Aseel Al-Essaie: “A daylight execution, a wall of silence and a family living in fear”

What should have been a happy day for the Al-Essaie family quickly turned into their worst nightmare.

Aseel Al-Essaie, 23, was killed in a shooting outside his sister’s engagement party in Walkley, Sheffield, on 18 February 2017. He was sitting in a stationary vehicle in Daniel Hill when a revolver with a long barrel was fired from the front seat window of a Volkswagen Golf and ended his life.

South Yorkshire Police believe the daylight execution – witnessed by his brother Ali, who was sitting in a separate vehicle just a car away – was the result of a drug dispute. Aneasa Al-Essaie’s mother said she had “lost her sense of happiness” following her son’s death.

Read more: Police shut down illegal rave near Sheffield beauty centre

“I lost not only my son, but my best friend, my confidant, my hopes and dreams,” she said. “No mother should bury her son. No mother should have to endure the agony and suffering I went through. I wouldn’t wish that on my worst enemy.”

More than seven years later, the details of Aseel’s tragic death and an inside look at how South Yorkshire Police handled the case and caught his killers will be explored on TV as episode 20 of Detective Secrets crime” from TRUE CRIMES airs tonight (Wednesday, June 5).

The series, presented by former Scotland Yard homicide detective Steve Keogh, invites viewers “into the intriguing realm of crime solving”. With 30 years’ experience under his belt, DI Keogh opens his contact books for the first time to reveal the secrets of what it takes to be a frontline crime detective.

Get all the latest and breaking Sheffield news straight to your inbox sign up for our newsletter here.

The series aims to “set itself apart” from other true crime shows by focusing on the victim and the story of solving the case, rather than the killer and their motivations.

In the absence of Aseel’s loved ones, this episode focuses solely on the investigative techniques used to track down his killers. Keogh sits down with former South Yorkshire Police Chief Inspector Steve Whittaker, who led the investigation into Aseel’s murder.

Keogh said Yorkshire Live that while he can’t put an exact figure, he estimates he’s worked more than 100 homicide cases over his 12-year career as a homicide detective. With a wealth of experience and knowledge to draw on, he says the Sheffield case was “complicated” and “difficult” to solve, due to the reluctance of witnesses to speak and the lack of evidence.

Aseel’s brother Ali witnessed the shooting and rushed his brother to hospital, but unfortunately he was pronounced dead on arrival by doctors. The bullet, fired by a passenger inside a Volkswagen Golf, had pierced his lung, heart, abdomen and caused massive internal bleeding.

The shot was reportedly fired after a conversation between Aseel and the individuals inside the car turned into an argument. Despite witnessing the disturbing scenes and seeing the three men inside the vehicle, Ali was reluctant to speak to police – even though officers believed he knew who they were.

Ali’s refusal to cooperate eventually led to his arrest on suspicion of conspiracy to murder – but the investigation hit a major turning point when DCI Whittaker took it upon himself to visit him at home.

Keogh explained: “It was a really difficult investigation and I was very impressed with DCI Whittaker because he was so determined. He took it upon himself to go visit Ali.

“She used her powers of persuasion and built trust with him and I think that was the key turning point in the investigation. There aren’t many DCIs I’ve met in my career who go on and do what he did – I was so impressed with him.”

When asked later why he didn’t help investigators, Ali said he was “scared and worried that he might be next.”

Keogh explained that there were other factors that further complicated the case: “Shootings are always harder to solve. Every contact, or suspect, leaves a trail, but in a shooting, you have that distance and that negates any forensic evidence, so you have to gather evidence in different ways.

“South Yorkshire Police were presented with a really complicated investigation but there was a natural determination from the team to solve the case, although it was not an easy one.”

Whittaker’s persistence along with Ali’s evidence were important factors in three men being identified and subsequently jailed for life for Aseel’s murder.

In April 2018, Matthew Cohen, 29, Dale Gordon, 33, and Keil Bryan, 32, were ordered to serve at least 30 years after jurors accepted the prosecution case that the trio allegedly carried out the fatal drive-by shooting as part of a joint venture.

The episode also features interviews with fire investigation officer Jason Dean, who explains how the fire is complicating the evidence recovery process, as well as CCTV expert Ray Evans, who gives an insight into the methods used to identify several people on CCTV in a case like this.

The Volkswagen car from which Aseel was fatally shot was later found about four miles away in the Grenoside area of ​​Sheffield, where it had been dumped and set alight by accomplice James Good, 29, on Cohen’s instructions. who had been driving the vehicle.

Good was earlier seen on CCTV in a garage buying a can of petrol and four liters of fuel, which was used to set fire to the vehicle. Good, of Ringstead Crescent, who pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice, was jailed for three years and three months.

While the hard work and “dedication” of South Yorkshire Police helped put Aseel’s killers behind bars, his family “will never be able to get back the life they once had”. His mother Aneasa described Aseel as a “smart, funny, loving young man with a charming charisma”.

She continued: “No sentence will ever reflect the hurt and pain these senseless cowards have caused my family. We will never come to terms with the loss and we will never be able to resume the life we ​​once had.”

Keogh believes one of the hardest parts of working as a homicide detective is dealing with the emotions of victim’s families, such as those expressed by Aseel’s mother. “How do you get used to being around people when they’re going through the worst time of their lives?” he explained.

“At least being in that situation as a homicide detective, you can walk away and use their emotions to motivate you – you walk away feeling like you can at least try to do something about the devastation the crime has had on the family involved.

“The role doesn’t leave much time for your own life or your own family – but when you get to court and get a conviction for those relatives, it makes it all worth it.

“But the trauma of families remains the hardest part of the job. You never get used to being around people when they’re at such a low point in their lives.”

Secrets of a murder detective airs Wednesdays at 10pm on TRUE CRIME (formerly CBS Reality) in the UK. of Aseel Al-Essaie the episode premieres on June 5.

Steve also shares more about his career as a crime detective on his podcast, Investigating Crimes for Crime Writers, which can be found here. on Spotify.