West Midlands: Joint £30,000 reward offered on tenth anniversary of Tom Kirwan’s murder

This July will mark the tenth anniversary of the murder of Tom Kirwan, who was fatally stabbed outside the former Uberra nightclub in Wolverhampton in 2012.

West Midlands Police Head of Homicide, Detective Superintendent Shaun Edwards appeared on BBC’s Crimewatch on Tuesday 22 March to talk about the force’s efforts to trace Tom’s killer and appeal to anyone harbouring information to come forward.

Tom’s family have never given up hope that his killer will be brought to justice and are hoping a £30,000 reward, jointly funded by our charity and Tom’s family, will bring just the piece of information needed.

"The charity Crimestoppers has increased their reward to £15,000 for any information which leads to the conviction of Tom’s killer, such is their commitment to our investigation. This amount has also been matched with funds raised by Tom’s family, taking the total to £30,000 - a significant amount of money which could change the life of anyone holding that vital piece of evidence crucial to the case."

Tom was fatally stabbed in the early hours of 8 July 2012 when a disagreement between two groups of people took place outside the former Uberra nightclub which was located at the corner of Ring Road St David’s and Wednesfield Road in Wolverhampton.

Events escalated after a further group arrived in vehicles and joined in the disorder when 23-year-old Tom was stabbed and collapsed. An ambulance was flagged down and Tom was taken to hospital, where he later died.

A friend of Tom’s was also stabbed that night; despite suffering head injuries, he survived but is still unable to remember the incident in full.

Tom’s mother Emer Kirwan has pleaded for anyone with information to come forward. 

“For 10 years, we as a family and as a community, have made numerous appeals to find answers. To no avail.

“The answers we believe lie within multiple separate witness groups. From the sober door staff to the group who were convicted of affray and the simple bystander.

“10 years on I am reaching out to you all.

“Firstly; the door staff, you watched the horrors unfold that the CCTV missed. Why not come forward?

“Secondly the group charged with affray. Has the passage of time played heavily on your consciences? Do you now have families of your own? Imagine that loss, imagine the horror of having the most beautiful person in your life taken so cruelly.

“My son’s life ended alone, without his family or a familiar face with him.

“Don’t live in fear of cowards. Please give Tom the long-awaited justice that he so much deserves.”

“Over the years we have studied hours of CCTV and the movements of people around the area on that night. We’ve interviewed numerous people who were present on the night, both witnesses and potential suspects, and revisited all of the forensic evidence taken from the scene and from Tom’s clothing.

"The case was reviewed by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in London under the bereaved families’ scheme towards the end of 2013. They concluded that the investigation into Tom’s death was very comprehensive and no further recommendations into the investigation were made.

"But our investigation has never closed and every new piece of evidence will be considered and reviewed.”

To claim the reward information must be given exclusively to Crimestoppers by calling freephone 0800 555 111 or by using our online form. You will remain 100 per cent anonymous. Always.

Computer IP addresses are never traced and no-one will ever know you contacted our charity. There is no telephone caller line display, no 1471 facility and we have never traced a call.