Man who murdered off-duty PC was seen shooting himself in churchyard

The man believed to have murdered an off-duty policeman this week was seen shooting himself in a churchyard the following day, officials confirmed.

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

The next day, Reeve, 64, was seen shooting himself in a churchyard in Writtle, near Chelmsford, about 40 miles away from the murder scene, Essex Coroner’s Office confirmed yesterday.

At an inquest at Chelmsford Coroner’s Court yesterday, coroner Caroline Beasley-Murray said: “On 10 July, 2012 he [Reeve] was seen alive in the churchyard in Writtle with a gun and was seen to shoot himself.”

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.

Reeve disappeared after the shooting and police launched a manhunt that lasted almost 17 hours.

His body was discovered near All Saints Church in Writtle on Tuesday morning. He had dumped his car near the murder scene the previous day.

Reeve, reported to be a retired bus mechanic who did not have a firearms licence, is understood to have had several family members living near the church where he was found and may have had a relative buried there.

At the inquest, the coroner passed on her condolences to the families involved, adding: “As the tragic events unfolded this week in Essex, many people’s lives have been affected.”