Two detectives were praised for their hard work which brought about three convictions for the murder of Keighley car dealer Mark Hickman.

Detective Constables Frazer Dunn and Audrey Simpson were among 14 detectives on Friday who were presented with Crown Court Commendations by Halifax police divisional commander Chief Superintendent Jawaid Akhtar following the successful convictions last March.

The murdered body of Mark Hickman, who lived at Whin Knoll Avenue, Keighley, and who would have been 35, was found on February 13, 1998, in Shelf.

His jaw, skull and cheek bones had multiple fractures after he was brutally beaten with a baseball bat or crowbar and his throat had been cut.

Described by his sister as a "Jack the Lad" character, Mr Hickman had been involved in professional rivalry with businessman Richard Mears, who had hired father and son David Deakin and David Harold Edmund Deakin to put a stop to his problems.

After a five week trial, both Deakins were sentenced to life imprisonment for Mr Hickman's murder and Mark Deakin, son of David Deakin senior, was sentenced to five years in prison for assisting an offender.

Heading the investigation was Detective Chief Inspector Howard Crowther, who is now head of the force drug squad.

"The officers deserve the commendation for their exceptional work carried out on the inquiry, particularly in the ground-breaking area of obtaining complex evidence in the telecommunications field," says Det Chief Insp Crowther.

The murderers were caught after officers were able to pinpoint their movements on the day of the murder through records of mobile telephone calls.

A witness listening to a radio scanner also came forward after overhearing details of the murder being discussed by the Deakins.

The other officers who received recognition for their hard work were Det Chief Insp Crowther, ex-Det Insp Des O'Boyle (retired), acting Insp Greenwood, Det Sgt Bob Davies, Det Cons Malcolm Kisby, Alan Melkowski, Keith Norman, Clive Firth, Andy Baxter, Steve Ball, Mel Burris and Andrew Hall.

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