'Doting' dad and his own father shot dead six miles apart 'over custody battle'

30 March 2023 , 20:58

993     0

Josh Dunmore was shot at his home (Image: Facebook)

Police were last night investigating whether a custody battle was the motive behind the horrific killings of a father and his son.

The men were named last night as Josh Dunmore, 32, and his dad Gary, 57, shot in their homes in two nearby villages.

Chief Supt Jon Hutchinson, of Cambridgeshire Police, said: “It’s been widely reported in the media that this may relate to a custody battle. I can confirm that is an active line of inquiry.”

He added the “primary line of investigation” was the incident was related to a “familial issue”.

Police were called to reports of gunshots at a property in Bluntisham, Cambs, just after 9pm on Wednesday.

Double killer who slit girlfriend's throat within weeks of release jailed

The custody dispute is understood to have centred around Josh’s son (Facebook)

At 9.37pm a 999 call from Sutton-in-the-Isle, around six miles away, also told of shots.

Gary’s white Transit van, with a punctured wheel, was still on the drive of the semi-detached house in Sutton yesterday as police took his body from the property.

Josh, a keen boxer, worked with his father in a family building company.

Three people were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to murder.

A 33-year-old woman and a man, 27, were detained at a hotel near Cambridge.

Armed officers pulled over a 66-year-old man on a motorway near Worcester at 1.30am yesterday morning. They found a gun inside the car.

One villager in Bluntisham said: “Josh doted on his son and he was very close to his dad.

“I can’t believe what has happened.”

Chief Supt Hutchinson said: “This type
of crime is rare, especially this level of violence.”

Det Insp Mark Butler said of violence fears: “We are treating the attacks as targeted and there is no wider risk to the general public.”

Killer dances in his victim's house with twerking model who later turned on him

• The 27-year-old man and 33-year-old woman arrested in the early hours of Thursday in connection with a double murder in Cambridgeshire have been released with no further action taken. A 66-year-old man, of no fixed abode, remains in custody.

Andy Lines