On 10 December 2008, Andrew Cunningham was found murdered in his caravan on Riverside Road, Earlsfield, in the London Borough of Wandsworth. Cunningham, a 52-year-old father of five, had been convicted in 2001 for unlawful sex with a 15-year-old girl. At the time of his death he was working as a lorry driver and living in a caravan outside the haulage company that employed him.
Cunningham was stabbed repeatedly in the chest, throat and neck, in an attack Deputy Coroner Dr Shirley Radcliffe later described as "frenzied" and Detective Inspector Alison Hepworth of the Homicide and Major Crime Command called "sadistic." His body was found naked with his genitals mutilated. Approximately £6,000 in cash was reported stolen from the caravan. Police found no signs of forced entry or a struggle, leading investigators to believe Cunningham had let his killer or killers into the caravan voluntarily.
Investigators considered a revenge or vigilante-style killing to be the most likely motive, connected to Cunningham's status as a registered sex offender, while not ruling out robbery, with the possibility that the genital mutilation was staged to mislead investigators. The murder occurred less than 50 metres from The Corner Pin public house on a night when a Champions League football match was being shown, and near a greyhound track hosting a race that evening. Despite the apparent activity in the area, all witnesses interviewed by police reported seeing or hearing nothing suspicious. This prompted The Independent to describe the case as "the murder nobody wants to help solve." Detective Chief Inspector Nick Scola told the paper that some people may know something but are using Cunningham's background "to justify it to themselves," adding that taking a life is wrong "regardless of that person's background" and that "a killer is a killer no matter which way you look at it."
An inquest held in November 2012 at Westminster Coroner's Court, presided over by Dr Shirley Radcliffe, ruled that Cunningham had been unlawfully killed. The inquest heard that police had interviewed 800 people but had failed to identify a suspect. Evidence was presented alleging Cunningham had been seen with three underage girls the day before his murder. The inquest also heard unsubstantiated rumours circulating locally that Cunningham had sexually assaulted a two-year-old girl, which police found no evidence to support. Cunningham's sister told the inquest that the area was "swamped" with CCTV cameras and that she was "dubious as to why they were switched off."
The Metropolitan Police continue to offer a £20,000 reward for information leading to the identification, arrest, and prosecution of those responsible. As of the available reporting, the case remains unsolved and no one has been charged.
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