Reading murder detective receives commendation
Reece Heffernan was stabbed to death on his doorstep in Tilehurst - DS Andy Howard led the team that prosecuted his killers
Thames Valley Police officers and staff were recognised for their parts in a Major Crime Unit investigation following the murder of Reece Heffernan in Tilehurst at the latest Chief Constable’s Commendations ceremony.
Chief Constable Jason Hogg presented officers and staff with awards in a ceremony held in Holdsworth Hall at the Thames Valley Police training centre at Sulhamstead.
Detective Superintendent Andy Howard, Detective Constable James Heath and Jon King were commended for their parts in the investigation into Reece’s murder in 2021.
On Sunday 31 October 2021, Reece was stood outside a maisonette in Romany Lane talking to two friends when two cars entered the road. One car stopped outside the address and two men rushed towards Reece and his friends with a knife. The narrow hallway and the speed of the attack prevented Reece from getting away.
Officers were called to Romany Lane, and Reece, who was 22, was located at the scene where he tragically died.
Police said Det Supt Howard, the senior investigating officer, led the investigation with professionalism, insightful decision making and excellent leadership that enabled a very thorough, meticulous and timely investigation to take place. This secured significant identification of some offenders, vehicles and routes taken pre and post offence, despite significant measures taken to hide the prior planning and escape from the scene. There were complex challenges throughout the investigation but Det Supt Howard met them head on with diligent and tireless pursuit of evidence that was presented successfully at court.
Det Supt Howard said:
“I take a sense of pride in the work that the team by achieving justice for Reece, his family and friends and hopefully trying to provide some reassurance to the community.”
DC Heath, the case officer, worked in obtaining and reducing the dash cam footage and technical examination into evidence, along with establishing the timeline of the recent ‘life’ of the offending vehicle was crucial to showing the pre-planned nature of the attack. DC Heath was also responsible for the management of the two eyewitnesses and a further witness who provided important contextual information. His professionalism, flexibility and diligence were key components to the investigation being effective.
Jon, the CCTV co-ordinator, collated and prepared the large amounts of CCTV footage to enable the CCTV compilation to be prepared for the trial. He worked tirelessly throughout, managing the requirements of the investigation. He demonstrated real diligence and applied a sound investigative mind-set and problem solving approach throughout. His credible and confident evidence in court was instrumental in assisting the jury to understand the prosecution case.
The team’s leadership and tenacity in securing evidence in the very challenging complex investigation, enabled a successful prosecution and resulted in three men being convicted of murder, receiving a total of 71 years in prison.