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John Ogden

Age: 34

Sex: male

Date: 21 Oct 1994

Place: Prince of Wales Pub, Cavendish Road, Balham, South London

Michael McCormack and John Ogden were shot dead outside the Prince of Wales pub.

It was said that they were ordinary, hard-working family men, and that there was nothing in their background that could be found to offer a possible motive. The police said that they thought that they might have been shot in a case of mistaken identity.

They were shot by a man who had been waiting for them in a sandwich shop, called The Sandwich Shop, opposite the Prince of Wales pub. He shot them at about 2.10pm as they left the pub and walked along Cavendish Road in Balham back to their work.

They had both worked at The Indexing Company, which was a printing and bookbinding business on a nearby industrial estate in Zennor Road, Balham, a few minutes away from where they were shot. Michael McCormack was the director and John Ogden was the works manager.

It was heard that two of Michael McCormack's businesses had gone bust, but that he was thought to have weathered his financial difficulties recently. The police said that they examined the business files, but that they revealed nothing that might suggest a possible motive.

The police said that the gunman had been eating a sandwich and drinking tea in the sandwich shop opposite the Prince of Wales pub and that as they came out and walked by, he jumped up from his table and walked out and shot them both at close range.

The police said that Michael McCormack was shot first in the back of the head and that they thought that when John Ogden turned to see, he was also then shot. They were both killed with single shots. The police said that they were both shot with a heavy calibre handgun.

The man was said to have then run off into Weir Road and to have then driven off in a white Vauxhall Cavalier car with the registration number D880 MYG. The car was later found burnt out in Rosendale Road in Herne Hill at the junction with Norwood Road.

The man that shot them was described as being about 26 years old, 5ft 10in tall, wearing a three-quarter length green jacket, blue jeans, black leather gloves, a red baseball hat and a pair of white Reebok trainers.


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see www.truecrimelibrary.com

see Independent 'No hint of motive' in hunt for gun killer

see News Shopper

see BBC

see Evening Standard

see This Is Local London