his girlfriend.

Sandip Patel on his arrest in 2023

When Patel, 51 (26.08.1972), of Queens Court, Finchley Road, NW8, was arrested he told police that he had no recollection of Marina Koppel or her flat. “I have no idea how my fingerprint came to be on this carrier bag or how a hair of mine was present,” he said in interivew.

Experts were also able to link Patel to the print of a bare left foot in blood on a skirting board at the crime scene.

The bloody footprint was matched to Patel’s left foot

He was rearrested and charged with murder in March 2023. This time he answered no comment to questions.

Patel was convicted of murder at the Old Bailey on 15 February 2024 following a trial at the Old Bailey.

At the sentencing hearing the following day, the prosecutor argued the murder bore some of the hallmarks of a sadistic and a sexually-motivated killing, and suggested it was a killing for financial gain given the use of the bank card.

The judge, Mr Justice Cavanagh, said he could not be sure there was a financial motive, or that it involved “sadistic conduct”, or that it was motivated by sexual conduct. However he said he had a “strong suspicion” that Patel killed Marina “because of shame and embarrassment at your sexual performance”.

It is clear that you had been admitted to Ms Koppel’s flat as a client. I have no doubt that you had taken your clothes off in the bedroom. Your bare feet made marks on the skirting board. Also, when she was found, Ms Koppel was wearing lace underwear and stockings and nothing else. This shows that you were involved in sexual activity with Ms Koppel, or had intended to be involved in sexual activity with her.

There is nothing to suggest that you went to the flat with the intention of murdering Ms Koppel: you went there to avail yourself of her sexual services. There is no evidence that you had taken a decision to stab Ms Koppel before you arrived at the flat. There was a search for the murder weapon but it was never found, so you certainly took the knife away with you, but the evidence showed that the murder weapon had a singled-sided blade of the sort that is found on a kitchen knife. The likelihood is that the knife that you used came
from Ms Koppel’s kitchen. Therefore, whilst I cannot be sure that you brought a knife to the scene, I can be sure that at some stage you left the bedroom to obtain a knife and then went back into the bedroom to assault Ms Koppel.

Sentencing remarks of Mr Justice Cavanagh

Patel was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum of 19 years before parole, on the basis of the sentencing regime that applied at the time of the murder. (The judge said that a minimum term of 24 years would have applied to the crime if it was committed under regime as it applied at sentencing in 2024).

Marina Koppel, our sister-in-law, was an extremely bright, highly intelligent and charismatic person, who saw good in her family and all people she met. She wanted to give them everything they needed, especially her two children and nephew who grew up in Columbia.

Her family and friends would have been in a much better place because of her abundance of energy for life had she not died. Marina was a daughter, a sister, a mother, a loving aunt, a daughter-in-law and a sister-in-law who was much loved by all of us as she loved all of us.

Had Marina lived, all of the lives of her family and friends would have been enriched and further evolved. We have all suffered these many, many years because we lost Marina so early in life

Marina’s sister-in-law and brother-in-law, Mary and Martin Koppel, speaking in 2024

After the verdict, Detective Superintendent Katherine Goodwin, Head of the Specialist Casework team for Central Specialist Crime said: “It is extremely sad that her husband did not live to see this day.

“Even though Patel has been convicted for the brutal murder of Marina, we may never know the reasons for his actions on that day. Unsolved murder cases are never closed and it is due to the developments of forensic techniques we have been able to identify the suspect for this barbaric crime.”

Dan Chester, the Met’s forensic lead for cold case homicide investigations, said unsolved historic murders c”an be among some of the most complex and challenging cases for police to solve.”

He added: “This was a great team effort with the forensic scientists, fingerprint experts, the forensic manager and the investigating team all playing their part in solving Marina’s murder.

“Forensic techniques and technologies are constantly evolving, and the police will continue to review serious unsolved cases and, where possible, pursue new opportunities to enable both the prosecution of those responsible and to exonerate the innocent.”

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A random attack? The unsolved murder of Anthony Littler

Shortly after midnight on 1 May 1984 a civil servant was found seriously injured in an alleyway behind East Finchley tube station in north London.

Anthony Littler, a 45-year-old single man who worked for HM Customs and Excise as an executive officer, had suffered “catastrophic” wounds to his head and was pronounced dead at the scene.

He lived lived just a short distance away from the station and detectives believe he was walking home after a night out when he was attacked on a pathway known as ‘The Causeway” at around 12.15am.

Photo of the Causeway, where Anthony Littler was attacked in 1984
The Causeway, where Anthony Littler was attacked in 1984

The killer has never been identified and the motive for the murder remains unknown.

However detectives believe Anthony was likely picked at random and are investigating a possible link to an attack in the same area two days earlier.

The victim of that earlier attack has never been traced but he told a shopkeeper at Galleon Wine Stores on High Road, East Finchley, that he had been assaulted by two young people with a baseball bat outside the tube station on 28 April 1984.

He was seen to have severe facial injuries including a badly bruised black eye when he spoke to the shopkeeper the next day. The shopkeeper described him as being 6ft tall and of medium build with short brown hair.

The case was reviewed in 1993 and 2013 but remains unsolved.

In a renewed appeal in December 2023, detectives asked for witnesses to come forward with information about either incident.

Anthony Littler
Anthony Littler

Detective Chief Inspector Neil John, who is leading the investigation, said: “We understand that this murder took place almost 40 years ago and that people’s memories will have diminished over time.

“However, this witness statement suggests the man who came into the shop was subject to a particularly vicious attack. We believe that the victim would not have forgotten what is likely to have been a traumatic event in his life.

“If you think this may have been you, or you believe you know who was attacked or even who the attackers were, we would ask you to come forward and speak to us now.

“The length of time passed has not diminished our efforts to get justice for Anthony and his family. No piece of information will be considered too small.”

Another mystery surrounding the case relates to the person who dialled 999 to report the attack on Anthony Littler. Police believe it was a male caller but they did not leave their name or any other details.

Anthony was a lovely, kind and gentle man who wouldn’t have hurt anyone. It is heart-breaking to our family that this happened to him. After all this time, we hope this new investigation puts those responsible behind bars. It won’t bring Anthony back, but it will give us some closure.”

Tricia McClure, Anthony’s cousin, speaking in 2023

Anyone with information should contact police on 020 8358 0100 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

UPDATE 14/12/23: Two men aged 54 and 58 were arrested on suspicion of murder following the renewed appeal. Both were released on bail pending further investigation.

UPDATE 21/3/24: Two further men aged 56 and 57 were arrested on suspicion of murder.

The unsolved murder of Sami Sidhom: ‘He did nothing wrong’

The 18-year-old student was walking home from watching a West Ham football match when he was chased and stabbed to death by at least three people in 2018. Was Sami Sidhom unwittingly caught up in a gang dispute and targeted by mistake? His family are still waiting for answers and justice.

Going to watch West Ham play at the London Stadium was normal for Sami Sidhom and his friends. The 18-year-old football fan, who was in his first year studying history and law at Queen Mary’s University, set off from his family home in Chestnut Avenue in Forest Gate, Newham, at 6pm on Monday, April 16, 2018. It was the last time his father saw him before he was fatally stabbed just yards from their front door.

After watching the match between West Ham and Stoke (which ended 1-1), Sami took a bus to Romford Road and walked towards his home, via Sebert Road, although he did not appear to take the most direct route. After turning left into Cranmer Road, he turned then left again on to Capel Road before crossing into Chestnut Avenue. He then walked down Chestnut Avenue towards his home.

CCTV cameras recorded a silver car approaching the junction of Chestnut Avenue and Capel Road at this time, shortly before 11pm, before three men chase Sami into Chestnut Avenue followed by the silver car.

The stabbing appears to have taken place near the junction with Horace Road, not far from the Sidhom family home. It was not captured on CCTV.

Part of the attack was overheard by witnesses (who are not named in this account). “We were sitting in the upstairs front room watching TV, we had the windows open, we were watching Newsnight,” one witness said in a statement to the inquest into Sami’s death. “I could hear raised voices coming from outside. The main voice was “Help, help me”. I looked out the window in to the street, I saw an argument between two guys, on the other side of the road. Both of the males are facing towards Horace Road. I saw the male behind the victim punch him in the left side of the lower back. I was also aware there was another person on the street to my left. After the punching motion I saw a silver car pull up, the doors of the rear of the car opened, and the person who threw the punch [moved] around the back of the car and got into the driver’s side of the vehicle. I saw he had a black-bladed knife… another man got into the rear passenger side door… and the car drove off.”

Another witness, who was also walking home from the West Ham match, heard male voices, one in anger and one in fear saying “Help me I’ve been stabbed”. This witness saw two cars appear and drive away, and then saw Sami moving towards him near the junction with Horace Road. “I saw his eyes roll… I slowed his fall to the ground.”

Both those witnesses and nearby residents attempted to help Sami, giving first aid, providing towels and calling the emergency services. The police arrived first, followed by paramedics.

Sami’s father also came out of their home on Chestnut Avenue after seeing blue lights outside his window at around 11pm. “I called Sami but he didn’t answer his phone,” Samer Sidhom said. “I then walked outside and saw a male outside on the flaw with police and paramedics around him. I could see this was my son.”

Photograph of Sami Sidhom, who was stabbed to death in east London in 2018
Sami Sidhom

Doctors opened Sami’s chest at the scene in an attempt to save his life but he was pronounced dead at 11.27pm.

The postmortem revealed he had been stabbed twice in the back, to the right side, causing a wound to his liver. He had also been stabbed several times in the buttocks – a type of injury sometimes described as a “punishment” wound that has been used by gangs in London. The pathologist, Dr Ben Swift, concluded death was caused by blood loss. He also found evidence that more than one knife was used, based on different dimensions of some of the wounds, though most appeared to be similar in size. There were no marks or injuries of a defensive or offensive nature, suggesting Sami was taken by surprise and did not fight back.

By the time of the inquest in March 2022, nearly four years later, nobody had been charged with the murder.

The Metropolitan Police told the hearing they had arrested ten suspects and wanted to arrest a further suspect who had left the country shortly after the murder and was believed to be in Somalia.

DI John Marriott described this suspect as “very much a person of interest” but suggested it would be difficult to bring him back to the UK to face trial.

The motive for the attack also remained unclear, the detective said, with one possibility being that Sami – who was of good character and had never been involved with the police – may have unwittingly been caught up in a gang or drug dispute.

DI Marriott told the inquest: “There has probably been some sort of incident in Avenue Road previous to this which I believe is some sort of gang or drug dispute which has ended in violence. Whether Sami has seen that occurring and has taken a strange route towards his own home to avoid trouble, I can’t say. Unfortunately trouble followed him.”

The inquest returned a verdict of unlawful killing. Assistant coroner Ian Wade said: “Sami Sidhom was in the wrong place at the wrong time. It was a determined attack, all the injuries were to his back, he was unarmed and fleeing for his life and was set upon criminally, wickedly, and maliciously. I am quite satisfied that it was deliberate and unlawful.”

In October 2023 a further appeal was issued, in which detectives urged an anonymous person who had supplied several tip-offs about the case to speak directly to the police.

DCI Mark Rogers said: “I believe people in the Newham community know who was responsible for the murder. I understand how daunting it can be to come forward after such a terrible crime, but, hopefully now some time has passed, someone will be brave enough to come forward and tell us what they know. Sami’s family have been devastated by the senseless loss of their son. They have had only questions, but no justice. I urge anyone who has information about Sami’s murder, but in particular the person who has reached out anonymously before to provide key information, to contact us.”

A £20,000 reward has been offered for information leading to the conviction of those responsible. Call detectives on 020 8345 3715 or, if you want to remain anonymous, contact the Crimestoppers charity on 0800 555 111.

My son’s life was taken away for no reason whatsoever. It’s so cruel, he did nothing wrong. If you’re out there, and you know who these people are, I plead with you to do the right thing. Sammy didn’t deserve this and we need to have justice. If these killers continue walking free, they can just do it to someone else. There is a reward of £20,000 being offered and you can provide information anonymously. Please contact anonymously, we need your help.

Sami Sidhom’s father Samer, speaking in 2023

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‘We fear he may have been murdered’: The disappearance of Lee Boxell in 1988

The parents of a missing boy from south London are appealing for help locating his remains so they can finally say goodbye to their son. Crimestoppers are offering a £20,000 reward for information.

Lee Boxell, a 15-year-old high school pupil and keen football fan, was last seen alive on 10 September 1888.

That morning he left his home in Cheam, Sutton, to meet a friend and go shopping. His friend last saw him at around 1pm.

The final confirmed sighting of the teenager was outside a shop in Sutton High Street at around 2.20pm.

His disappearance has remained a mystery and the investigation has been complicated by rumours, speculation and conflicting accounts given by witnesses and suspects.

One theory – apparently based on a comment that Lee made to his friend – was that he was going to Selhurst Park to watch the Charlton vs Millwall football match that afternoon. However police have said there is no evidence to prove this was the case and last confirmed sighting suggests he would not have been able to get to the stadium in time for kick-off.

Lee Boxell

In 2012 police received information that Lee visited an unofficial youth club at St Dunstan’s Church, known locally as ‘The Shed’. The club was visited by many local children and teenagers and was run by the graveyard digger, William Lambert, who had been convicted in 2011 of sexually abusing four girls between 1985 and 1987.

One of the girls who visited the club claimed that she had been told that Lee was dead two days after his disappearance. Another witness said she believed Lambert was involved.

Police also received anonymous tip offs that Lambert had bragged about burying Lee in the churchyard.

This prompted the Metropolitan Police to undertake its largest-ever archaeological dig in the hope of finding Lee’s remains. It concluded in 2013 without finding any trace of the teenager.

The following year Lambert, then aged 78, and two other men aged 52 and 41 were arrested on suspicion of murdering Lee. They were all later released without charge.

In 2019 detectives said they believed that Lee was killed after he witnessed a teenager being sexually assaulted at the club that afternoon and either intervened or threatened to expose the suspect.

I believe that Lee was assaulted by one person who then had help from one or more others to dispose of his body and/or cover up the death. I would appeal to those people to come forward and confirm this and help us to locate Lee’s body. I accept and wish to make it clear that it may not have been the intention to kill Lee and that your role in assisting the main attacker will be taken into account. But you have to take responsibility for your actions and face the consequences before it is too late for Lee’s family.

DCI John McQuade, speaking in 2019

Lambert, who died of Covid-19 in 2021, is also said to have told associates that he saw Lee a year after his disappearance and that Lee was living under an assumed name. Police said that this version of events was “found not to have been credible”.

In a further appeal in 2023, on the 35th anniversary of Lee’s disappearance, the Metropolitan Police admitted that they had been unable to find “conclusive evidence that Lee came to harm”. However the nature of his disappearance and the lack of sightings or credible information since 1988 has led detectives to believe he is no longer alive.

Detective Chief Inspector Kate Blackburn said: “Lee was a boy with a very happy family life. He was a good student who loved football. The story that he had run away, started a new life and was living under an assumed name was absolutely not viable.

“My hope is that someone who didn’t feel they could speak to us in the past may now feel that they can come forward and share what they know.

“At this stage of our investigation my priority is to find Lee so that he can be returned to his parents. Lee’s parents deserve answers and they deserve the opportunity to bury their much-loved son.

“Your information could help end the suffering for Lee’s family. If you can help, anonymously or otherwise please do get in touch.”

Lee’s parents, Peter and Christine Boxell also urged witnesses to come forward to give them closure “before it’s too late”.

We have not seen or heard from our dear son Lee since he went to Sutton, thirty-five years ago on 10th September 1988. He was only 15 when he disappeared. We fear that Lee may have been murdered. We are still hoping that someone will come forward to help find his remains, so that my wife and I can say goodbye to our beloved son before it’s too late for us (we are in our late 70s).

If you can help us and his sister finally know what happened and have some closure – please, do what’s right. If you know where he may be, or have any information about what happened to Lee, please contact the police Investigation team on 0208 721 4005, or if you prefer you can tell the charity Crimestoppers what you know, anonymously. Once you’ve given your information you need never have any further involvement with anyone about the case. Crimestoppers can’t identify who you are and will never ask or take any personal details from you. So, this really does give someone a chance to do the right thing and help ease our years of pain. We can then see Lee finally laid to rest.

Peter Boxell, speaking in 2023

A reward of £20,000 has been offered by Crimestoppers for information that leads to the recovery of Lee’s remains. Contact them via the website or on 0800 555 111.

Lee Boxell
Lee Boxell