Three years after a man was gunned down in Higham Station Avenue, Chingford, his grieving family are pleading with those who might be able to shed some light on why it happened, so they can come to terms with his death.
Father of five Wayne Powell, 39, was shot in Chingford on July 5 2010, when his partner Anne Boriel was five months pregnant with his son.
As he was sitting in a black BMW in Higham Station Avenue shortly before 11.15pm a lone gunman walked up to his car, police believe.
Mr Powell, who grew up in Kyverdale Road, Stamford Hill, started to run away but the attacker fired at him before making off and he died of multiple gunshot wounds.
Police say there is no evidence to indicate Mr Powell was directly involved in any criminal activity.
“We aren’t sure if it was mistaken identity, in the wrong place at the wrong time, it could be anything but we haven’t got any answers,” said Ms Boriel who lives on the Stonebridge Estate, Seven Sisters.
“We are still up in smoke at the moment, still living a dream.
“As it gets nearer the anniversary we will go back to that night and we relive it every year, it’s hard for the kids, it’s hard for me, we are living a nightmare all the time.
“Obviously I want to show them their dad isn’t just a statistic in the black on black thing, if Wayne was doing anything that was wrong I could accept that but he wasn’t.”
She continued: “If we knew why he was taken from us it would help us understand, he wasn’t into anything and yet he’s been taken from us, somebody out there does know something but doesn’t want to speak.”
Mr Powell spent all of his life in Hackney until moving to Seven Sisters with Anne a decade ago. He went to Southwold Primary School in Detmold Road and started working at 16, straight after leaving Hackney Downs School.
He was a radio DJ, a fitness fanatic and spent much of his time at a barber shop in Upper Clapton.
Det Chief Insp John Crossley, of the Met’s Trident unit, said loyalties may have changed three years on: “Anne has had a son who has never known his father, he leaves other children behind, I’d make the appeal on those grounds, so we can try and get some kind of closure for the family,” he said.
Anyone with any information in connection with Wayne or anyone who can shed light on the situation should contact the incident room on 0208 358 0248.
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