John Gaspa

John Gaspa was found shot to death inside his flat in Julian Court, Camden, on Monday 10 November 1986.

It was thought that he might have been killed because of his gambling debts.

John Gaspa had been a restaurant manager and ran the Pizza Pomoodora in Beak Street, Soho where he was last seen when he left telling a waiter that he was going for a meeting.

He was known to use his flat in Julian Court, Camden like a hotel and usually arrived home around 2am and would take a pint of milk with him which he would have for breakfast, the only food he ate there. It was noted that when he was found dead that the pint of milk was near him, indicating that he had just arrived and had not had time to put it in the fridge.

He had had several partners in his business, but as the manager of the Pizza Pomoodora, he was described as having virtually lived there. He had been running the Pizza Pomoodora for about a year.

He was described as an entrepreneur, and it was said that during 1986 he had been looking to expand his business and had been looking for a new restaurant in places such as London, Hull and Taunton in Somerset.

It was noted that on Wednesday 5 November 1986 that a couple went to Banham's, a specialist locksmith in Kensington High Street, where they had a duplicate key cut for John Gaspa's flat, using a forged letter of authority, along with one of John Gaspa's rate demands and his original key from which the copy was made.

Later on 10 November 1986, John Gaspa was seen in Berwick Street market in Soho where he stopped off at a dry cleaners at about 5.05pm to pick up a suit. Although he went back to his restaurant later, it was not sure whether he did anything else around that time.

However, it was known that he checked into the Gardens Health Club in Kingley Street, a couple of minutes’ walk from his restaurant where he was a regular client at exactly 6.50pm and spent about an hour there. It was noted that he would use the sunbed every other day. As he left, he bumped into a business associate and they went off to his restaurant together. They hadn't seen each other for a few weeks and had various joint business ventures to discuss and they were there together until about 10.30pm, however, his business associate said that he recalled that during the time they were there that John Gaspa spent quite a bit of his time talking on the telephone. He added that John Gaspa also told him that he was leaving early that night as he had a meeting to attend. He said that John Gaspa had otherwise seemed his normal self.

He ate around midnight and it was after that that he broke with his usual routine and left, telling a waiter that he had a very important meeting in the morning and asked him for his usual pint of milk in a carton that he would take home. When he left he gave the waiter the keys to the restaurant, asking him to lock up and then give them to another member of staff so they could open up in the morning. He left about 12.30am.

As such, it was thought that he might have had two meetings, one that night, and another in the morning. However, it was noted that if he had had a meeting that night that it was not known where it was or who it was with.

It was noted that he left the restaurant in his partners green VW Golf, which he often borrowed.

It was determined that he could have arrived back at his flat anytime between 12.45am and 2am and that he was probably alone.

His flat, 16 Julian Court, had been on the third floor and he would have taken the lift up.

However, it was noted that there was someone already in his flat waiting for him. It was thought that he was shot moments after he entered his flat. However, it was not known whether or not he might have actually had a meeting and picked up his killer and taken them back to his flat with him where he was then shot.

No one else in the block of flats heard a sound.

During an appeal on the television the police asked for anyone that had been in Banham's, the locksmiths, on 5 November 1986 to come forward, stating that whilst they thought that it had been a couple that had asked for the key, that it could have been someone else.

It was thought that it would have been possible to have gotten hold of the rates demand that was used to get the key cut from the communal postal section in the flats. However, it was thought that the key that was used must have been stolen. However, it was stated that the letter of authority had been forged, it being noted that the letter was not in John Gaspa's writing and that it was not his signature.

However, it was noted that it was possible that the cutting of a duplicate key might have been something that John Gaspa himself had arranged, but it was not known, but still considered a very important clue.

The police also appealed for anyone that knew the writing in the letter, noting that some of the dots in it were very unusual.

John Gaspa was described as a private man that had his life arranged in a number of compartment in which none of the people in each knew of the others. However, the police said that nothing that they had found gave them any indication as to why he had been killed and they appealed for anyone that might know more about his life to come forward. It was thought that one part of his missing life might have involved a casino or club through which he had debts.

However, the police said that they did have other details regarding his murder that they were keeping back.

It was also noted that his diary was missing, and it was thought that details of any meeting that he might have been going to would have been in it.

It was said that his murder was planned and that someone had been determined to kill him, noting that the cutting of the key and the arrangement of the meeting all indicated careful planning.

However, it was later suggested that John Gaspa might have been killed because of gambling debts that he had.

His murder was also described as having had the hallmarks of a gangland execution. The police said that they were working on the theory that his murder was a gangland execution carried out by a professional hitman.