A SENIOR detective on the notorious Essex Boys triple murder case is alleged to have had a romantic relationship with one of the victim’s girlfriends, a probe reveals.
The improper relationship between Detective Inspector George Florence and Donna Jaggers, the former partner of murder victim Craig Rolfe, was not disclosed at the trial of Michael Steele and Jack Whomes.
The pair were convicted of the murders of drug dealers Pat Tate, 37, Tony Tucker, 38, and Rolfe, 26, in 1998 but have always insisted they are innocent.
The failure to disclose the relationship between DI Florence, the deputy senior investigating officer in the murder hunt, poses questions, as Ms Jaggers went on to become a prosecution witness, say a team of former Scotland Yard murder detectives.
They have independently reviewed the original investigation over four years, before compiling a 132-page dossier, now handed to the Criminal Case Review Commission by Whomes and Steele’s lawyers.
The ex-Met detectives, working for private investigation firm TM Eye, have called on Essex Police to release previously undisclosed material about corruption probes into the late DI Florence to pass on to the CCRC, which can refer cases to the Court of Appeal.
Tate, Tucker and Rolfe were found shot dead in a Range Rover on an isolated track in Rettendon, near Basildon, by two farmers at 8am on December 7, 1995.
DI Florence was also investigated over corruption allegations linked to Tate but full details of the probe were not disclosed during the trial of Steele, now 81, and Whomes, 62, the report said.
The prosecution case centred largely on the evidence of supergrass Darren Nicholls, who claimed to be the getaway driver – supported by Ms Jaggers’ evidence – after his arrest over a cannabis importation in May 1996.
TM Eye boss Dave McKelvey, a former Met Police DCI, said: “There were suspicions around Florence and Ms Jaggers being romantically involved ahead of the trial but this was never officially disclosed.
“If this was the case, he should not have been allowed to be involved with her as a witness. The defence should have had all the information and been able to cross-examine witnesses about this.
“Essex Police must now disclose everything it has about this and the corruption investigation into DI Florence, so it is available to the new CCRC review.”
The TM Eye report states its private detectives spoke with two former Essex Police officers, who confirmed the affair allegations.
One also said that around the time of the trial, the force mounted a covert corruption probe into past activities of DI Florence, in relation to high-value stolen cars and a possible connection to Tate through the car trade.
DI Florence resigned from the force as soon as he was notified about the investigation and it is not known if it concluded.
But the probe is understood to have caused at least one other trial to collapse.
The defence sought full details of the corruption probe ahead of trial but its disclosure request was rejected by the CPS, which said it was an “unrelated” matter.
Mr McKelvey said: “Mr Florence dealt with her as a protected witness, who corroborated some of Nicholls’ evidence.”
Jaggers was placed into witness protection after the trial and it has not been possible to approach her for comment.
An Essex Police spokeswoman said: “This case has been exhaustively examined over the last 27 years. We will, of course, always work with the CCRC and keep any new information under review.”
Whomes was released from prison for good behaviour in 2021 after 23 years, while Steele’s parole hearings are about to resume.
