Unsolved Murders (1057A/23)
Request
I would like to request the following information concerning unsolved murders in the West Midlands in 2023 (to date), 2022 and 2021 please.
– The names of victims
– Date of death
– Age
– Location of death
– Brief summary of how they died i.e. shooting, stabbing if known
Response
For the years 2021, 2022, and 2023 (to current date 25 July 2023), I am not required by statute to release all of the information requested. This letter serves as a Refusal Notice under Section 17 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the Act) for details of the victims that are not already in the public domain.
In this case, this letter represents a Refusal Notice for the withheld information. The information is exempt by virtue of the following exemptions:
Section 30(1)(a)(b) – Investigations and proceedings
Section 38(1)(a)(b) – Health and safety
Section 40(2) – Personal information
These exemptions and explanatory notes are shown here:
In line with Sections 30 and 38 above, I am required to complete a Prejudice Test/Public Interest Test (PIT) on disclosure. Please find this PIT attached (1057A_23 PIT).
Should information relevant to this request exist it would pertain to the personal data of any individual involved in matters leading up to and surrounding the deceased’s death and/or any other individuals connected/related to the deceased. Therefore, it is exempt from disclosure and the exemption that applies to this type of information is Section 40 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
Section 40(2) is an absolute and class-based exemption if to release the information exists would breach the third party’s data protection rights. In this case, to release this personal information would not constitute fair processing of the data. As this exemption is class based I am not required to identify the harm in disclosure and in this instance, I believe that the right to privacy outweighs any public interest in release.
Please see below for the details of those victims whose details are in the public domain:
| Date of Murder | Victim / Age | Town/City | Cause of death |
| 02/04/2021 | Kevin Lomas Aged 56 | Birmingham | Stabbing |
| 19/09/2021 | Martin Howells Aged 31 | Wolverhampton | Stabbing |
| 09/02/2022 | Zhang Jin Ming Aged 41 | Digbeth, Birmingham | Stabbing |
| 07/07/2022 | Kasim Mohammed Aged 30 | Small Heath,
Birmingham |
Shot |
| 23/03/2023 | Matthew Adams Aged 33 | West Bromwich | Assault |