07/09/07 - Rettendon killer's conviction to be reviewed - again
Echo

THE conviction of a man jailed for the Rettendon kilings will be reviewed by the Criminal Cases Review Commission, it has been revealed. Jack Whomes, 46, from Suffolk, is serving a life sentence for the murder of three drug dealers in December 1995.

The commission has now appointed a new case worker to look into Whomes's claims he was wrongfully convicted in January 1998. The infamous case became known as the "Essex Boys" gangland murders after Tony Tucker, Pat Tate and Craig Rolfe, were found shot dead in a Range Rover parked down a country lane in Rettendon.

Whomes and his co-defendant Mick Steele have consistently denied being involved in the murders. His mother, Pam Whomes, said: "Jack has always maintained his innocence and he is delighted that the CCRC have taken it upon themselves to look at his case again." Last year Whomes failed in a renewed appeal against his murder conviction at the Court of Appeal.