Hitman who gunned down retired colonel on his doorstep in 'Midsomer Murder' killing is jailed for life

• Lieutenant Colonel Robert 'Riley' Workman was shot dead in January 2004
• Christopher Docherty-Puncheon, 33, denied murder but confessed to cellmate he was 'modern day hitman'
• Claims to have had sexual relationship with retired Lt Col
• Police still baffled by Docherty-Puncheon's motive for killing while judge says 'we may never know' truth
• Docherty-Puncheon already serving life sentence for murder of Fred Moss, 21, in late 2004
• He had shot Moss in head before cutting up his body and burning it in an incinerator

A rat catcher who blasted an 83-year-old Army colonel to death on his doorstep was yesterday jailed for life.
Christopher Docherty-Puncheon, 33, knocked on his victim's door and then killed him with a single shotgun blast.
The crime stunned the village where Lieutenant Colonel Robert 'Riley' Workman lived – but for nearly nine years the killing – which became known as the Midsomer Murder – remained a mystery.

'Execution-style' killing: Retired Army Colonel Robert 'Riley' Workman (left) was shot dead on his doorstep in 2004. Christopher Docherty-Puncheon (right) has been jailed for life for his murder

Lt Col Workman was killed at his home in Furneux Pelham, Hertfordshire, on January 7, 2004

Police were unable to find any forensic evidence and there was no obvious motive.
Docherty-Puncheon, a game keeper and pest controller, had done odd jobs at the widower’s home in Furneux Pelham, Hertfordshire.
He was finally convicted after jail cell boasts while on remand for another murder. Circumstantial evidence also linked him to the crime.
Docherty-Puncheon’s motive remains unclear, however, and may never be known. During his jail cell confessions, he claimed to be a contract killer and to have had a homosexual affair with Lieutenant Colonel Workman – both of which he denied when he gave evidence.

Investigation: Hertfordshire police search for evidence outside a phone box in Braughing after Lt Col Workman's death in 2004

Blast: The gay WWII veteran was shot dead with a single blast from a sawn-off shotgun on the doorstop of his rural cottage

Jailing him for a minimum of 32 years, Mr Justice Saunders, said at St Albans Crown Court: ‘It was a terrible crime and people living in that rural community were shocked by the gunning down in cold blood of one of their elderly neighbours.’

The colonel’s body was found by his carer in January 2004. The front door was open but nothing was missing from his home.
Docherty-Puncheon was arrested within 24 hours. But he was released because there was no firm evidence against him.
However, in 2006 he was convicted of the murder of his friend, traveller Fred Moss, 21, and received a life sentence with a minimum term of 30 years.

Confession: Docherty-Puncheon, 33, was on remand for another murder when he confessed to a cellmate that he had killed 83-year-old Lt Col Workman, pictured with late wife Joanna

Hertfordshire Police only learned of his jail cell confessions – which appeared to link the murders – two years later when they began an investigation into the Workman case.
During the trial, the jury heard that the defendant told one inmate at Bedford Prison that he had been ‘engaged in sexual activity’ with the pensioner, who was ‘wealthy and generous’.
Prosecutor Richard Latham QC said: ‘He said Fred Moss had been using drugs and the colonel found out. He said the colonel was homosexual and had tried it on with Moss.

Victim: Docherty-Puncheon's fellow prisoner also told how the gay 33-year-old, who was in a civil partnership, had claimed to have had a sexual relationship with the 'wealthy' Lieutenant Colonel, left, and right with his wife

Huge case: Docherty-Puncheon had initially been a suspect in the police investigation - which involved interviewing more than 3,000 people and the offer of a £10,000 reward

‘The defendant had gone round to confront the colonel and the colonel threatened to go to the police and he had shot him at the door.’
He had also claimed to an inmate to be a ‘modern-day hit man’ who had been hired to kill someone in Australia.
Docherty-Puncheon complained in court he felt like he was in the middle of a TV drama after locals learned of his arrest in 2004. ‘They were talking about it, coming up with ridiculous theories. It was like Midsomer Murders,’ he said.

Comparison: At the time, the mystery killing was likened to one that might feature on ITV detective drama Midsomer Murders because of its rural, idyllic setting

Police inquiries revealed the  colonel, who served with the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light infantry during the Second World War, led a double life in the 1960s when he used to frequent gay bars.
Docherty-Puncheon denied discussing the murders in jail and insisted he had not killed the colonel, whose wife Joanna died a few months before his murder. The couple had no children.