UK UK - Mark Corley, 23, Grantham, Lincolnshire, 8 July 2000

This UK cold case recently came to my attention. More than fifteen years after Mark Corley's murder, his father, Tony Corley, forges on in his quest for justice. Because of his father's determination, Mark's case has received good media coverage in the UK. Yet, I didn't find a thread here, or even a mention of his name. So here's what I've found so far.

Basic Facts:

Mark Corley grew up in Leicester. After his parents divorced when he was 15, he went to live with his mother, Eileen, in Grantham.

He was 23 at the time of his disappearance and murder.

Corley had a criminal record, and had served time behind bars for "theft and various assaults".

Mark Corley was reported missing in June 2000.

He disappeared after telling his mother that he had to go away for a couple of days, but couldn't say where he was headed. His mother pleaded with him not to leave because she was sure she'd never see him again.
LINK

In December, 2000, his skeletal remains were found on remote farmland in Darlington, County Durham, (over 150 miles from Grantham).
LINK

Corley suffered a close range gunshot wound to the head.
LINK

Police called his death a gangland style killing.

Five suspects were charged with his murder. The case against them was thrown out in 2002 when it was discovered that LE officers secretly taped conversations between the suspects and their solicitors in exercise yards at two Lincolnshire police stations.
LINK

Beside his parents, Corley left behind a four-year-old daughter, and his girlfriend, the child's mother.
LINK

£20,000 reward put up for conviction of Mark Corley’s killers
Graham Newton
graham.newton@granthamjournal.co.uk
17:55Wednesday 04 November 2015

The father of murdered Mark Corley says a £20,000 reward will be paid to anybody who gives evidence leading to a conviction.
Tony Corley has been looking for justice for his 23-year-old son who was shot dead in a field in County Durham in 2000.

[...]

Mr Corley, 63, of Leicestershire, has since written a book called More Questions Than Answers? which is now available on Amazon Kindle.

Mr Corley told the Journal: “Nearly 16 years have passed since the case collapsed leaving me very frustrated, angry and bitter. I know there are people out there who know the truth, not just in Grantham. Don’t be afraid to come forward and tell the truth. Sixteen years is a long time and people change, hence the reason a close colleague has offered £20,000 reward for the successful conviction of my son’s killers.

“If for one moment I didn’t believe there wasn’t any evidence out there I wouldn’t let this reward go ahead. Does someone know you are out there? Someone just go to your local police station, clear yourself if you have good clear evidence against Mark Corley’s killers to gain a successful conviction and £20,000 will be yours.”

Grantham dad calls for fresh police investigation into killing of son
By Grantham Target | Posted: January 14, 2015

[...]

Lincolnshire Police told the Target that they review the case periodically, but need new evidence to come to light before they can formally reopen the investigation.
Mr Corley said: “It seems the police are not interested. They have told me the case is closed and that they are not investigating it anymore.
“I have tried everything. I want them to issue a fresh appeal for information. They are not dealing with it. I’ve written to the Houses of Parliament and I’ve tried every way I can.
“But there is still no improvement in the case all these years later. All I get from them is that they review the case every now and again.”

[...]

Mr Corley wants police to formally reopen the investigation, but says so far, the force has refused.

He said: “As far as I am concerned, it is just pushed under the carpet. Where are the forensics? They may have kept samples I don’t know. But there have been improvements in forensics since it happened. I will never give up trying to get justice.

“I have not contacted Crimewatch. When you watch the programme you always see the police officers that are keen to catch the culprit. Whereas in Mark’s case they don’t seem to want to do that. Once the case was all over, it was done and finished for them. I am disgusted.”

[video=youtube;aYXBpaTJzZo]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYXBpaTJzZo[/video]

Here's a video showing where Marks body was found in secluded farmland.

The video is excellent. Thanks for posting it.

Approximately 150 miles ftom Grantham - why so far away? That seems like an awful lot of trouble to go through to kill a person or to hide a body. Even more puzzling than the distant drive to the farmland, is the long walk to the site where Tom's remains were found deep in the fields. It doesn't appear consistent with a gangland-style killing over "petty differences". I get the impression of a more organized and calculated plot.

The judge said the facts were that a young man had been "executed by a brutal shooting". He said the prosecution alleged it had happened because of petty differences connected with claims that one of the defendants had been assaulted earlier by Mr Corley, and that the courts had failed to provide justice.

The judge said another defendant might also have objected to his girlfriend continuing to associate with Mr Corley.

http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2002/jan/30/markoliver

Whenever I see victims left in secluded, remote areas I always think 'local.' Who else would know?

"To make matters worse, it appears that the Crown’s case was so strong it didn’t actually need any of the illegal material. One of the men even intended to turn Queen’s evidence against his co-accused."

http://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/sound-judgment-1-620332

Ekkwhine said:

"To make matters worse, it appears that the Crown’s case was so strong it didn’t actually need any of the illegal material. One of the men even intended to turn Queen’s evidence against his co-accused."

http://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/sound-judgment-1-620332

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What a sad case. If indeed these men were guilty... jeez

Marks name didnt ring a bell, and after googling, his picture didnt either. Granted I was fairly young then but still I tend to remember names of victims in the UK quite easily.

Came across this interesting piece which has quotes from both marks mum and one of the accused.

http://www.innocent.org.uk/misc/pii.html

Here's a very interesting article outlining a lot of details:

http://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/sound-judgment-1-620332

Why couldn't the trial be started again, perhaps with a different police, I guess County Durham heading the investigation??

Does anyone know if Mark's head was ever recovered?

CrackerC119 said:

Why couldn't the trial be started again, perhaps with a different police, I guess County Durham heading the investigation??

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Although one can now be tried a second time for the same crime, a second trial will only happen if there's sufficient new evidence to support it. It's difficult to see what that could be in this case unless one of the originally accused now turned Queen's evidence against the others.

CrackerC119 said:

Does anyone know if Mark's head was ever recovered?

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I imagine most of it was, though to be fair when someone is skeletal after being shot in the back of the head at point blank range with a sawn-off, collecting all the bits in very long grass would have been difficult.

The reports do suggest they know exactly how he died.

bessie said:

The video is excellent. Thanks for posting it.

Approximately 150 miles ftom Grantham - why so far away? That seems like an awful lot of trouble to go through to kill a person or to hide a body.

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One of the reports mentioned that there were rumours to the effect that a contract had been taken out on Corley, and that two people were coming from Edinburgh to deal with him. You'll notice that 2 of the men tried for his murder were from Lothian, which is the Edinburgh hinterland.

The A1, which used to be known as the Great North Road as it was the main route between London and Edinburgh, passes through Grantham, and Bolam is just a few miles off it. In fact, Bolam lies in the fork between the A1 and the A68; the A1 takes a more easterly/coastal route and runs past major cities and lesser settlements, while the A68 runs northwards inland towards Corbridge and on through the Scottish Borders to Edinbugh through a few towns and a lot of more remote countryside, including virtually unpopulated areas. It's very possible that if the men from Lothian were involved, they took him towards home with them and then stopped just off their route to kill him before continuing on their way; but as the A68 runs through much more remote countryside than the A1 does, I'm surprised they didn't kill and leave him in the Cheviots somewhere.

To mention another case, the A68 runs very close to Otterburn, where Evelyn Foster ran her taxi service from her family's garage in 1931. You will know the case, I'm sure - Evelyn was found dying by her burning car and it's a classic unsolved murder.

Ironically, where Corley was killed was not particularly remote, even though his remains could have laid where they did for many years without being found. It seems it was sheer fluke that lead to the ditch being cleared only 6 months after he was left there.

Even more puzzling than the distant drive to the farmland, is the long walk to the site where Tom's remains were found deep in the fields. It doesn't appear consistent with a gangland-style killing over "petty differences". I get the impression of a more organized and calculated plot.

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Yes. It reminds me of this case, which although no cause of death is given makes me think of Manchester organised crime:

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases-int/874umuk.html

Tony1902 said:

Whenever I see victims left in secluded, remote areas I always think 'local.' Who else would know?

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On the other hand, I'd have thought someone local would know where to dispose of a body where it would never be found.

Just bumping Mark up. No new news

There is now a 2020 Edition of
More Questions Than Answers a book written by Tony corley who is Mark's Father.
The Book is Available on Amazon Kindle
There is Currently a £20,000 reward available for any information leading to the arrest of the 5 originally arrested
There has been possible private detective interest in the case and im personally very confident of some breakthrough in the future
Somebody out there knows the truth and this case is there but needs fresh evidence and that is very possible
The Police review cases all the time and its possible this could be solved via Private investigator.
Watch this space everybody...

MelmothTheLost said:

Although one can now be tried a second time for the same crime, a second trial will only happen if there's sufficient new evidence to support it. It's difficult to see what that could be in this case unless one of the originally accused now turned Queen's evidence against the others.

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There private investigatori aware of this case and it is extremely likely new evidence can come to light

Mrjustice2020 said:

There private investigatori aware of this case and it is extremely likely new evidence can come to light

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Any news @Mrjustice? I’m going to purchase Mr Corleys book, I’ve followed this case for a few years now, I’m in the county and vaguely know of the initial suspects.