British oil executive murdered in Brussels may have been victim of professional hit by assassin
Family said to believe killing on Brussels street had hallmarks of assassination
Friday 26 October 2012
Related articles
Police investigating the murder of a British oil executive who was shot dead in front of his wife in a Brussels suburb warned last night that the case could take years to solve.
A police spokeswoman said officers were approaching the “difficult investigation” from several angles, after Nicholas Mockford’s relatives reportedly raised fears that he had been targeted for assassination.
One family member, who asked not to be named, told one newspaper that they thought he was killed in a professional hit.
The relation said: "We are all confused about what has happened. Nick was a genuinely lovely, clean-cut, mild-mannered family man."
He added: "He was shot so calmly and so quickly, it smacks horribly of a professional hit, but we can't fathom why. He isn't the type to cave in to blackmail and it just doesn't compute."
The oil giant ExxonMobil said today it did not believe the murder – which occurred on 14 October but was not revealed until today – was linked to Mr Mockford’s work.
Mr Mockford, 60, was shot as he left an Italian restaurant at about 10pm following a dinner with his wife. The killer fired three times – once as the victim lay on the ground – while his wife Mary was beaten by a second man and left covered in blood, cradling her husband and shouting for help. He died on the way to hospital.
Belgian police declined to speculate yesterday on the motive for the killing but have reportedly told his family they believe it was a mugging gone wrong.
The family declined to comment when contacted by The Independent but are said to be sceptical of that theory, believing the murder had all the hallmarks of an assassination.
ExxonMobil said in a statement: “We were shocked by the tragic death of Nick Mockford, one of our employees, a fortnight ago in Brussels. Mr Mockford was a department manager at our office close to Brussels but we have no indication that the incident was work-related.”
Witnesses said they saw Mr Mockford and his wife walk across the street to their Lexus car before shots were fired and two men were seen running away, one of them carrying a motorcycle helmet.
Mr Mockford is understood to have worked for the oil company since the 1970s. He was the head of marketing for interim technologies at ExxonMobil Chemicals Europe, promoting new types of greener fuel.
A spokesman said Mr Mockford headed a team of about 35 people at the company’s Brussels office.
Brought up in Leicestershire, he had moved abroad some years ago and had lived in Belgium and Singapore.
Geneviève Seressia, a spokeswoman for the Brussels prosecutor’s office, said: “The investigation is fully running, but it is a difficult investigation. We are investigating all different angles, and it depends on how quickly we can find elements of information. It’s impossible to predict how long this can take – it might be handled quickly, but could take a long time, even years.”
-
That's some guestlist! Stunning images show huge dynastic wedding between Ultra-Orthodox Jewish families which attracted 25,000 guests
-
Emergency landing at Heathrow sparks further controversy over London airport capacity
-
Two bailed after arrest over Woolwich attack Twitter comments
-
Exclusive: Woolwich killings suspect Michael Adebolajo was inspired by cleric banned from UK after urging followers to behead enemies of Islam
-
Men arrested after RAF jet is scrambled to escort Pakistan Airlines passenger plane to Stansted
- 1 Liam Gallagher slams Daft Punk: 'I could have written Get Lucky in an hour'
- 2 What, let gays get married? We must be bonkers
- 3 'Something passed underneath us, quite close': Airbus A320 has close encounter with UFO
- 4 Lord of the Sings: Sir Christopher Lee, 91, to release heavy metal album
- 5 Two bailed after arrest over Woolwich attack Twitter comments
Get your summer started with British Military Fitness
BMF is the UK’s biggest and best loved outdoor fitness classes
Visit York
Find out what The Independent's resident travel expert has to say about one of the most beautiful small cities in the world
Making reading fun for kids
Nook is donating eReaders to volunteers at high-need schools and participating in exclusive events throughout the campaign.
Introducing the 'Get Reading' campaign
Get the latest on The Evening Standard's campaign to get London's children reading.
Enter the latest Independent competitions
Win anything from gadgets to five-star holidays on our competitions and offers page.
Business videos from commercial thought leaders
Watch the best in the business world give their insights into the world of business.
Independent Dating
Day In a Page
The man who's eaten everywhere
A Berliner in 1963 – but did John F Kennedy once admire Adolf Hitler?
Banned Iranian director to attend Cannes Film Festival
The 10 Best salt and pepper sets
Ferran Soriano: Predicting success if Manchester City 'vision' is followed
Edward VIII’s phone calls - and how MI5 bugged them





