Man who admitted killing policeman in Essex shoots himself

Published on 16/07/2012 00:00

A gunman believed to have shot dead an off- duty policeman said “I’m sorry. I’m sorry I shot the police officer,” before killing himself in a churchyard, it was reported yesterday.

Peter Reeve, 64, made the admission before taking his own life in a churchyard about 40 miles away from where he had gunned down PC Ian Dibell the day before, according to reports.

Gardener David Colyer, 76, reportedly said he was just six feet from Reeve when the fugitive shot himself in the head with a revolver, calling 999 afterwards.

“He blurted out, ‘I’m Peter Reeve. I’m the man who shot the police constable in Clacton’,” he said. “I realised I was standing before a killer. The man hardly paused for breath then said, ‘I’m sorry. I’m sorry I shot the police officer’. He looked me in the eye. His voice wasn’t trembling, he was calm, he was clearly trying to be sincere.”

A huge police manhunt for Reeve was launched after PC Dibell was shot dead in the seaside town of Clacton, Essex, last Monday afternoon.

PC Dibell, 41, was off duty when he intervened in a dispute between Trevor Marshall, Mr Marshall’s girlfriend and Reeve in Redbridge Road, Clacton. PC Dibell was shot dead, while 
Mr Marshall, 48, escaped with leg injuries and his girlfriend survived unscathed.