Age: 34
Sex: male
Date: 21 Aug 2001
Place: Pikehelve Street, Wednesbury, West Midlands
Martin Silvester was shot whilst sat in his car outside his business in Pikehelve Street, Wednesbury just before midnight on 21 August 2001.
The main suspect was a man that had been tried and convicted for conspiracy to rob a post office in 1997 but who had escaped from Birmingham Crown Court and gone on the run. It was thought that he had shot Martin Silvester, but he was not found until 6 January 2004 when the police carried out an armed raid at a house in Shenstone, near Lichfield, Staffordshire where he was staying with an associate. He was then taken to HMP Woodhill where he hanged himself on 19 January 2004.
Martin Silvester was a haulage contractor from Tipton in the West Midlands and ran Wednesbury Logistical Services.
He was pistol whipped as he sat in his car and then shot in the chest. Although he was shot, Martin Silvester managed to drive several hundred meters into Bagnall Street before crashing outside the Miners Arms pub. The bullet had gone through his heart.
Martin Silvester was an ex-soldier.
