114561
CASE OVERVIEW
Fred Moss went missing from home on Tuesday 30th November 2004
He was reported missing, by his family, to the police at 1am on Wednesday 1st December 2004. He was driving a yellow Vauxhall Astra van on the day he went missing. The first day his van was sighted was on Wednesday 1st December at 7am by the caretaker of Steeple Morden school reversed against a hedge in Hay Street car park. He did not report this at the time because he was unaware of the events surrounding Fred Moss.
Whilst Chris admits that he met up with Fred on the 30th November, he explains this by saying that he went with Fred to act as look out whilst Fred conducted a drugs deal. (It has been reported that Fred Moss went missing with a large amount of cash on him). The last sighting he had of Fred was when he saw him, as a passenger, in a Mercedes vehicle being driven past him whilst he waited by the side of the road in his vehicle. When Fred did not return, although worried, he returned home unaware of what was happening. He originally denied seeing Fred because he realized that something was obviously wrong and was worried that he would come under suspicion and that he, or his family, might be targeted by the gypsies and recriminations might take place.
When he realized something was wrong he began looking for Fred, covering many areas which he and Fred frequented whilst hare coursing. On Friday 3rd December he came across Fred's van parked in the Hay Street car park and reported his find to the police and the gypsies. He immediately came under suspicion by both the gypsies and the police.
Chris was abducted by the gypsies on Saturday 4th December when they arranged to meet him for a talk. They grabbed him, bundled him into a car and took him to an isolated country spot where they dragged him out of the car and beat him to the ground. They kicked him, placed a gun in his mouth and fired a gun around his head, all the time shouting at him to tell them where Fred was. They gave him a spade and ordered him to start digging a hole, at which point he seriously feared for his life.
All of a sudden the shouting stopped and Chris was bundled back into the car and returned to the position where he had been taken from his vehicle.
The gypsies then proceeded to thoroughly search his car and removed various items from it, including his mobile phone.
Whilst this incident was taking place, two detectives were sitting in a car watching. They took no action to either prevent Chris from being abducted nor to stop his vehicle being searched, whilst knowing that any search of his vehicle was risking contamination of any possible evidence. They were each given a formal disciplinary warning for this.
On Sunday 5th December Chris Nudds went to the police station to report his kidnapping and whilst there was arrested. After many hours of interviews over several days at various police station, he was remanded in custody to HMP Bedford on 13th December. He was originally placed in a cell on his own but was quickly moved, the same day, into a cell that was occupied by another inmate, Darren Horner who was also on remand and had been since August 2004. On 16th December Darren Horner requested to see the Governor, he went on to tell the Governor that Chris Nudds had confessed to him (Darren Horner) that he (Chris Nudds) had killed Fred Moss by shooting him and disposing of his body by cutting it up and burning it.
Armed with this information, over the next month the police went back to Chris's home and searched it and his vehicle gathering various items of 'evidence'.
On 20th January 2005 Chris Nudds was charged with the murder of Fred Moss.
(Although briefly investigated by the police, with several travellers being interviewed by the police and all denying knowledge of any abduction or assault, no major inquiries or charges were made with reference to the adduction and assault of Chris Nudds)