WEBVTT

1
00:00:10.519 --> 00:00:13.960
<v Speaker 1>Hi, and welcome back to The Unseen Podcast, a podcast

2
00:00:14.000 --> 00:00:18.679
<v Speaker 1>dedicated to missing people, on resolved cases and UK true crime.

3
00:00:20.719 --> 00:00:23.239
<v Speaker 1>Today we're going to be exploring the murder of forty

4
00:00:23.280 --> 00:00:26.480
<v Speaker 1>four year old Peter Rassini in nineteen ninety one in

5
00:00:26.559 --> 00:00:30.839
<v Speaker 1>North London. Peter's murder was vicious and occurred on his

6
00:00:30.960 --> 00:00:36.719
<v Speaker 1>own doorstep, but since then it's remained unsolved. This episode

7
00:00:36.759 --> 00:00:40.320
<v Speaker 1>contains descriptions that some listeners may find distressing, so listener

8
00:00:40.359 --> 00:00:46.439
<v Speaker 1>discretion is advised. Palmers Green is located in the London

9
00:00:46.479 --> 00:00:50.119
<v Speaker 1>borough of Enfield in North London, and today it's known

10
00:00:50.119 --> 00:00:54.320
<v Speaker 1>for the largest population of Greek Cypriot people outside of Cypress.

11
00:00:55.240 --> 00:00:59.600
<v Speaker 1>This has earned it its name of Little Cypress. Palmer's

12
00:00:59.640 --> 00:01:02.640
<v Speaker 1>Green is largely a residential area with a high street

13
00:01:02.759 --> 00:01:05.239
<v Speaker 1>and has been known as a very family friendly place

14
00:01:05.319 --> 00:01:10.159
<v Speaker 1>to live close to the capitol. On the evening of Sunday,

15
00:01:10.239 --> 00:01:14.000
<v Speaker 1>the twenty fourth of March nineteen ninety one, the relative

16
00:01:14.040 --> 00:01:17.719
<v Speaker 1>peace and quiet of the area was broken by screams.

17
00:01:18.959 --> 00:01:24.400
<v Speaker 1>A young woman shouted, they've shot my daddy. Attention was

18
00:01:24.400 --> 00:01:26.879
<v Speaker 1>focused upon the doorstep of a home where a forty

19
00:01:26.879 --> 00:01:30.079
<v Speaker 1>four year old man lay after being shot several times

20
00:01:30.079 --> 00:01:35.040
<v Speaker 1>in the chest. Neighbors were alarmed by the scene and

21
00:01:35.120 --> 00:01:38.239
<v Speaker 1>reported seeing a young woman running across the road screaming.

22
00:01:39.680 --> 00:01:42.040
<v Speaker 1>When police were called, they established that the man that

23
00:01:42.079 --> 00:01:45.280
<v Speaker 1>had been shot was Peter Rossini and the young woman

24
00:01:45.359 --> 00:01:50.640
<v Speaker 1>with him was his eighteen year old daughter, Lola. Peter

25
00:01:50.799 --> 00:01:53.719
<v Speaker 1>lived in Palmer's Green and worked as an antique stealer.

26
00:01:54.519 --> 00:01:57.000
<v Speaker 1>He had a huge interest in many things, and in

27
00:01:57.040 --> 00:02:02.879
<v Speaker 1>particular enjoyed buying and selling jewelry and silver. He had

28
00:02:02.920 --> 00:02:06.400
<v Speaker 1>worked on Church Street in maryler Bone, close to Paddington,

29
00:02:06.560 --> 00:02:11.240
<v Speaker 1>at an antique shop called Alfie's for many years. Church

30
00:02:11.240 --> 00:02:14.520
<v Speaker 1>Street Market is a large outdoor market which attracts many

31
00:02:14.520 --> 00:02:19.199
<v Speaker 1>people to see its stalls. Alfie's antique shop was located

32
00:02:19.240 --> 00:02:22.280
<v Speaker 1>on Church Street and inside it had many stalls which

33
00:02:22.280 --> 00:02:26.560
<v Speaker 1>were ran by particular owners. One of these owners was

34
00:02:26.599 --> 00:02:31.560
<v Speaker 1>Peter Rossini. Peter's daughter later told Crime Watch that Peter

35
00:02:31.759 --> 00:02:34.680
<v Speaker 1>was interested in selling many things and he had lots

36
00:02:34.719 --> 00:02:39.800
<v Speaker 1>of regular customers at his stall. Many people were interested

37
00:02:39.800 --> 00:02:42.719
<v Speaker 1>in finding out what new items Peter had bought recently,

38
00:02:42.879 --> 00:02:45.639
<v Speaker 1>and would specifically ask him for things that they wanted.

39
00:02:47.520 --> 00:02:50.199
<v Speaker 1>Lola said that her father was a very caring person

40
00:02:50.439 --> 00:02:55.639
<v Speaker 1>and enjoyed listening to people and having conversations. No doubt

41
00:02:55.719 --> 00:02:58.000
<v Speaker 1>this was something that stood him in good stead while

42
00:02:58.000 --> 00:03:00.039
<v Speaker 1>on his stall, and it was clear that he he

43
00:03:00.120 --> 00:03:04.639
<v Speaker 1>had a passion for what he did. After his attack,

44
00:03:05.120 --> 00:03:09.000
<v Speaker 1>Peter was rushed to North Middlesex Hospital. However, he soon

45
00:03:09.120 --> 00:03:13.719
<v Speaker 1>died from the gunshot wound injuries. This was now a

46
00:03:13.800 --> 00:03:17.479
<v Speaker 1>murder investigation and police were tasked with trying to establish

47
00:03:17.560 --> 00:03:20.360
<v Speaker 1>why someone would want to kill Peter and what had

48
00:03:20.400 --> 00:03:24.960
<v Speaker 1>happened on that evening. This appeared to be what police

49
00:03:25.000 --> 00:03:28.520
<v Speaker 1>were later described as a well planned execution and one

50
00:03:28.560 --> 00:03:33.240
<v Speaker 1>that seemed to have been targeted directly at Peter. On

51
00:03:33.280 --> 00:03:35.759
<v Speaker 1>the evening of Sunday, the twenty fourth of March, it

52
00:03:35.840 --> 00:03:38.000
<v Speaker 1>was discovered that he had been home with his daughter,

53
00:03:38.080 --> 00:03:42.400
<v Speaker 1>Lola and his niece. A fellow antique dealer and friend

54
00:03:42.400 --> 00:03:45.879
<v Speaker 1>of Peter's who'd known him for around twenty years, told

55
00:03:45.960 --> 00:03:49.039
<v Speaker 1>police that he'd visited him around six thirty to six

56
00:03:49.159 --> 00:03:52.800
<v Speaker 1>forty five pm. He had called round to show him

57
00:03:52.800 --> 00:03:56.840
<v Speaker 1>some antiques that he might want to buy. He stated

58
00:03:56.879 --> 00:03:58.919
<v Speaker 1>that they all had just had a meal together and

59
00:03:58.960 --> 00:04:03.479
<v Speaker 1>that they seemed relaxed. Next this same friend would tell

60
00:04:03.560 --> 00:04:06.919
<v Speaker 1>Crime Watch that while they all did seem relaxed, Peter

61
00:04:07.080 --> 00:04:10.439
<v Speaker 1>could have had something on his mind. He said he

62
00:04:10.479 --> 00:04:13.039
<v Speaker 1>didn't often share if something was bothering him, as he

63
00:04:13.080 --> 00:04:16.519
<v Speaker 1>was a very private person. However, with hindsight, there could

64
00:04:16.519 --> 00:04:20.480
<v Speaker 1>have been something on his mind. The friend mustn't have

65
00:04:20.519 --> 00:04:23.920
<v Speaker 1>stayed for very long, as around seven thirty pm Peter

66
00:04:24.040 --> 00:04:27.800
<v Speaker 1>left the house. He went to go and see a

67
00:04:27.839 --> 00:04:30.839
<v Speaker 1>friend that lived in Kentish Town while his daughter and

68
00:04:30.920 --> 00:04:35.759
<v Speaker 1>niece remained at home watching TV. They explained that Peter

69
00:04:35.879 --> 00:04:38.040
<v Speaker 1>had been gone around an hour and a half and

70
00:04:38.160 --> 00:04:42.160
<v Speaker 1>arrived back in the street at around nine pm. Peter

71
00:04:42.360 --> 00:04:45.040
<v Speaker 1>always packed his car around the corner from his home

72
00:04:45.199 --> 00:04:49.839
<v Speaker 1>and then walked around. He continued this usual routine on

73
00:04:49.920 --> 00:04:55.120
<v Speaker 1>that Sunday evening. Witness statements were then able to fill

74
00:04:55.120 --> 00:04:57.360
<v Speaker 1>in the next part of the journey back to his home.

75
00:04:58.839 --> 00:05:02.040
<v Speaker 1>After Peter had been showed, witnesses saw a man running

76
00:05:02.079 --> 00:05:05.920
<v Speaker 1>away from the scene. He ran down River Road and

77
00:05:05.959 --> 00:05:08.519
<v Speaker 1>they described him as being around six feet tall and

78
00:05:08.560 --> 00:05:11.839
<v Speaker 1>of a heavy build. He was wearing a bomber jacket

79
00:05:12.040 --> 00:05:14.759
<v Speaker 1>and the noise that his shoes made was very noticeable

80
00:05:14.759 --> 00:05:19.399
<v Speaker 1>to witnesses. They had hard heels and made a loud

81
00:05:19.439 --> 00:05:23.439
<v Speaker 1>noise when they hit the floor. He was around forty

82
00:05:23.480 --> 00:05:25.800
<v Speaker 1>to fifty years old and didn't look like he was

83
00:05:25.920 --> 00:05:28.199
<v Speaker 1>used to running very far as he appeared to be

84
00:05:28.279 --> 00:05:32.639
<v Speaker 1>panting as he was running away. He was seen running

85
00:05:32.680 --> 00:05:35.399
<v Speaker 1>into Oak Tree Road and headed towards a blue van.

86
00:05:36.600 --> 00:05:39.279
<v Speaker 1>The van then drove off at speed with no lights on,

87
00:05:39.519 --> 00:05:43.759
<v Speaker 1>and headed towards Green Lanes, the main thoroughfare through Palmers Green.

88
00:05:46.120 --> 00:05:48.560
<v Speaker 1>The fact that the killer had been seen escaping was

89
00:05:48.600 --> 00:05:51.079
<v Speaker 1>of course a huge piece of information for the police,

90
00:05:51.600 --> 00:05:54.160
<v Speaker 1>and the description of not necessarily the man but of

91
00:05:54.199 --> 00:05:57.240
<v Speaker 1>the van matched other witness statements that had been taken

92
00:05:57.360 --> 00:06:12.279
<v Speaker 1>from neighbours. In the two days leading up to the murder,

93
00:06:12.560 --> 00:06:15.560
<v Speaker 1>vans had been spotted in the area of Peter Rassini's home.

94
00:06:16.959 --> 00:06:19.319
<v Speaker 1>These vehicles had been spotted in the same road where

95
00:06:19.360 --> 00:06:22.600
<v Speaker 1>Peter's home was located, and what's more, they were unknown

96
00:06:22.639 --> 00:06:26.519
<v Speaker 1>to the other residents of the street. On Friday, the

97
00:06:26.519 --> 00:06:29.360
<v Speaker 1>twenty second of March, a white van was spotted on

98
00:06:29.399 --> 00:06:33.000
<v Speaker 1>Oak Tree Road, around two hundred yards from Peter's house.

99
00:06:34.240 --> 00:06:36.439
<v Speaker 1>There were two men inside the van on the corner

100
00:06:36.480 --> 00:06:41.040
<v Speaker 1>of Green's Lane. These men had not been identified but

101
00:06:41.120 --> 00:06:46.639
<v Speaker 1>witnesses clearly thought their presence was unusual. The next evening,

102
00:06:46.680 --> 00:06:49.199
<v Speaker 1>on Saturday, the twenty third of March, at around nine

103
00:06:49.360 --> 00:06:52.560
<v Speaker 1>thirty pm, another van with two men in was spotted

104
00:06:52.560 --> 00:06:56.879
<v Speaker 1>in the same location as the previous evening. This time,

105
00:06:56.920 --> 00:07:00.279
<v Speaker 1>the van was blue. On that occasion, one of the

106
00:07:00.360 --> 00:07:04.319
<v Speaker 1>men got out and walked towards Green Lanes. The van

107
00:07:04.360 --> 00:07:07.160
<v Speaker 1>then set off, and it set off without its lights on.

108
00:07:09.160 --> 00:07:12.120
<v Speaker 1>This sighting was of particular importance as the van was

109
00:07:12.160 --> 00:07:15.199
<v Speaker 1>also blue and the detail that they set off without

110
00:07:15.279 --> 00:07:17.399
<v Speaker 1>lights on, which was noted in the van that the

111
00:07:17.480 --> 00:07:21.879
<v Speaker 1>killer ran to on the Sunday night. This gave rise

112
00:07:21.920 --> 00:07:24.120
<v Speaker 1>to the theory that there may well have been two

113
00:07:24.120 --> 00:07:26.959
<v Speaker 1>people that night who had been staking out Peter's home

114
00:07:27.480 --> 00:07:31.680
<v Speaker 1>and waiting for the opportune moment to kill him. This

115
00:07:31.759 --> 00:07:34.680
<v Speaker 1>implied that this was an execution, and a planned one

116
00:07:34.720 --> 00:07:40.639
<v Speaker 1>at that Detective Superintendent Roland Harris stated on Crime Watch

117
00:07:40.800 --> 00:07:43.360
<v Speaker 1>that the two vans were probably the same and were

118
00:07:43.399 --> 00:07:49.439
<v Speaker 1>both Bedford Minis. He also gave some more detail about

119
00:07:49.439 --> 00:07:51.759
<v Speaker 1>the weapon that had been used in the attack, as

120
00:07:51.800 --> 00:07:56.800
<v Speaker 1>well as a few more details about the perpetrator. He

121
00:07:56.920 --> 00:07:59.560
<v Speaker 1>stated that the gun was a forty five caliber, which

122
00:07:59.600 --> 00:08:02.160
<v Speaker 1>was seen as quite an unusual choice, given that it

123
00:08:02.199 --> 00:08:04.759
<v Speaker 1>was quite a heavy weapon and therefore wouldn't be the

124
00:08:04.759 --> 00:08:08.639
<v Speaker 1>most common weapon chosen for this kind of attack. He

125
00:08:08.720 --> 00:08:11.000
<v Speaker 1>confirmed that the killer was white and that he may

126
00:08:11.040 --> 00:08:16.519
<v Speaker 1>have been wearing a balaclava. On the episode, he explained

127
00:08:16.519 --> 00:08:18.560
<v Speaker 1>that he believed that the men in the van were

128
00:08:18.600 --> 00:08:21.240
<v Speaker 1>something to do with the murder, but proving who these

129
00:08:21.279 --> 00:08:25.720
<v Speaker 1>people were was difficult. He said they also couldn't find

130
00:08:25.720 --> 00:08:28.399
<v Speaker 1>a motive for the crime and had looked into Peter's

131
00:08:28.439 --> 00:08:31.319
<v Speaker 1>private and business life in the hope that this would

132
00:08:31.319 --> 00:08:35.759
<v Speaker 1>help them to narrow it down. They had investigated several

133
00:08:35.799 --> 00:08:38.840
<v Speaker 1>lines of inquiry but couldn't find any solid evidence to

134
00:08:38.879 --> 00:08:43.720
<v Speaker 1>link them to the murder. Detective Harris did give some

135
00:08:43.759 --> 00:08:47.480
<v Speaker 1>more details about Peter's life, stating on Crime Watch that

136
00:08:47.519 --> 00:08:50.039
<v Speaker 1>he had a cocaine addiction and that this linked to

137
00:08:50.120 --> 00:08:54.440
<v Speaker 1>drugs was also looked into. He explained that they had

138
00:08:54.480 --> 00:08:57.240
<v Speaker 1>also looked into the fact that on some occasions Peter

139
00:08:57.360 --> 00:09:00.480
<v Speaker 1>had bought stolen goods as part of his buying and

140
00:09:00.559 --> 00:09:05.120
<v Speaker 1>selling of antiques. Both of these lines of inquiry were

141
00:09:05.120 --> 00:09:07.879
<v Speaker 1>not further elaborated on on the show, and I haven't

142
00:09:07.879 --> 00:09:11.399
<v Speaker 1>been able to find any more information about these claims.

143
00:09:12.519 --> 00:09:14.919
<v Speaker 1>If these were accurate, then they may have put Peter

144
00:09:15.039 --> 00:09:17.320
<v Speaker 1>in contact with people who were on the wrong side

145
00:09:17.320 --> 00:09:19.639
<v Speaker 1>of the law, or who may have had a reason

146
00:09:19.720 --> 00:09:24.679
<v Speaker 1>to silence anyone who knew about their dealings. He was

147
00:09:24.720 --> 00:09:26.960
<v Speaker 1>also known that Peter was going through a divorce at

148
00:09:26.960 --> 00:09:29.679
<v Speaker 1>the time that he was killed, However, this was not

149
00:09:29.720 --> 00:09:34.039
<v Speaker 1>stated as a line of inquiry on the Crime Watch episode.

150
00:09:34.720 --> 00:09:37.600
<v Speaker 1>At the time, Peter's father gave a five thousand pound

151
00:09:37.679 --> 00:09:41.240
<v Speaker 1>reward for anyone who had information about the murder, in

152
00:09:41.320 --> 00:09:47.360
<v Speaker 1>the hope that someone would come forward. Unfortunately, since nineteen

153
00:09:47.440 --> 00:09:50.360
<v Speaker 1>ninety one, there has been very little progress discussed about

154
00:09:50.399 --> 00:09:55.600
<v Speaker 1>this case, and very little even reported about it. Peter

155
00:09:55.720 --> 00:09:59.639
<v Speaker 1>Rascini's murder seems to have been forgotten to history, despite

156
00:09:59.639 --> 00:10:02.440
<v Speaker 1>taking place in a residential area at nine o'clock at

157
00:10:02.519 --> 00:10:06.960
<v Speaker 1>night with a gun. This was an execution style murder

158
00:10:07.000 --> 00:10:10.320
<v Speaker 1>which appeared to be targeted and planned. But who had

159
00:10:10.360 --> 00:10:15.279
<v Speaker 1>motive to do this and what was the motive? It's

160
00:10:15.320 --> 00:10:17.799
<v Speaker 1>believed two men had been waiting in the vans near

161
00:10:17.840 --> 00:10:20.799
<v Speaker 1>Peter's home, so that could suggest that at least two

162
00:10:20.879 --> 00:10:25.159
<v Speaker 1>people know about this murder and who committed it. It

163
00:10:25.159 --> 00:10:27.960
<v Speaker 1>would only take one person's piece of information for this

164
00:10:28.039 --> 00:10:31.799
<v Speaker 1>to be solved. As his family and in particular his daughter,

165
00:10:32.919 --> 00:10:35.440
<v Speaker 1>has had to grow up without her father and without

166
00:10:35.480 --> 00:10:39.799
<v Speaker 1>answers as to what happened to him, Peter's case deserves

167
00:10:39.840 --> 00:10:42.799
<v Speaker 1>more attention, so if you know anything about his murder

168
00:10:42.799 --> 00:10:46.279
<v Speaker 1>in Palmer's Green in nineteen ninety one, then please contact

169
00:10:46.279 --> 00:10:51.000
<v Speaker 1>police on one oh one. Thank you for listening to

170
00:10:51.000 --> 00:10:54.039
<v Speaker 1>today's episode. If you'd like to support the podcast further,

171
00:10:54.159 --> 00:10:57.240
<v Speaker 1>then you can on Patreon and contribute to exclusive polls

172
00:10:57.279 --> 00:11:00.759
<v Speaker 1>to get extra bonus episodes every month. You can also

173
00:11:00.840 --> 00:11:04.120
<v Speaker 1>get access to new episodes early in ad free. You

174
00:11:04.159 --> 00:11:05.799
<v Speaker 1>can use the link in the show notes to visit

175
00:11:05.840 --> 00:11:09.399
<v Speaker 1>Patreon and see what we offer. You can also support

176
00:11:09.480 --> 00:11:12.679
<v Speaker 1>us by reviewing the podcast wherever you listen, including Spotify,

177
00:11:12.840 --> 00:11:16.679
<v Speaker 1>and also just share the episodes. You can also subscribe

178
00:11:16.679 --> 00:11:22.240
<v Speaker 1>on YouTube and listen to our episodes over there. As always,

179
00:11:22.440 --> 00:12:01.200
<v Speaker 1>I'm Caprice and this has been unseen s