The Jack McVitie Murder
Jack McVitie was a member of the Firm, the Kray’s organization, although quite low in the pecking order. He was used as an enforcer and contract killer. In the fall of 1967, Ronnie Kray learned that McVitie, called The Hat by his fellow firm members, had failed to carry out a contract to kill Leslie Payne, for which he had already been paid half of his fee of one thousand pounds. Concerned that such reticence could be damaging to the twins’ authority, Ronnie decided that McVitie should be killed, to set an example for other Kray associates.
Ronnie and Reggie Kray established the pretence of throwing a party to convince McVitie to visit a cellar room in Stoke Newington. When McVitie arrived, Ronnie Kray began verbally abusing him, and McVitie and Ronnie Kray engaged in an argument which quickly became heated. Reggie Kray drew his pistol and attempted to shoot McVitie in the head, pulling the trigger at least twice, but the gun failed to fire on both attempts. Ronnie than grabbed McVitie in a headlock, but McVitie slipped out of it only to be grabbed from behind by another associate, Ronnie Hart.
While Hart held McVitie from behind, pinning his arms to his body, Reggie Kray used a carving knife, brought to the cellar room for the purpose of carving up the body, and stabbed McVitie in the head and chest repeatedly, twisting the knife following each thrust. When the dying and possibly already dead McVitie was allowed to drop to the floor by Hart letting him go, Reggie continued to stab and twist the knife in the wounds, in the torso and neck. At least four Firm members witnessed the murder and its violent nature, which Ronnie Kray hoped would be reported back to other members as a warning. In fact most members of the firm did not believe that the murder was warranted.
Disposing of the body proved problematic for the twins, who left the job of disposal and clean up to their subordinates. The body was too large for the trunk of the car and the body was placed in the back seat by three associates, one then drove the car with the body and the other two followed. They became separated. When they did find each other the car with the body was out of gas. They left the car containing the body in a nearby churchyard, hoping that the crime would be attributed to local gang activity. What they had done was reported to Charlie Kray, he in turn informed the twins.
The twins had another associate retrieve the body from the abandoned car and dispose of it in the river. The haphazard disposal by close associates should have been a warning for the twins, who had alienated many of their associates by the murder and the violent manner in which it had been carried out. Many associates and Firm members believed that a similar fate could easily befall them, and willingness to testify against the twins in return for a break from the authorities was discussed among some associates and their attorney’s.