James “Jimmy” Millen was a 27-year-old doorman and former boxer from Kirkby, Merseyside.[15] He moved to Hastings, East Sussex several years before his death to pursue a new life and was married with three children.[16] Millen was locally known to be heavily involved in the criminal underworld alongside Martin-Smith.[17]
On 24 October 2001, Millen was shot four times outside his home by two men on a motorbike. Having been working on a car, he crawled to a nearby road but later died in hospital.[18] Police labelled the incident as a “carefully planned attack” and immediately treated the case as a murder.[19][20] A £10,000 reward was subsequently offered for information leading to an arrest and conviction, and later increased to £25,000. In December, police issued sketches of two suspects seen close to where Millen was shot.[17] Shortly after his death, his father, Fred Millen, said that his son was “no angel and not liked by everyone in Hastings but did not deserve to die in this way”.[21]
In January 2002, Millen’s family told police of his involvement in the murder of Martin-Smith alongside four other men. He had disclosed the murder to his wife the morning after, who described him as ‘distraught’. Millen said he was on his way home from Liverpool when he received a phone call stating the group had abducted Martin-Smith, and he joined them before Martin-Smith was killed, dismembered and buried. The family also named the individuals they believed to be involved, who were later arrested and interviewed.[3]
Ten years after the murder, Millen’s widow criticised the police for their inaction surrounding the case. His family claimed the police were hesitant to act because he had a criminal record, and also stated that they believe his killers live locally.[22] Millen’s father sent letters to the Chief Constable, the Home Office and Prime Minister Tony Blair in complaint over the police’s handling of the investigation. Investigating officers later criticised the family’s conduct, refuting their claims and suggesting the family hindered proceedings with their own actions.[3]
In September 2012, two fishing lakes were searched for a potential firearm after new evidence emerged.[23] However, no weapons were retrieved from the scene after a two-week search.[24][25]
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