Widow of conman John 'Goldfinger' Palmer hits out at police

John and Marnie Palmer remained married for more than 40 years

The widow of a convicted conman thought to have been killed by a hitman has said police will never find his killer.

John "Goldfinger" Palmer was shot six times in the garden of his Essex home on 24 June 2015.

Marnie Palmer said there was "more chance of Lord Lucan showing up than of police finding [his] killer".

But Essex Police has said it is continuing to investigate the murder and claimed Mrs Palmer's account contained "factual inaccuracies".

Police and medics initially believed Palmer had died due to complications from heart surgery before discovering, a week after his death, he had been shot.

John "Goldfinger" Palmer was shot dead at his home in South Weald

Mrs Palmer has revealed details of her life with her husband in a new book called Goldfinger and Me: Bullets, Bullion and Betrayal.

His wife of more than 40 years has been critical of the investigation into the death and said the circumstances were suspicious, despite admitting the fraudster had lowered his guard.

She said: "The scene of the murder was simply too convenient. John was found in the only spot where he had not installed CCTV. And where were his dogs? It was virtually unheard of for him to keep his Rottweilers inside.

"The police were watching his every move in the months before he died. They really should have known more about his activities, his associates and his potential enemies, yet officers are completely lost at sea."

Mrs Palmer had tried to divorce her husband three times throughout their marriage over affairs and drug use.

The couple were separated at the time of his death as he was living with his lover Christine Ketley and his son James near Brentwood.

Informer rumours

Essex Police has hit back at claims it had the conman under surveillance at the time of his death and said a £100,000 reward was being offered to solve the case.

A spokeswoman said: "We remain committed to solving this murder, relentlessly pursuing those behind it and bringing John's killer to justice. We continue to explore a number of lines of inquiry."

The former scrap metal dealer rose to fame due to his role in the 1983 Brink's-Mat bullion raid, which saw £25m of gold stolen from a warehouse at Heathrow Airport.

He gained his Goldfinger nickname after melting down the precious metal but he was cleared by a jury who believed his defence that he had not known it was stolen.

He built an estimated £300m empire after being cleared of his part in the "crime of the century" but was jailed in 2001 for masterminding a timeshare scheme in Tenerife.

At the time of his death Palmer was being investigated over fraud claims and there were rumours he may have become a police informer.

'The timeshare king'

John 'Goldfinger' Palmer was shot six times in his garden

• Brought up in Olton, near Birmingham, Palmer was a serial truant who left school unable to read or write

• He made his fortune by going into the gold and jewellery business with a friend

• He was arrested for his alleged role in helping smelt gold stolen from a warehouse at Heathrow in 1983 but was cleared of any wrongdoing

• Palmer's most lucrative enterprise was a timeshare scam based in Tenerife, in which he conned at least 16,000 victims until he was jailed in 2001

• When he was killed, he was on bail after being arrested in Spain over fraud and money laundering offences

• Palmer kept a sign on his office desk which read: "Remember the golden rule - he who has the gold makes the rules"