The grieving family of Wayne Stockdale who was gunned down in a “mistaken identity” shooting have this week criticised the £20,000 police reward for witnesses as “too little”.
The reward has been renewed on the fourth anniversary of the murder of the father-of-three who was shot while cycling to a friend through an alley in Bromley-by-Bow.
Two gunmen opened fire at 10.20pm on Friday, May 6, 2011, as he cycled through the passageway linking Devons Road to Rounton Road and Knapp Road, before driving off.
Wayne died the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel four days later on May 10 from a gunshot wound to the head.
“We don’t think the reward is enough for any witnesses to put their own lives at risk,” Wayne’s grieving sister Jackie told the East London Advertiser today.
“Who would come forward and risk their lives for that amount? It’s not enough to change their lives.
“I told police it would be hard for anyone to risk their life for £20,000. The reward has to be increased substantially if it’s to have any effect—this is murder we’re talking about.”
The money comes from the Met Police. But Scotland Yard would not comment on the family’s feeling that it isn’t enough to entice witnesses.
The family laid flowers yesterday at the murder scene to mark the anniversary.
Wayne’s unsolved killing was the first of a double tragedy to hit them after his widow Anne died two years later from cancer—without knowing who was responsible or why 42-year-old Wayne was murdered.
Acting Det Insp Peter Hine, currently leading the four-year hunt for Wayne’s killers, said: “We believe Wayne was innocently murdered. We’ve always maintained he was not the intended target.
“Those who have remained silent these past four years should think about Wayne’s family and re-examine their consciences and help bring his killers before a court.”
Anne lost her fight against cancer in 2013 at the age of 44. Wayne had given up his print job in the Isle of Dogs after she was diagnosed in 2009, to look after her at their home in Poplar.
Anne ironically went into remission and had just been given the ‘all clear’ by doctors—the very day before the shooting. But the trauma of Wayne’s murder hit her badly and the family believe it caused a secondary cancer which eventually took her life.
The couple’s daughter Charlene Tracey, now 27, called for justice after her mother’s funeral.
“My mum never got the justice she deserved,” she told the Advertiser at the time. “Someone must know who did it—we ask them please to come forward and tell police what they know.”
Her sentiment was repeated today by Wayne’s sister Jackie, who said: “It was a tragedy for my mum to bury her son—she needs closure after the trauma.”
Detectives have pledged to treat all information in confidence and to protect “those that do the right thing and come forward”.
Witnesses or anyone with information is being urged to call 020-8785 8267, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800-555111.
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