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Nearly 14 years after a mother and her five children were killed in a house fire in Harlow
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a mysterious letter writer has come forward claiming that they know what happened
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Dr. Abdul Shakur lost his entire family that night, and ever since he's had to live not just with the grief, but with accusations made against him
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despite the fact police ruled him out as a suspect. Now he's speaking out directly to the writer of this letter
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asking them to reveal what exactly they know. I'm LBC's Shivani Sharma
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finding out could this finally be the breakthrough that solves one of the most haunting unsolved murder cases
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that Essex has ever seen. It was a story that rocked Essex and touched the nation
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and still questions remain unanswered. In the history of Essex police, seldom has there been an incident of this gravity
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in which five people, four of them children, have lost their lives
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On the 15th of October 2012, this house was the scene of the crime
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and the scene of so much tragedy when it was set on fire
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while the entire family was sleeping upstairs. We're told it happened at around 1.40 in the morning
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and Dr Abdul Shakur jumped out of the upstairs window desperately trying to get help for his family
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But it was too late. Tragically, his wife and three of their children died here that night and the other two children died a short while later in hospital, leaving Dr Abdul Shakur as the sole survivor
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We're also told that a neighbour's silver Ford Focus was set alight at the exact same time
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The handling of the investigation in the early stages after the fire came under scrutiny
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the then lead fire investigator for Essex County Fire and Rescue Service
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David Hadjikostas told me a scientific advisor at the scene removed important evidence before it had all been properly tested and processed Dr Shakur had said that there was a problem with locking his front door in particularly locking the door from the outside
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I asked the scientific advisor whether he had tested the lock of the door on both the inside and the outside of the property before he removed it
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And he said, yes, I've tested it. So when I then drilled down a bit further, it turned out he had only tested the inside of the lock, not the outside
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It then became quite difficult to confirm Dr Shakur's testimony that the door couldn't be locked from the outside because one of the lines of inquiry at the time was that the house had been burgled
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So we needed to know whether or not somebody could have simply let themselves in without breaking in
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We've come about a mile and a half down the road from the house because on the night of the fire, Dr. Abdul Shakur's laptop went missing
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And 11 days later, two teenagers found a bag with his laptop case, his lead and his personal documents, along with a shaver adapter, which he says wasn't his, dumped in bushes in this area
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They then dumped that bag by these lock-up garages, which is why police believe that this could have been a burglary gone terribly wrong
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Dr Abdul-Shakor's laptop was never found. Detective Chief Inspector Louise Metcalf is leading on the case and she says a handwritten letter was sent to Essex Police last summer
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In it, the writer claimed they're having nightmares and they're burdened because they know what happened
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It's quite rare to get a handwritten or to get a letter on paper these days when we work in emails
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So I was surprised to see the letter on my desk. I opened it straight away, dropped it straight away
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realising the forensic opportunities But yeah I mean I been dwelling on this since last summer That person knows something and I really need to know what they know The DCI says she treating the letter as credible and she wants the writer to know that if
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they do come forward they will be treated fairly. It could absolutely be credible and I'm treating
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it as such and I'm reaching out to that person to tell me more. Trust me, come talk to me and let
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me help you. If you're having a nightmare let me help you, I'm burdening you and let's get
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answers and justice for Dr Shakur. I've come to Manchester to meet with Dr Shakur who moved out
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of Harlow when his family died. He's told me the pain he's endured since that night in October 2012
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has been unbearable. I miss my family a lot and even for any family gathering
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I see the empty chairs wherever I go to any birthday
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or any other holidays I see that there's some emptiness there you know
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and with this help the information might give us some disclosure to me and my family
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so we can may move forward. Otherwise, every day the pain gets increasing
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Dr Shakur tells me that being accused of murder in the aftermath of the fire only added insult
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to injury. It's quite painful when somebody feels in that way, you know, because I myself
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is going through a lot of pain. I mean, no one can feel the losing of the whole family
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in that way, you know. So really, they try to understand and maybe when they go through all the story
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they understand, you know. And when the truth will come and prevail, they will know exactly, you know
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what were the things and like that. But it really hurts when somebody feels in that way you know And a person is already going through a lot So I really I mean I feel respectful for everyone
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Everyone has their own way of thinking, but it really hurts. But Dr Shakur believes this letter could be a hugely significant development
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and could finally bring answers after nearly 14 years. He's appealing directly to the writer to reveal exactly what they know
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I would say to him that look into your conscience and try to say what you want to say
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The first step, you had this courage that you have wrote a letter
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but we really want a bit more from the author we want to say to him
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that get further more courage and just feel yourself in my position
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that how I'm going through that I know there may be a fear
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maybe a guilt or maybe some pressures upon you but just see how I'm going through that
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I have been going suffering on a daily basis but with your information you need to speak directly to the police
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just inform directly to them whatever the things and so the truth can prevail and the justice can be done
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More than 13 years since the police made their first appeal. I pledge to use whatever resources are necessary
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to find out exactly what has happened and if appropriate bring those responsible to justice
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This is the closest that Essex police have ever got to solving this horrendous crime
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Will they finally find who was responsible for the deaths of Dr Shakur's family
