Here we have listed the cases of which we are aware, both to honour the victims and demonstrate the extent of British citizens murdered abroad. Many cases never make the headlines and we want to ensure that victims are remembered.
This information has been sourced either directly from families or through open-source research. We know that media reports are not always accurate and we welcome any corrections to support@murdered-abroad.org.uk
2019.
Iain Armstrong, 40 years old from Norfolk
Murdered in Ithaca, Greece.
Iain was found dead, with severe head injuries, in a hotel room. A Greek man has been arrested for murder and the case has been referred to prosecutors on the nearby island of Kefalonia.
2018.
Halford (Charlie) & Florence (Gayle) Anderson, 74 and 71 years old from Manchester
Murdered in Mount Pleasant, Jamaica.
Charlie and Gayle were shot and burnt but no-one has been charged with their murders and their family are still desperately seeking answers.
Grandchildren Stacey and Chloe Anderson were quoted in the Manchester Evening News as saying: "We won't stop fighting. We want the people who have done this to face justice. There's been no feedback whatsoever. We are no longer in touch with the Jamaican police. There are so many unanswered questions.”
In 2020, in a statement after the inquest held by Manchester's senior coroner Nigel Meadows, the sons of Charlie and Gayle said: "To be told that both of your parents have been found brutally murdered is the stuff of nightmares. We are really hoping that now the coroner has recorded a verdict of unlawful death there will be some progress. We want someone charged with murder."
SKY NEWS – Manchester couple unlawfully killed in Jamaica, coroner rules
INDEPENDENT – ‘Burned’ bodies of murdered British couple found near Jamaica home, say police
Amelia Blake, 22 years old from Loughborough
Murdered in Sydney, Australia.
In 2020, the New South Wales’ Coroner found that Amelia was murdered by a man who then killed himself. The Coroner concluded the inquest by saying: “There is no doubt that Amelia is greatly missed by her loving family and friends. To know that Amelia has been separated from them, at a stage in her life when she had so much more to accomplish, so many more dreams to fulfil, and so much more life to live, and in such distressing circumstances, is truly devastating.”
David Daniels, 72 years old from USA/London
Murdered in Charente, France.
David, an American who took British citizenship and moved to France with his wife, was shot dead outside his home. An 84 year old French man has been charged with ‘murder committed with premeditation or ambush’ and the investigation is ongoing.
THE LOCAL FRANCE - British man shot dead in Western France after ‘row with farmer’
2015.
Peter & Jane Tarsey, 77 years old from London
Murdered in Alicante, Spain.
Peter and Jane, who had been living in Spain for 18 years, were found shot dead in their home. In 2016, a 63 year old Moroccan was jailed for 31 years after confessing to the double murder and striking a plea bargain with prosecutors to avoid a trial and a potential larger sentence of 42 years.
THE GUARDIAN – British couple found shot dead at their home in Spain
2014.
Kelly Boren & Marie King, 32 & 55 years old from Northampton
Murdered in Utah, USA along with Haley & Jaden, 5 & 7 years old.
An American police officer shot his British wife, her mother, and their two children, before killing himself.
Marie King’s sister was quoted by BBC News as saying she will “never come to terms” with what happened to her family.
ITV NEWS – Mother of two from Northampton killed in Utah shooting
2013.
Catherine (Anne) Bury, 56 years old from North Yorkshire
Murdered in Turkey.
Anne was fatally shot in her family villa in Turkey. Her mother and son were also shot but survived. A Turkish male was jailed for life for Anne’s murder in 2015. In a statement published by Teesside Live, Anne’s family said: “We remember Anne as a caring, compassionate, considerate and trusting woman who did not deserve to suffer the murderous fate that befell her….Although justice has been done, nothing can bring back Anne or restore the grievous mental and physical wounds inflicted by this evil man on Anne’s mother, son and wider family which will be with us for the rest of our lives.”
Sarah Groves, 24 years old from Cheshire/Guernsey
Murdered in Kashmir, India.
A Dutch national is accused of stabbing Sarah more than 40 times. The trial, which began in 2013, has been plagued by delays and is still ongoing.
Sarah’s father, Vic Groves, was quoted by the Jersey Evening Post as saying the trial had been “blighted by a combination of incompetence by the legal authorities (in Kashmir and in Delhi) and by a disproportionate level of bad luck.”
The Justice For Sarah campaign aims is to raise awareness of the trial to the public and also to try and fundraise to help Sarah’s family to pay for some of the costs in the judicial process. Separately, The Sarah Groves Foundation was set-up as a charitable trust with the aim of fulfilling Sarah’s own ambition in life - to enhance the lives of young people, especially of those less fortunate than herself.
Lauren Patterson, 24 years old from Kent
Murdered in Doha, Qatar.
In 2014, a Qatari-national was sentenced to death for Lauren’s murder, but the sentence was later drastically reduced to 10 years. A second male was jailed for three years for helping the killer to set fire to Lauren’s body.
BBC NEWS - Lauren Patterson murder: Appeal over 10-year term fails
2010.
Sarah Shields, 23 years old from Ipswich
Murdered in Gran Canaria, Spain.
Following a three-day trial, three years after Sarah was murdered, a British man was sentenced to 24 years in prison. He was returned to England under the Prisoner Repatriation Scheme which automatically halved his sentence. He is now in an open prison prior to being released on licence.
2008.
Scarlett Keeling, 15 years old from Devon
Murdered in Goa, India.
After an 11-year fight for justice, a man was sentenced to 10 years “rigorous imprisonment” (jail with hard labour) for culpable homicide in 2019.
Scarlett’s mother, Fiona MacKeown, was quoted in The Guardian as saying she hoped the verdict would give hope to other families fighting for justice in Goa: “It’s not just me who has had someone murdered over there,” she said.
BBC NEWS - Scarlett Keeling: Man convicted of killing UK teenager on Goa beach
2007.
Lindsay Ann Hawker, 22 years old from Coventry
Murdered in Ichikawa, Japan.
Lindsay’s murderer went on the run for more than two years, during which time Lindsay’s family travelled back and forth from Japan to raise awareness of the case.
A Japanese man was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2011.
Bill Hawker, Lindsay’s father, was quoted by Sky News as saying: “We have waited four-and-a-half years to get justice for Lindsay. We have achieved that” and added praise for the Japanese investigators: “Lindsay loved Japan and you have not let her down.”
Kirsty MacGowan, 57 years old from London
Murdered in the Algarve, Portugal.
After being shot by her male neighbour, Kirsty never recovered consciousness and remained in a vegetative state in a Lisbon hospital. She was brought back to a London hospital the following year and died there in 2009. Shortly after the tragic shooting, the murderer killed himself during a stand-off with Portuguese police.
In the UK, Westminster Coroner Dr Paul Knapman recorded a verdict of unlawful killing. In a statement read at the inquest, Kate MacGowan, Kirsty’s daughter, said her mother: “enjoyed her life to the full. She had many friends and a tremendous social life."
HAM & HIGH - Woman dies one year after shooting in Portugal
PORTUGAL RESIDENT - British woman murdered by her neighbour, inquest told
