Sister of tortured and murdered supermarket worker makes tearful plea for information 10 years after killing

The sister of a supermarket worker tortured and murdered at his home near Peterborough ten years ago has made a tearful plea for information to bring closure for his family.
Alan WoodAlan Wood
Alan Wood

Alan Wood was last seen alive on October 21 2009. His body was found three days later at his home in Lound, near Bourne.

He had been tied up, tortured, and savagely murdered.

His killers have never been found.

Alan's mum, Maureen, and sister SylviaAlan's mum, Maureen, and sister Sylvia
Alan's mum, Maureen, and sister Sylvia

Ten years after Alan’s body was found, his sister, Sylvia Allett, made an emotional plea for anyone with information to come forward.

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She said: “Alan was brutally murdered 10 years ago, which was an absolutely shocking, awful thing to happen to anybody, but it devastated our family, and we haven’t got over it even now.

“Ten years on we miss him like crazy.

“He was a very gentle, kind lad, he liked his quiet life, watched his old films, listened to music, reading a book.

“When we found out what happened to Alan, originally we didn’t know how he had been murdered. It was originally very upsetting just to find that he’d been murdered in his home. But when we found out what had actually happened to him, the brutal way that he was tied up, tortured for hours, and left to die on his own living room floor with his throat cut. Hopefully you will never have to find out how that feels. To know your brother was terrified for hours, and knowing he was going to be killed.”

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Sylvia, who was in tears as she made the emotional plea, said one of the worst things for her the rest of Alan’s family was not knowing why the Sainsbury’s worker was targeted.

She said: “They must have singled him out for some reason, because you wouldn’t turn up where he lived randomly, and knock on someone’s door and do what they did. They must have followed him back to his house at some point for a reason, whether they thought he was somebody he wasn’t, or they thought he had more money than he did. So that is the biggest ‘why.’ Not even ‘who’ because there is a lot of horrible people in the world. Burt why pick on him, that is the biggest question we would like to have answered.”

A £50,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of Alan’s killers.

Despite police gathering evidence, including a DNA profile of someone involved in the murder, the killers are still on the run.

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Sylvia said: “Our memories of Alan have been tarnished, because any memories you have, any photos you look at, or times you remember as children are tarnished because you know what is going to happen to him.I see him smiling in photos, and I know those smiles are not going to last for long. And he had plans in his life, things he wanted to do, and I know that they were never going to come true.My mum is in her 80s now, and she deserves to know before she dies, why her son was killed like this, and that they are punished.We are really asking people, if they have any information at all, that can help find this person or people that did this to him, that they come forward and tell the police, because me and my family need closure.”

Lincolnshire police re-launched the appeal into Alan’s death last week, and Senior Investigating Officer Martin Holvey thanked everyone who had helped detectives working on the case.

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He said: “I am exceptionally grateful for the extensive coverage from the local media over the past week. These efforts have undoubtedly contributed to new information being reported which we are now looking into.

“I would also like to thank those who have visited us in Stamford and Bourne this week or who have got in touch with us.

“Even the smallest piece of information could be important to us – you will not be wasting anyone’s time and it could even finally bring justice for Sylvia and her family.”

Anyone with information is asked to call Lincolnshire Police on 101, quoting the reference 111 of 9 October 2019, give information online at www.lincs.police.uk/news-campaigns/alan-wood-murder/, email [email protected] - please remember to put the reference 111 of 9 October 2019 in the subject box or contact Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111 or online at crimestoppers-uk.org