Taxi driver Stuart Ludlam was murdered at a deserted railway station in Derbyshire in 2009 by a gun fanatic keen to kill a “complete stranger”.
The father-of-three was shot in the head after responding to a local call-out. Colin Cheetham was the killer, a former technical director at a dye firm who was obsessed with guns.
An ITV documentary, True Crime Presents: Murder Without Motive, is about to examine the unusual murder which struck at the heart of a quiet community.
Ahead of the programme, which airs on Friday night at 9pm, we take a look at the lives of the the victim and his killer.
Stuart Ludlam was a taxi driver and a father-of-three from Darley Dale in Derbyshire.
The 43-year-old family man was described as popular and jovial and a well-respected taxi driver in his local community. Married to his wife Paula for 17 years, the couple had two sons and a daughter.
For almost 15 years, he had been an employee of MJ Taxis. He was described by Tracey Shelton, who ran the firm with her her husband Mick, as someone who was “bubbly, trustworthy, reliable and never let us down”.
His mother Sheila said of her son: “Stuart loved his children and doted on them all. After having two lovely sons he really wanted a little girl and when Aimee was born he got his wish.
“Stuart was such a family man, he loved everyone, he had time for everyone and he was such a well-respected person.
“That showed after his death. There was a tribute by taxi drivers and hundreds of people came to his funeral – people came out to show their respect for him. Young people, old people, everyone.
“We knew, then, how well-loved he was.”
Colin Cheetham found guilty at Nottingham Crown Court of the murder of Stuart Ludlam (Photo: Derbyshire Constabulary/PA)How did Colin Cheetham kill Stuart Ludlam?
On 17 September 2009, Mr Ludlam drove to the village railway station in Cromford, Derbyshire to collect a fare, unaware he was being lured into a trap.
When he arrived, Cheetham, 61, was hidden, holding a gun and waiting for him. He shot at Mr Ludlam, injuring him, then forced him out of the driving seat and made him kneel in the back of the taxi driver’s Ford Focus, where he was shot in the head.
Mr Ludlam’s body was found in the car with the engine still running by a holidaymaker, Peter Noble, who dialed 999.
Police were eventually able to trace the killing back to Cheetham via a mobile phone he had used.
The gun fanatic, who held a firearms licence and had been a member of a gun club, had been plotting the killing for weeks. A police investigation revealed he had compiled a photo scrapbook of four potential murder sites, all isolated railway stations.
He had train timetables to work out the best time and place to commit his crime and had bought a pay-as-you-go phone from Morrison’s supermarket with cash to make the call to the taxi firm.
But he had slipped up by topping up the device with his credit card. Detectives were then able to trace the call to him.
When officers raided his home in Ripley, Derbyshire, they found it so full of clutter upstairs that he had been confined to the downstairs. They found guns, images of train stations and timetables, bottles of urine, and photos Cheetham had taken of himself carrying his guns at his shooting club.
What happened to Colin Cheetham?
Cheetham claimed he had been at the station to loan a gun to a man named Geoff, who wanted to teach a drug dealer a lesson. But when his case went to trial, a jury at Nottingham Crown Court found him guilty.
Sentencing him to a minimum of 30 years in jail in June 2010, Mr Justice Alistair MacDuff said: “You decided to execute a man for your own pleasure and gratification. Any man.
“There was no motive except your own enjoyment. How chilling that you were prepared to put to death a person you had never met.”
After the court hearing, Detective Chief Superintendent Tony Blockley, from Derbyshire Police, described Cheetham as “an evil man who carried out a despicable act which was seemingly motiveless.
“This crime was totally unpredictable. My own personal point of view is that he has executed Mr Ludlam simply to see what it would be like to kill someone due to his personal fascination with firearms.
“My only hope is at some point he can explain to someone why he has done this as we have never been able to prove a motive or glean the real story about what happened from Cheetham.”
This was not to be the case. In May 2020, Cheetham died behind bars at the age of 71. He had had a history of diabetes, arthritis and high blood pressure.
A Prison Service spokesperson said at the time: “HMP Wakefield prisoner Colin Cheetham died in prison on 1 May. As with all deaths in custody, the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman has been informed.”
Mr Blockley, by then the former head of crime at Derbyshire Police, said: “He never explained why he did what he did. We could never find any motive and he never said anything while in prison.
“For the family devastated by the death, they’re also left wondering why, and will be forever.”
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