Who was Ricky Haywood? The entrepreneur gunned down in Southampton

The designer clothes-wearing business owner boasted an estate worth more than £800,000 and had a waterbed and a gold-tapped jacuzzi at his home above Ambiance Jewellers. 

But after his 1989 murder, his heartbroken mother vowed to burn those suits as she could not bear the thought of anyone else wearing them. 

Almost 35 years on from the brutal killing police now think DNA evidence could hold the key to solving this long-running saga.

But for his mother, Phyllis Haywood, any new lead will come too late as she has since died without knowing who killed her son and why. 

Ricky Haywood murder - Phyllis Haywood [Rickys mother], twenty years afterRicky Haywood's death, (Image: Echo)

The widow committed to selling her house in 1999 to fund a £50,000 reward for the identity of her son's killer. 

On October 19, 1999, the Echo revealed her commitment to sell her West End home as police ploughed through possible new leads generated by a Daily Echo appeal. 

Days earlier, in an article on October 19, 1999, the then-70-year-old said: "Not a day goes by when I don’t think about my Ricky and what happened to him.

"I will never be the same again. I will never get over it. It just keeps going round and round in my head. 

"Every day I pray to the Lord above that this nightmare will be over and I will know who killed him. It would be my dearest wish.

"The money is not important to me. I know it won’t bring Ricky back but I can’t find any peace. I can’t move on until I know who killed him and why.”

Ricky Haywood murder - Ambiance jewellers in Shirley. (Image: Echo)

Ricky was shot five times at point-blank range and was found in the bath, prompting suspicions by police that this could have been a contract killing. 

Officers revealed that the jeweller had been in discussions to buy a farm in the Cadnam area and had put down a £25,00 deposit but needed a further £55,000 to close the deal. 

On October 16, 1989, at around 12.30pm he met with two financial consultants to discuss a loan but became frustrated after being told it could take days for the money to come through. 

Later that same day a passer-by witnessed Ricky having what looked like a heated discussion before he closed the shop, being helped by an unidentified man to bring the sign in. 

At 6.30pm he went upstairs to his flat and around half an hour later, a neighbour heard what sounded like gunshots.

Two people were later seen running out of the alleyway at the side of the shop, leaving in an orangey red saloon car. 

The shop was also entered that night, with investigators believing Ricky's own keys were used to get in. 

Ricky Haywood murder - Investigators asking questions in Shirley. (Image: Echo)

A safe was opened but his security cameras weren't working and no one was ever identified. 

A man was also seen at the back of the flat potentially carrying a heavy object in a white bag that evening but was also never found. 

Ricky left behind a fortune of £839,608, despite scrambling around in his final days to fund the £55,000 deal on the land.

He had previously been jailed in December 1984 for three and a half years for handling stolen treasures.

On April 27, 1990, the investigation took a twist when Royal Navy divers took to the lake at Southampton Common to search for the murder weapon - though this was never found. 

Ricky Haywood murder - Divers searching Cemetery Lake on Southampton Common. (Image: Archive)

Multiple arrests were made but no-one was charged. One man was arrested at an address in Dorset on October 4, 1990. 

Three people were then arrested on October 24, 1990 with officers swooping on two addresses - one in North Baddesley and one in Winchester. 

A further three people were held by police in September 1993 when officers attended addresses in Shirley, Portswood and Ower.

This left Ricky's frail mother "sitting by the phone" and "shaking all over" as she waited for news that never came, the Echo reported. 

In October 2004, Phyllis made another plea, announcing an offer of £100,000 for information, saying "I need some form of closure", but still the case could not be cracked. 

Her granddaughter, Serina Kooner from Netley, then aged 21 said: "By all accounts, he was a lovely bubbly person with a good sense of humour.

"It is just a shame that my sister Natasha and I, and our children will never know him."

The shop has since changed hands and is now Hops and Grapes - an off-licence. 

But in February 1993 it remained a jewellers and was not leased out until May of that year when Phyllis tried to put the heart-break behind her by signing a six-month lease. 

On August 18, 1992, she revealed to the Echo that she had felt Ricky's presence in the buildings, saying she had a "chill run down [her] spine."

She added: "It felt just as though he was here."