ALAN GILES CAPTURED IN QUINTON AND W MIDLANDS AFTER ESCAPE FROM PRISON

In a significant development in a long-standing and complex criminal case, Alan Giles, a convicted murderer, was apprehended in the town of Alcester, located in the West Midlands, after being on the run for ten days. His escape from lawful custody prompted a large-scale police operation, which culminated in his arrest on Wednesday evening. Giles, aged 56, was spotted in the Gunnings Road area of Alcester following a tip from a vigilant member of the public. The police responded swiftly, flooding the area with officers who managed to intercept Giles as he attempted to evade capture. Despite his efforts to escape, he was quickly detained and transported to Redditch police station for processing.

Detective Chief Inspector Paul Judge expressed his relief and gratitude for the public's assistance, emphasizing the importance of community involvement in solving such cases. He stated, “The search for him has taken up an enormous amount of our time and resources over the past ten days. As we always suspected, a tip-off from a member of the public was key to us bringing Mr Giles back into custody. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank every single person who has come forward with information to help our investigation. We have been really impressed by the amount of information that has come in and how keen people have been to help us with our enquiries. I’d also like to thank the media for their excellent support in keeping Mr Giles’ escape in the spotlight, as this has been really helpful to ensure our appeals for information were seen by as wide an audience as possible.”

Giles was previously incarcerated at HMP Hewell near Redditch, where he was serving two life sentences for the kidnapping and murder of 16-year-old Kevin Ricketts, a student from Quinton, in 1995. His escape occurred on Monday, October 28, when he managed to walk out of the prison, which was operating under open conditions at the time. Following his escape, police launched an extensive search across south Warwickshire, believing that Giles was likely sleeping rough in the area. Prior to his disappearance, Giles had been employed at Sue Ryder charity shops in Alcester and Leamington as part of a community work program. Reports indicated that he had a dispute with a staff member at the Alcester shop, and there had been a recommendation to remove him from open conditions just five days before he absconded.

The case of Kevin Ricketts remains one of the most unusual and tragic in British legal history. Kevin, an ordinary and somewhat introverted teenager studying woodwork at South Birmingham College, disappeared on January 31, 1995, after leaving his home in Four Acres, Woodgate Valley, to meet a friend in Harborne before heading to college. His family was devastated when he failed to return home that evening, especially since Kevin rarely missed classes or social engagements. Initially, police treated his disappearance as a missing persons case, reassuring his family that he would return once he ran out of money. However, as days turned into weeks, the focus of the investigation shifted from a simple missing person case to a search for Kevin’s body.

Alan Giles, who was the common-law husband of Kevin’s older sister Elizabeth, quickly became the prime suspect. Their relationship had ended acrimoniously a few months prior, leaving Elizabeth with custody of their young child. Giles, harboring resentment and obsession, had been stalking Elizabeth, including prowling outside her home and spying on her with binoculars. His obsession escalated when he attempted to climb onto her balcony, forcing her and their daughter to jump from the first floor to escape him. His actions grew increasingly sinister, including plans to frame her brother, David Ricketts, for a crime he did not commit. These plans were thwarted when Giles was jailed for a month after breaking a court injunction to stay away from Elizabeth.

It was during this period that Giles devised a plan to abduct Kevin as a form of revenge. He meticulously observed Kevin’s daily routine, knowing his route to college, and waited for the right moment to strike. On the day of the abduction, Giles knew Kevin’s schedule so well that he was able to carry out the kidnapping without any signs of resistance. Kevin, described as slight-built, would have been unlikely to oppose Giles, who had been working as a laborer and had considerable physical strength. Despite widespread media appeals and police efforts, Kevin was not seen after leaving for college, and his family’s anguish deepened.

Within just over two weeks of Kevin’s disappearance, police arrested Giles, who was then charged with kidnapping. Extensive searches were conducted in woodland areas around Bartley Green and West Bromwich, with detectives meticulously examining undergrowth for any forensic evidence linking Giles to Kevin’s disappearance or death. A notable discovery was a hole in Warley, which appeared to have been prepared as a potential grave. Giles, described as an “expert digger” from his construction background, was suspected of being involved in the burial, but no concrete evidence was initially found.

The breakthrough in the case came when a witness, Carl Morris, who had befriended Giles at a hostel in Selly Oak, decided to come forward out of fear. Morris testified that Giles had once expressed intentions to “have someone away” and had helped destroy evidence related to Kevin. He recounted that Giles had driven him through Moseley, instructing him to rip up homework and discard it, and had taken him to Bartley Reservoir, pointing to woodland and saying, “Kevin’s in there.” Morris also claimed that Giles had attempted to have sex with him, adding a disturbing layer to the case.

In July 1997, Giles, then 40 years old and residing in Quinton, was convicted of Kevin Ricketts’ murder by a jury at Birmingham Crown Court. His conviction was notable because he was only the ninth person in the UK to be sentenced to life imprisonment without the recovery of the victim’s body. The family of Kevin Ricketts expressed relief that Giles was behind bars, but the absence of a body meant that their nightmare was far from over. They continued to plead with Giles to reveal the location of Kevin’s remains, but he maintained his innocence and refused to disclose any details.

In a surprising turn, in mid-July 1998, Giles contacted detectives from Gartree Prison in Leicestershire, indicating his willingness to talk. His confession, which was carefully documented, provided enough information for police to locate Kevin’s remains. After hours of excavation at a property on Gough Road in Edgbaston, forensic experts recovered Kevin’s body from a grave five feet underground, concealed beneath dense undergrowth. Dental records and X-rays confirmed the identity, bringing some closure to the family. The residents of the quiet street reacted with horror, imagining how someone could have secretly buried Kevin’s body in the dead of night without detection. Unfortunately, the remains were too decomposed to determine the cause of death, leaving police to rely on Giles’ own account of the events.

In his prison interview, Giles admitted to struggling with Kevin during the altercation, suggesting he may have hit him with a piece of wood, but he was uncertain whether this had caused Kevin’s death. His words, read aloud during an inquest, revealed a disturbing account of the struggle, with Giles stating, “I don’t know whether I grabbed him with one hand or two hands,” and “You just lose it. I probably grabbed him round the throat. A struggle broke out. I left him on the ground, where I showed you, in the garden.” His confession left many questions unanswered, but it confirmed his involvement in Kevin’s tragic death and the subsequent concealment of his body.