The Cop Killer

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Fishing nut snapped after love rows over his hobby
By Rod Chaytor 08/05/2007

THIS is the angling fanatic who shot dead a hero cop after a furious row with his girlfriend.

Obsessed Peter Medlicott, 33, snapped following a series of arguments over the amount of time he spent fishing.

The ex-gamekeeper was holding two unarmed policemen hostage when he blasted PC Ricky Gray in the head with a .22 rifle he kept to kill rats, it was claimed last night.
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A police source said: "Medlicott had the first two officers up against a wall.

"He was holding his gun at their backs. He also told them to turn off their radios but one had managed to get a call out first.

"Ricky ran around the corner right into Medlicott. He just shot him dead then killed himself. The other two are so lucky to be alive."

Medlicott's live-in partner Mildred Day, said to be in her 30s, was fed up with his frequent overnight stays and weekends away on fishing trips. But the row that triggered the shooting is said to have started after he made a drunken pass at another woman.

And his claims that Mildred had been seeing another man while he was away added fuel to the blazing argument.

PC Gray was one of two armed response officers sent to their home in Shrewsbury, Shrops, early on Sunday after self-employed pest controller Medlicott held two other officers at gunpoint. The experienced gun cop was wearing full body armour but he died after being shot at close range.

Medlicott's fishing companion Duncan McVean told last night how his friend left messages on his mobile as the drama unfolded. Mr McVean, 39, was on an all-night fishing trip at Oxford with a pal when the calls began.

He said: "Mildred was there and they were rowing. Then she took over the phone and started going on. Later my phone rang three times. I didn't answer it because I was fishing and I didn't want to talk to some drunken woman.

"I picked up three messages from Pete the following morning. I won't reveal what was in them because it was personal. Police have now taken my phone so they can copy the messages.

"Obviously, I wish now I had taken Pete's calls because I might have been able to talk him round and perhaps prevent what happened.

"I have lost a mate but two children have lost their policeman father and, by what I hear, we have all lost a very good cop." Mr McVean revealed that Medlicott should have been with him on the same fishing trip but pulled out claiming "money troubles".

PC Gray, in his 40s, was yesterday hailed for his "bravery, determination and professionalism".

In only four years with West Mercia Police, he became one of its most decorated officers - honoured five times for saving the lives of three people and disarming two men brandishing firearms.

Chief Constable Paul West said: "He was an excellent officer, extremely well liked and held in the highest esteem. All his colleagues are devastated by his tragic death. He will be sadly missed."

Dundee-born PC Gray married Jenny, his second wife and partner of 16 years, in Venice last August. He had two grown up sons from his first marriage