Kevin Nunes: Review into murder case is still ongoing

The 22-year-old was gunned down in Pattingham nearly 17 years ago, with Merseyside Police revisiting the case on behalf of Staffordshire Police to see if there is the potential for the gangland murder to be re-investigated.

Chief Constable Gareth Morgan asked the Liverpool-based force to review the case back in April last year, with that review still ongoing eight months on.

A spokesman for Staffordshire Police told the Express & Star: "The investigation remains with Merseyside Police and there is no update at this time."

Mr Nunes was found dead in a lane Pattingham having suffered five gunshot wounds. Police said he had been taken out by rival drug mobs based in the Black Country.

Five men were found guilty of the promising young footballer's murder in 2008 but had their convictions quashed four years later.

The court of appeal revealed serious police failings and concerns over the case had not been disclosed at the original murder trial.

A damning internal police management review, which looked into wrongdoing by detectives and the handling of the case’s star witness, was never revealed to the judge, jury or barristers. Had it been it would have cast serious doubt on the integrity of the police’s case.

It exposed that detectives drank alcohol with the star witness, covered up alleged crimes committed by the witness, and that they allegedly abused overtime to boost their pay.

One of the witness handlers was also having an ‘intimate affair’ with the female officer in charge of overseeing evidence at the witness’s ‘safe house’. Overall the dossier revealed the unit was dysfunctional and detectives didn’t trust each other., and there were major concerns over the integrity of some of the officers.

It sparked a major inquiry by the police watchdog. A total of 14 former and serving Staffordshire officers were investigated.