A MAN who ‘executed’ a father with a shotgun almost thirty years ago is appealing his murder conviction.

Andrew Everson, formerly of The Esplanade, Weymouth, was found guilty of killing David Watkins in Pingewood, Burghfield in January 1993 despite being originally cleared of his murder one year later.

The 56-year-old was handed a minimum 27-year sentence following the 2019 verdict.

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But Everson is set to appear at the Court of Appeal on Tuesday, June 29 after applying for his murder conviction to be overturned.

What happened?

On January 14, 1993, David Watkins left his house with £6,000 in cash to buy drugs from someone named ‘Drew’, who police believed to be Andrew Everson.

During a police interview in 2015, Everson admitted he had been a drug dealer and had met David Watkins on the night of his death to complete a drug deal.

The 56-year-old lured Watkins to a ‘remote location’ on Seales Farm Lane, Pingewood.

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Here, David was forced to kneel down and was shot in the back of the head with a shotgun by Everson.

Police believed Everson murdered Watkins because he ‘needed to find cash’.

After the murder, Everson was found in possession of £3,500 in cash, some of which had Watkins’ fingerprints on it.

Despite this, Everson was cleared of his murder following a trial in February 1994.

Why was Everson eventually found guilty?

Police charged Everson with Watkins’ murder in 1993, but he was not found guilty by a jury one year later.

A year after the murder, Everson was convicted for two home burglaries and a firearms offence in 1999.

Thames Valley Police re-opened the case in 2012 in order to re-examine forensic evidence.

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During this review, officers discovered fibres that were on Watkins’ clothes which matched the fibres recovered from Everson’s vehicle.

Firearm residue was also discovered in Everson’s vehicle.

The Weymouth man was re-arrested in October 2015 and later charged with Watkins’ murder.

He denied the accusation, but the Court of Appeal quashed his acquittal and ordered a re-trial for March 2019.

At his sentencing, Everson shouted: “I didn't kill David, all I did was sell him some f*****g puff!"

Who was David Watkins?

Following Everson’s conviction, Watkins’ wife Susan Wardle said her husband was a ‘caring man’.

The dad of two, whose sons were aged one and three at the time of his murder, was ‘always joking’.

Reading Chronicle: David WatkinsDavid Watkins

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Ms Wardle added: “David's legacy lives on through them [his children] and they have grown up to be amazing men.

"My whole life has changed, David loved his children and he should have been there.

"Murder changes people’s lives and devastates families."