Liverpool’s ‘Murder in the mist’ still unsolved after 15 years

Detectives have appealed for information ahead of the 15th anniversary of the murder of a man shot in the back during a period of thick fog.

Joseph Cummins was 25 when he was ambushed as he tried to get into a taxi on Longmoor Lane in Fazakerley, Liverpool, on 20 January 2011.

The weather conditions are believed to have helped the killer evade justice, leading to it being referred to as the “murder in the mist”.

A spokesperson for Merseyside Police said: “Joseph’s family have had to endure 15 birthdays, 15 Christmases without him. I want to ask anyone out there who knows anything about Joseph’s murder to come forward and help spare his family further pain.”

Merseyside Police offered a £20,000 reward in 2013 for information leading to the arrest of his killer, but the case remains unsolved.

The attack was not the first time Cummins, who was known to police, had been shot.

He had survived a shooting when he was also struck in the back in 2009, on nearby Gribble Road, but detectives had said they believed the two attacks were not linked.

A statement previously issued by his family called Cummins a “loveable rogue” who “cared for all his family and his close friends”.

“He was a credit to have in your life,” his family said. “He was loved by the people who mattered and mattered to the people who loved him.”

His sister, Leah, previously told the BBC the years since her brother’s death had been “the worst of our lives”.

She said it could not have been an accidental death but a “murder which was planned to take place in that thick fog”.

“That cannot be a good memory,” she said. “The person responsible must think about what they did that night all the time and the incident must be in their head every day and night.

“I’d ask them to be a man and admit what you have done and help bring us some closure.”

Howard Rubbery, head of the force’s Serious Crime Review Unit, added: “A lot of time has passed, but it is never too late to find justice for Joseph and his loved ones.

“We have made a number of arrests since Joseph’s death and regularly carry out reviews to look at any new lines of enquiry or forensic opportunities.

“Any new piece of information may prove vital to finally getting the answers his family deserve.”