The Essex Murders: Who Killed Goldfinger?

By Jon Donnis 

Sky has dropped the trailer for the next instalment of its true crime franchise The Essex Murders, and it looks set to grip viewers all over again. Who Killed Goldfinger? lands on Sky Documentaries and NOW on 4 October, marking a decade since the shocking death of notorious gangster John "Goldfinger" Palmer.

Back on 24 June 2015, Palmer was found dead in the garden of his secluded Essex home. At first glance, police believed nothing suspicious had happened. Only days later came the twist. Palmer had been shot six times. No witnesses. No forensic trail. A man once considered one of Britain's richest and most feared criminals was gone, and nobody could say who pulled the trigger or why.

The three-part series promises a deep dive into Palmer's murky past, tracking the rise and fall of a man whose life read like a crime thriller. Viewers are taken from the heyday of 1980s armed robbery and the infamous Brink's-Mat gold heist to the lucrative but dangerous 1990s timeshare scam that brought him into contact with Russian mobsters, global drug traffickers and the shadowy world of professional assassins.

Former Met detective David McKelvey and his private investigations team TM Eye lead a present-day hunt that stretches from Essex to Tenerife, Ireland and Lithuania. Along the way, Palmer's family and former associates speak out, some for the first time, adding new layers to a story that has baffled police for ten years.

With exclusive testimony and a fresh look at the evidence, The Essex Murders: Who Killed Goldfinger? aims to answer the question that has haunted investigators and fascinated the public for a decade. Did Palmer's past finally catch up with him, or is the truth still hiding in plain sight? Find out when the series premieres on 4 October.