Danny Ferguson

Danny Ferguson was shot in the eye and his body was hacked with a machete in his bedsit in Shakespeare Road, Bedford on 21 February 1994.

He had been shot with a .22 calibre weapon through the eye and had a machete wound to his chest.

The police said that his murder followed a row in his building the day before which had resulted in an Asian man needing ten stitches to a cut on his head.

Six men were charged and tried for violent disorder in relation to the incident the day before, but they were all acquitted.

It was said that along with the murderer or murderers, there had been several other people there that would have seen the incident, but that they had not come forward.

It was claimed that the Bedfordshire police had done a sloppy job during the investigation but official complaints into their performance were not upheld. A local councillor was noted for criticising the police in their handling of the case.

The police said, 'Danny's case is a complicated one because it is wrapped up with issues of community involvement and cohesion. We all have to live with each other harmoniously but bubbling away there is still some resentment towards elements in the community and towards the police'.

It was later reported in 2013 that following his post-mortem autopsy, his brain was removed and not returned to his body by the hospital where it had been kept in forensic storage. As such, his family later had a separate closed funeral for the remainder of his body matter. The police said that they were totally unaware that Danny Ferguson's brain had been retained by the hospital.

A verdict of unlawful killing was returned at his inquest.

Danny Ferguson had been a truck driver with Ideal Waste Paper, based at Stewartby, Bedfordshire, and a doorman.