Daniel Leonard Blackett

Daniel Blackett was shot outside his home as he was getting in to his silver four-wheel-drive Porsche car just before 8.20pm on 18 September 2004.

He had been shot three or five times with a converted replica handgun, with one of the shots going through his heart. Two and a half bullets were recovered from his body.

His killer was thought to have been alone but the police said that they had not ruled out the idea that he had had help.

He was found lying on the ground near his garage by his wife. He was taken to St Peter's Hospital in Chertsey where he was pronounced dead.

He had been described locally as an entrepreneur and a millionaire building tycoon but the police revealed that he had convictions for armed robbery, burglary and theft.

He made regular visits to Spain where he had associates.

Neighbours said that they had wondered how he had been able to afford to live in the area which was known for being expensive.

He was thought to have been involved with car sales and property and building developments although it was thought that his income was shady. In 2008 the Assets Recovery Agency, which was established under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 to reduce crime by confiscating the proceeds of any crime, completed a financial investigation into his background and found several offshore companies, trusts and bank accounts under false names which had been used to buy the bungalow in Thorpe Green. The agency said that the financial structures were set up to disguise the true ownership of the property and that the money was from the profits of crime. The investigation resulted in the Assets Recovery Agency settling for a minimum of £660k over his estate. The Assets Recovery Agency was at about the same time merged with the Serious Organised Crime Agency.

He had moved to Blissford Lodge, which was a bungalow set in five-acre grounds, two years earlier and had been planning to knock it down and build a four-bedroom house with landscaped gardens.

However, six-weeks before his murder he became worried and had a 10 foot tall fence quickly built around his property along with signs for CCTV monitoring.

It was thought that he had links to the criminal underworld and that he had been targeted by a hitman. The police also said that his murder could have been linked to his business dealings either in the UK or overseas. However, they said that they had not ruled out other options such as his murder having been a burglary gone wrong.