FROM an unassuming bar worker to a shadowy “master” lurking in the darkest corner of Britain’s criminal underbelly, we shine a light on the terrifying world of the British hitman.
And as the case of a fantasy killer who dubbed himself Evil Jesus shows, hiring a contract killer is often just a click away.
Martin Ready, 42, paid over £5,000 in Bitcoin after accessing a fake website called Online Killers Market in 2022.
He believed he had hired a hitman to target a prosecutor known to him called Darren Harty.
The unsuccessful plan saw Ready diagnosed with delusional disorder and convicted of attempting to conspire to murder.
So, who are the heinous killers ready to be hired – and could they be lurking in your neighbourhoods?
The Sun spoke to criminologist David Wilson who explained why the topic continues to fascinate even if we “abhor” and “condemn” it.
The professor interviewed an actual hitman while conducting his research and found their reality was “far seedier and shabby” than how media portrays it.
He told The Sun: “British hitmen, and I uncovered only one hitwoman – a Maori working in a bar in London called Te Rangimaria Ngarimu – did not occupy a life of international travel, intrigue or espionage but something far seedier and shabby.
“These men were often driven to offering lethal violence as a commodity because they were down on their luck, had recently been divorced, made redundant, had debts, or were facing bankruptcy.
“A casual remark down the pub about being willing to ‘do anything for a few quid’ could take someone on a journey that they were usually ill-equipped to accept and so they often ended up dead themselves, having abjectly failed to end their target’s life.”
It follows his research for Birmingham City University alongside Dr Elizabeth Yardley, Donal MacIntyre and Liam Brolan.
The team trawled through a digital archive of national and local newspapers from across Britain and compiled a list of contract killing cases.
They discovered there were 27 murders, committed by 36 hitmen, for fees ranging from just £200 to £100,000.
The average killer’s age was 38, with the youngest being 15, and the average age of their victims was 36.
Mr Wilson concluded the research pointed to four different types of UK hitmen – Dilletantes, Novices, Journeymen and Masters.
FOUR TYPES OF BRITISH HITMEN
Clean slate
The first group of contract killers were categorized by people who had little criminal background.
The professor continued: “I described this type of hitman in my research as Dilettantes – those with a clean slate.
“Men with little or no background in violence and who rarely had access to, or experience with, guns thanks to our toughened gun laws in the wake of Dunblane shootings in 1996.
“So, they tried to kill their intended target in other ways, or the gun that they used malfunctioned during the attack.
“The average cost of hits undertaken by Dilletantes came to little more than it would have taken to buy an average, second-hand family car.”
Pub assassination
Mr Wilson highlighted the case of Carlton Alveranga, 20, and Richard Austin 19.
The infamous duo stormed the Brass Handles pub, in Salford, in March 2006 holding handguns.
But they failed to execute their targets – David Totton and Aaron Travers.
Alveranga and Austin had owed money and accepted the hit to square off their debts.
But they were inexperienced and “out of their depth”.
“Austin managed to fire six rounds, but Alveranga’s gun jammed and this gave Totton, Travers and their associates the opportunity to retaliate, turning the guns on Alveranga and Austin, who both died from single shots to the chest,” recalled Mr Wilson.
Husband-hired Hitman
Another notorious ‘hitman’, Paul Cryne, entered the twisted arena as a former bodyguard and underwater swimming champion.
He was hired to kill Sharon Birchwood in December 2007, as a way of settling business debts he ran up in Thailand.
He strangled his victim, who was registered disabled, and left her tied up with parcel tape and an electrical cord on her bed at her home in Ashtead, Surrey.
The monster was eventually tracked down because he left traces of DNA left on Mrs Birchwood’s hand and the tape used to bind her.
Mr Wilson explained: “The hit had been ordered by Mrs Birchwood’s ex-husband Graham, who was eventually sentenced to life imprisonment in 2009 and who died of heart disease at HMP Wayland ten years later.”
Meanwhile, Cryne was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2010 and had to serve at least 28 years before being considered for parole.
However, the killer died eight years later in 2018.
Britain’s only female contract killer
David Wilson told The Sun during his research he only uncovered one hitwoman – Te Rangimaria Ngarimu.
The 28-year-old Maori was handed a picture of Graeme Woodhatch, 38, by two of his former business associates – Deith Bridges and Paul Tubbs.
She accepted a fee of £7,000 given to her by the men as a barmaid in London, but only ever received £1,500.
In May 1993, she walked into Hampstead’s Royal Free Hospital, where her target was working.
She disguised her small frame in men’s clothing and shot her victim four times in the face at point blank range.
David said: “She was a Kiwi who was working in a bar in London.
“She was very successful. She dressed as a man and killed the guy.
“Then she went back to New Zealand. We’d never have known about her work.
“But she had a religious epiphany and she felt that she should admit to what she had done.
“So she came back to Britain to fess up and was sent to prison.
“She’s now been released from prison and gone back to New Zealand where she works as a personal fitness trainer.”
The killer had been well-liked at the London bar, earning herself the nickname Sparky, due to her charming and outgoing nature.
She grew up in a well-off Christian family, represented New Zealand in international surfing competitions, was fluent in Japanese and earned degrees in Chemistry and Physics.
When interviewed by police, those who knew her described the young woman as “bright, bubbly, very personable and good company”.
Novices
Mr Wilson concluded there were three other types of hitmen in the UK who were “very different” from Dilletantes.
Novices, as suggested by the name, refers to someone undertaking their first hit.
But this is not to say these killers hadn’t been involved in a life of crime beforehand.
“He came from a world who that was characterised by gang violence and was often someone who knew people involved in organised crime or had served time in a young offender institution,” continued Mr Wilson.
“Many of the hitmen I uncovered had developed a reputation for using violence whilst they had been in prison and merely capitalised on that reputation after their release.”
The expert offered a Novice example, 15-year-old Santre Sanchez Gayle.
The teen, a member of the Kensal Green Boys, murdered Gulistan Subasi, 26, after callously pulling the trigger of a sawn-off shotgun at point blank range.
Young mum Gulistan tragically died on the eve of her son’s ninth birthday in March 2010 at her home in Clapton, East London.
It was such an interesting one because I myself couldn’t believe that this was a young man, a 15 year old who committed this crime. And it’s the first time he ever had used lethal violence
David Wilson
Gayle carried out the hit in return for just £200, which he later spent on a fake Gucci hat.
The 15-year-old, who had never killed before, wore a full body forensic suit to cover his tracks and his calm demeanour led police to believe they were dealing with a professional hitman.
“He was only caught because he couldn’t stop bragging about what he had done, and local intelligence eventually got back to the police,” explained Mr Wilson.
UK’s ‘youngest hitman’
By Summer Raemason
THE UK’s ‘youngest hitman’ who brutally shot dead a mum for £200 nearly got away with the heinous crime – because cops couldn’t believe he was a killer.
Santre Sanchez Gayle was just 15-years-old when he murdered Gulistan Subasi, 26, after callously pulling the trigger of a sawn-off shotgun at point blank range.
The young mum tragically died on the eve of her son’s ninth birthday in March 2010 and had been making plans to marry her new partner in Turkey later that year.
Gayle, who had never killed before, wore a full body forensic suit to cover his tracks and his calm demeanour led police to believe they were dealing with a professional hitman.
Criminologist David Wilson, who worked on the case, told The Sun Online: “The worst example of a gang I can think of is the Kensal Green Boys.
“There was a young man Called Santre Sanchez Gayle.
“Santre Sanchez Gayle was given a task of taking out a poor woman in another part of London.
“He was 15 years old. He wears a forensic suit, takes a taxi and go knocks on Gulistan Subasi mum’s door.
“Gulistan opens the door and he shoots her point blank range and kills her.”
Police interviews with the victim’s grief stricken mother Dondu revealed the heartbreaking final moments in Gulistan’s life.
She believed the knock at the door may have been someone bringing over her son, for whom she’d bought birthday presents and was excited to see.
“It was so clinically done that the police presumed it was a professional hit whereas in fact, this was the very first he’d ever taken part in and he got paid for that ahead – two payments and with £200 he bought a Gucci hat,” continued David.
The criminologist explained the desire Gayle had to “prove his worth” to the Kensal Green Boys.
“He wants to belong. He’s got no positive role models because all his his brothers, half brothers and extended family were already in prison serving sentences for murder,” he added.
“He wants to prove himself in the gang. He’s forensically aware to wear the forensic suit.
“The police think my god this must be somebody who is a professional hitman. In fact, it was the first time he committed the crime.
“And, he only got caught because he was 15 and he couldn’t stop bragging about it and eventually that information got back to the police.
“It was such an interesting one because I myself couldn’t believe that this was a young man, a 15 year old who committed this crime. And it’s the first time he ever had used lethal violence.”
After Gulistan was shot, she fell and died in the arms of her devastated mother.
The 26-year-old, who lived in Turkey, had been visiting London at the time to see her nine-year-old son who was living with her ex-husband’s family.
As the murder probe unfolded, detectives discovered the horror had been captured on CCTV.
Detectible Chief Inspector, Jackie Sebire, was stunned their killer was a schoolboy after reviewing the footage.
“When we saw the CCTV we all thought it was a professional hitman,” she told the BBC.
“There was no hesitation and he shows no nerves. It did not look like a 15-year-old boy.”
His relaxed attitude followed him into a taxi after he fled the tragic scene where a cabbie, who later testified in court, revealed Gayle showed no emotion.
The killer seemingly left no trace behind him, and Detective Inspector Chalmers admitted the force had reached a “dead end” in the investigation.
It wasn’t until the 15-year-old schoolboy couldn’t help but brag about the vile crime to his mates that the case heated up.
Another gang member and drug dealer, 21-year-old Izak Billy, known as Iceman, threatened to kill a teen in north west London.
Ryan Hatunga became a target and later told police how Billy spoke about the murder “of a Turkish woman” in his threats.
The young teen revealed how the killer had carried out the hit for just £200.
Det Insp Chalmers added: “I think he thought he was going to get more money for it.
“My gut feeling is that the money was an element, but there must have been a lot of peer pressure, kudos, [and] an attempt to impress older members of the gang.”
He said of the killer: “He is not a very bright lad. He did not have good schooling or much parental control.
“He was easily manipulated. In many ways he himself is a victim.”
Ryan also told how Billy spoke of a security grille over the victim’s door – a detail which had never been released to the public.
Billy is now understood to have been paid £2,000 for his part in the murder.
Police suspect he arranged for Gayle to be shown the flat and may have sourced the shot gun.
Gayle was jailed for life and must serve a minimum of 20 years.
Billy, 22, of Willesden, was given life and must serve 22 years.
It was revealed Gayle’s half-brother Lloywen Carty is currently serving a minimum of 30 years for the murder of 27-year-old Lee Subaran at the Notting Hill Carnival.
And, Carty’s half-brother Donnel Carty, was handed a life sentence for the murder of Tom ap Rhys Pryce, in Kensal Green.
‘Journeymen’
The third category of hitmen, according to Mr Wilson’s research, are Journeymen.
These killers are usually part of an organised crime group, OCG, and known to the police already.
The expert criminologist revealed it was harder to pry information from them because of their connections.
He said: “Journeymen and their families got ‘looked after’ by the OCG and so imprisonment was merely an occupational hazard that needed to be managed.”
Journeymens’ targets were usually against other OCG members, for example rival drug dealers.
Mr Wilson shared the case study of Roger Vincent and David Smith, who were convicted in 2005 of murdering David King, known as Rolex Dave, in Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire.
Detectives concluded their motive was likely fears King had become an informant for the police.
He was described as “a well-known underworld figure with many enemies” and as a “gangster”.
The murder of David King AKA Rolex Dave
By Summer Raemason
Roger Vincent and David Smith, were convicted in 2005 of murdering David King, known as Rolex Dave, in Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire.
King, 32, was shot five times by an AK-47 assault rifle as he walked out the Physical Limit gym in October 2003.
It was believed the drive-by, by a masked man in a stolen Peugeot van, was the first time an automatic weapon had been fired in a crime in Britain.
Gunman, Roger Vincent, then 33, was sentenced to life in prison.
His driver, David Smith, also then 33, from Elstree in Hertfordshire, was sentenced to a minimum of 25 years.
Outside court, Detective Inspector Paul Maghie said the success of his team’s “painstaking” investigation was down to “old fashioned detective skills”.
During a seven week trial, the court was told that King had been charged after 14kg of heroin was intercepted by customs officers.
But his subsequent release sparked rumours he had become a police informant and a contract was taken out to kill him.
The court heard the original gunman Dean Spencer, then 31, had bottled it when he saw King.
Spencer later pleaded guilty to conspiracy to murder.
Vincent and Smith would eventually carry out the hit.
Some of the most infamous enemy gangs across the UK include the Lyons and Daniel crime families in Glasgow, and the Hutch v Kinahans in Dublin.
“Other OCGs are neighbourhood and area based, such as the Johnson Crew and the Burger Bar Boys in Birmingham and their more recent off-shoots AR (Armed Response) and the GSA (Goon Squad Army),” added Mr Wilson.
In May 2019 Lyons mob members Brian Ferguson, 37, Andrew Gallacher, 40, Robert Pickett, 53, Andrew Sinclair, 32, John Hardie, 35, and Peter Bain, 45, were convicted of a series of attempted murders on members of the Daniel clan.
Five men – Steven ‘Bonzo’ Daniel, 39, Robert Daniel, 29, Ryan Fitzsimmons, 33, Gary Petty, 22, and Thomas Bilsland, 33 – were ambushed in a series of hits over a 15-month period.
The sentencing took place amid tightened security with police providing a ring of steel around the High Court in Glasgow.
They were caged for a total of 104 years between them.
Masters
The third, and final type of hitman, the Master, is different to the others, according to Mr Wilson.
They tend to be sent to a town or city by a person commissioning the hit and have little knowledge of the area themselves.
The killing itself can often take place on the victim’s doorstep, according to the criminologist.
“Think Jill Dando murdered outside her house in Fulham, London in 1999, or Alistair Wilson, shot on his doorstep in Nairn five years later,” he said.
Jill Dando was a beloved BBC presenter and was the host of Crimewatch when she was gunned down on April 26 1999.
This type of hit was usually unsolved, with no real understanding of why the victim had been targeted
David Wilson
On the fateful morning she had left her fiance Alan Farthing’s home in Chiswick.
She returned alone, by car, to the house she owned in Fulham, West London.
But as Jill reached her front door at about 11:32am, she was shot once in the head.
Barry George was convicted of her murder but later acquitted following an eight week trial in 2008 after discredited forensics evidence was excluded from the prosecution’s case.
No one else has been charged with Jill’s murder.
Mr Wilson also highlighted the case of Alistair Wilson, a 30-year-old business manager at the local Bank of Scotland.
He lived in Nairn, a small Highland town in Scotland, with his young family, at the time of his murder on November 28, 2004.
Alistair was home with his family when his wife Veronica answered the door at around 7pm to a man wearing a baseball cap, dark blue jacket and jeans.
Alistair came to the door where the man gave him an envelope with the name “Paul” on it, but it was empty.
When the young dad-of-two went back to the door, his wife heard three gunshots and found her husband murdered.
The case remains unsolved as of October 2024.
Mr Wilson added his analysis: “The gun employed by the Master was often left behind at the crime scene because it offered no forensic materials that could be used to identify who had shot it and this type of killer was described to me as a “Ghoster” – someone who came into the community and left immediately afterwards.
“This type of hit was usually unsolved, with no real understanding of why the victim had been targeted.”
