Mick Love: Dad stabbed to death on a night out nearly 20 years ago

Mick Love was 40 when he went out with friends in Old Town, Swindon, on the evening of September 26, 2004.

His body was discovered in Cannon Street shortly before 5.30am the next morning.

Police believed he was robbed.

Colin Lewin, from Broad Street, was charged with his murder but was acquitted after an 11-day trial at Bristol Crown Court in 2005.

Wiltshire Police (Image: Wiltshire Police)

The probe is one of four murder investigations still unsolved at Wiltshire Police – with one dating back to the mid-90s.

In part three of our Wiltshire’s Unsolved Murders series, we look back at Mick’s death and his family’s quest for justice.

Mobile phone mystery

Mick, who lived with his wife Karen and two children, was seen on CCTV leaving Bombay Brasserie in Regent Circus with a friend at 3.12am.

They started to walk up Victoria Road and parted company at the junction of Durham Street, by the Jewel in the Crown.

Mick then continued on his own up Victoria Road. Mobile phone evidence shows Mick’s sim card was in his phone at 3.33am. By 3.48am the sim card had been removed and a new one had been put in his phone. It is believed his killer struck during this time and stole the phone, throwing Mick’s sim card away and putting his own in the phone.

Colin Lewin, who was 37 at the time, was tried accused of murdering Mick, but was acquitted by jurors.

Mick Love. (Image: The Love family.)

He said after being cleared: "My heart goes out to the family but it wasn't me. I never knew the man. It's tragic all the way round."

An inquest heard that he was found less than 250 metres from where his friend had last seen him.

The hearing, held in 2006, heard that an off-duty policeman had reported what he thought was a drunk person lying in the road on the junction between Cannon Street and Victoria Road at around 5.10am. Another member of the public had seen him lying there at 4.10am but had not taken any action.

A pathologist report confirmed that Mick had been stabbed three times, once in the stomach, once in the abdomen and once in the back. The blade of the knife was found snapped off at the hilt, and there were “no defensive type injuries to suggest a prolonged fight or struggle”.

A conclusion of unlawful killing was returned.

Family still waits for answers

This month marks 18 years since that night, and Mick’s family are still waiting for answers.

But police confirmed after Lewin’s acquittal that they were not looking for anyone else and repeated on the third anniversary of his death: “That is still the case.”

Speaking in 2014, Mick’s wife, Karen, said the family still hold on to the hope someone will be punished for the crime.

She said: “The pain never gets easier but you just have to learn to live with it.

Read more from Wiltshire's Unsolved Murders:

• Mum killed in flat blaze just before Christmas
• The man who vanished without a trace

“As time passes you just have to go on. We had two children so we had to keep going day to day.

“It was an absolutely senseless killing all for a bit of change and a mobile phone. He was just walking home and did not deserve what happened. No one should have had that happen.

“I still hope that someone will be caught. I have to have that belief that we will get justice.”

Case has gone cold

Wiltshire Police said that Mick’s death and the other three unsolved murders are cold cases.

The probes have been fully investigated and are either unable to meet the criminal threshold to charge a suspect, or the person charged has been acquitted.

But the force said it never closes murder investigations and it conducts regular reviews.

Head of the Major Crime Investigation Unit, Detective Chief Inspector Phil Walker, said: “It is important to state that none of these cases are closed and will remain open until they are solved.

“We regularly review these cases in order to identify any potential new lines of enquiry, any advances in technology which may assist us or consider any renewed witness appeals.

“We will, of course, respond to any new information which is reported to us linked to any of this cases. On this basis, we would always encourage people to share information with us if they feel this might be relevant to any open investigation.

“You can contact us via 101, report the information via our website or through Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 where information can be left anonymously if preferred.”

Next weekend, we will be looking at another one of Wiltshire’s unsolved murders.

If you’re a friend or family member of Mick and would like to talk about the incident or the past few years, please get in touch by emailing ryan.evans@newsquest.co.uk.