‘Cold-blooded’ murderer jailed after shooting 25-year-old

A man who shot a 25-year-old in a “brutal and callous” attack at a block of flats has been jailed for a minimum of 34 years.

Ramane Wiggan was shot dead at the block in West Norwood after he travelled to the area to collect a drugs debt of £10,000. 

Kaine Gilead, 26, of Grove Road, Surbiton, was convicted of murder at the Old Bailey on July 19. He was sentenced yesterday.

Judge Topolski, sentencing Gilead, said he had committed a “brutal and callous” murder that would “haunt Mr Wiggan’s mother, family, friends, for many years”.

Police were called at around 4.15pm on March 27, 2019 after a neighbour heard a gunshot at a residential property in Friar Mews.

Officers attended, along with London Ambulance Service crews, and found Mr Wiggan seriously injured on a balcony walkway. He died at the scene.

It was later established that he had been shot from behind by a Glock pistol, with one of the bullets passing through his chest. 

A murder investigation was launched and officers carried out urgent enquiries to track down the person responsible. 

Officers identified Gilead as the main suspect after looking at mobile phone data and other intelligence.

Gilead took a minicab to Liverpool on the day after the murder, before returning to London on April 24, 2019. He was arrested on May 2, 2019 after officers saw him visiting his mother’s home in the West Norwood area. 

He was bailed while officers carried out further enquiries, including a review of data collected from Gilead’s mobile phones. One of the mobiles was used in the area of the murder just before Mr Wiggan was shot. 

It also showed several calls between Gilead and Mr Wiggan in the hour prior to the shooting. 

Gilead was arrested again on September 2, 2020 and charged the following day. He made no comment during interviews with officers.

Detective Chief Inspector Kate Kieran, who worked on the investigation, said: “The evidence we collected against Gilead was overwhelming and showed him to have played a key part in the deliberate, planned and cold-blooded murder of Mr Wiggan.

“This case is also a tragic reminder of the misery drugs cause within communities, and demonstrates how they can often act as a catalyst to more serious crimes.”

Pictured top: Ramane Wiggan (Picture: The Met)