Derick Kiley

Derick Kiley was stabbed to death in his flat in Harpenden Road.

He lived alone in a flat in Harpenden Road which he called the Haven as he often had friends’ round. Friends that knew him said that in the last six months he had seemed quite lonely and seemed quite frightened of being alone and it was said that there was no doubt that something had been worrying him.

His main business was cars and he made a living by buying and doing up second hand vehicles and would often be seen outside his flat in the street working on cars.

Around midnight on 2 January 1994 a man was seen coming from the direction of Derick Kiley's flat and getting into a black series 7 BMW car. The man was described as being of Asian appearance, in his mid-20's, and having a pony-tail hairstyle.

Derick Kiley was seen again the next afternoon around 3.30pm on 3 January 1994 by a local man that was walking up Ullswater Road, not far from the junction with Norwood Road and heading towards Harpenden Road. He said that he saw Derick Kiley in the street talking to a man in a light blue Sierra car. He said that the man that he was talking to had slicked back hair and a ponytail. He said that the man was about in his mid-30's and had Mediterranean type skin. The local man said that he also noticed that the car tax on the Sierra was out of date.

The police said that they thought that the Asian/Mediterranean man was a regular visitor to Derick Kiley but that he might not have been involved with the murder, however, they said that they wanted to trace him so that they could rule him out of their enquiries. A video fit was made of the man who was described as about 25-years of age, about 6 foot tall and with a slim build.

Derick Kiley was seen later that night at about midnight at a pie stall in Crystal Palace Parade, a few miles from his flat. The man that ran the pie stall said that he asked Derick Kiley if he was all right and Derick Kiley was said to have said that he wasn’t. The man that ran the pie stall said that Derick Kiley looked down and out and that he didn't seem as though he was in his right mind, adding that he looked as though something was worrying him. The man that ran the pie stall said that Derick Kiley said 'see you later' and that he then went off and that that was the last time that he or anyone else saw him alive.

A woman that lived a few doors away from Derick Kiley's flat said that she was sat up reading a newspaper at about 12.20am on 4 January 1994 when she heard some shouting and also heard a woman scream. She said that because she had heard a woman scream she went outside to have a look but said that she couldn't see anything. She said that the shouting seemed to have come from the general direction of Derick Kiley's flat.

Derick Kiley's friends started to get worried over the following three days after he didn't answer his phone and didn't return their calls, and on 6 January 1994 his body was found in his flat. He had suffered multiple stab wounds.

The police said they didn't know of any motive, but said that a black bag was stolen from his flat that had had a large amount of cash in it as well as an antique jewelled wristwatch thought to be dated around 1935 that was said to have been worth quite a bit of money. However, the police said that they didn't think that robbery was the motive as Derick Kiley was a very cautious man who wouldn't have let anyone into his flat unless he knew them. The police also noted that there was no forceable entry either and said that they were convinced that Derick Kiley knew the person or persons that had attacked him.

It was also noted that Derick Kiley had been stabbed many times and that there was a lot of blood and so it was thought that his attackers might have been covered in blood when they left and the police appealed to anyone that had seen someone come home in the early hours of Tuesday 4 January 1994 with blood on them or their clothes.