Shepherd's Bush Murders - Manhunt

Manhunt

Duddy and Roberts got back into the van and Witney reversed rapidly down a side street and pulled out onto Wulfstan Street before driving away at speed. However, a passer-by, suspicious of a car driving so fast near the prison, had written down the registration plate, PGT 726. Witney, the van's owner, was arrested at his home six hours after the shootings. Following a tip-off, the van was discovered the next day in a lock-up garage rented by Witney under a railway arch in Vauxhall. It contained some spent .38 cartridges and equipment that could be used for stealing cars. Initially Witney pretended that he had sold the van for £15 to an unknown man in a pub earlier in the day, but confessed on 14 August, admitting what had happened, and naming his accomplices.

Duddy had fled to his native Glasgow, but was arrested on 17 August using information obtained from his brother.

Roberts hid out in Epping Forest to avoid the huge manhunt. He used his military training (he had served as a soldier during the Malayan Emergency) to avoid police capture for three months. A £1,000 reward was offered for information leading to his arrest. He was finally captured on 15 November whilst sleeping in a barn at Blount's Farm near Bishop's Stortford after hiding in the adjacent Thorley Wood. Roberts was familiar with the area as he had often visited it as a child with his mother.