Harry Barham
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Harry Barham (c. 1922-February 14, 1972) was a London bookmaker and a later victim of an unsolved murder suspected to be connected to organized crime figures.
While sitting in his car on Windmill Lane in Stratford, an area in East London, Barham was approched by the unidentified men around 6:30 pm on February 14, 1970. Firing at Barham, three shots were fired by a .45-caliber pistol striking him twice in the back and a third piercing his skull killing him instantly.
Police investigators soon found Barham had been having serious financial and legal difficulties as losses from his betting shops in Holborn and Islington had totaled an estimated £50,000 and had also been schedualed to appear at the Old Bailey for tax evasion charges owing £160,000 to the government.
In an effort to raise money, Barham had reportedly been buying jewelry at very low prices and selling them for a large profit. He was believed to have colllected at least £40,000 by the time of his death, leading authorities to believe someone who knew he had been carrying a large amount of cash had set up Barham to be robbed which would lead to his death.
However, another theory suggests that Barham had found out information on a major crime within the underworld and had attempted to blackmail those resopnsible. Police informants named mobster Edward "Teddy" Machin, however, he had been gunned down in a gangland slaying near his home in Forest Gate on May 23, 1973. Although an associate of Machin's, Alan Mackensie, had confessed to the murder pleading guilty to manslaughter Barham's case remains unsolved.
[edit] References
- Newton, Michael. The Encyclopedia of Unsolved Crimes. New York: Facts On File Inc., 2004. ISBN 0-8160-4980-7
