Each month we’ve been exploring some of the most notorious crimes that took place in history. Now it’s time to explore the worst crimes that happened in June.
1st June: The abduction and murder or Mark Tildesley (1984)
Mark Tildesley was a seven-year-old body who went missing at a funfair in Wokingham, Berkshire. His disappearance sparked a widespread search across the area, with the British army brought in to assist. A national campaign also saw Mark’s photo displayed in every police station in the country, but he was still not found.
It later emerged that Mark had been abducted, tortured, raped and murdered by a London-based paedophile gang led by Sidney Cooke, often recognised as the UK’s most dangerous paedophile. Gang member Leslie Bailey was charged with Mark’s murder in 1991.
16th June: The murder of Arthur Lambinio-Hughes by his stepmother (2020)
Arthur Lambinio-Hughes was a six-year-old boy living in the West Midlands when he was murdered by his stepmother. Arthur’s short life had been significantly affected by the national lockdowns and many of the agencies involved in his care were not as closely involved as they should have been at the time of his death.
Both his father and stepmother’s behaviour became abusive, and his stepmother Emma Tustin killed him through a severe assault. Tustin and Arthur’s father, Thomas Hughes, were convicted of murder and manslaughter respectively.
19th June: The Finsbury Park Terrorist Attack (2017)
The 2017 Finsbury Park Attack saw Darren Osborne driving his van directly into a group of pedestrians in Finsbury Park in London. At least nine people were injured, and one man, Makram Ali, was killed.
The attack took place near to the Muslim Welfare House and just 100 yards from Finsbury Park Mosque. It was investigated by counter-terrorism police and recognised as an act of terror. Darren Osborne was charged with terrorism-related murder and attempted murder and sentenced to life imprisonment.
29th June: The stabbing of Ben Kinsella (2008)
Ben Kinsella was a 16-year-old student who was randomly stabbed to death. Ben was attacked by three men in Islington and his murder led to a renewed focus on knife crime in London.
Ben’s death was the 17th stabbing murder of a teenager in London in 2008 and led to a significant increase in anti-knife crime demonstrations and a review of the sentencing laws. The three men who attacked Ben were unanimously found guilty of his murder in June 2009.
30th June: The murder of three-year-old Rosie Palmer (1994)
Rosie Palmer was a three-year-old girl living in Hartlepool, County Durham. She was abducted, raped and murdered after buying an ice pop from a van just 20 metres from her home. She was found on 3rd July and her murderer was unfortunately already well-known to the police and social services.
In March 1993, social workers warned that the perpetrator, Shaun Armstrong, was likely to be a risk to any child he came into contact with, yet this report was not acted on. Shaun Armstrong was convicted of the murder of Rosie Palmer on 27th July 1995 and was sentenced to life imprisonment.
