'Big softie' father-of-four shot dead in alley in 'case of mistaken identity'

<p>Police believe 43-year-old Dean Edwards was assassinated in a case of "mistaken identity" after he sustained a single fatal injury to the back of his head.</p><p>The father-of-four was targeted after leaving Betts Park in Penge, south east London, in the early hours of Sunday 12 July.</p><p>Detectives have looked at CCTV and knocked doors in the area in an attempt to piece together what happened, but one month on the case remains unsolved.</p><p>Mr Edwards' daughter Hollie Edwards, 21, said: "Our dad was a friendly, bubbly and loving person.</p><p>"He was never confrontational and hated arguments, he was a big softie at heart, loved all the grandchildren and spoiled them.</p> <p>"He was a good, innocent person.</p><p>"He was really generous, used to get all the beers in. You knew you were having a cheap night if you went out with dad. But he's been taken from us, wrongly.</p><p>"Mistaken identity is the only thing that makes sense - and that just doesn't make sense."</p><p>Ms Edwards appealed for anyone with information about why the grandfather was gunned down to come forward.</p> <p>"Someone out there knows what happened to our dad," she said.</p><p>"Someone knows who did this.</p><p>"Please tell the police any little thing you've heard, it might be a big deal.</p><p>"We've tried to sugarcoat what's happened with the grandchildren, but the oldest one is eight and he wants and deserves answers as much as we do."</p> <p>Police believe Mr Edwards, who had worked for a local events hire firm for the last two decades, walked through Betts Park shortly after midnight on the night he died.</p><p>He crossed the park and was walking down the alleyway leading onto Croydon Road near his home when he was shot with a 9mm pistol. His lifeless body was discovered at around 2am.</p> <p>Police said Mr Edwards, who adopted three step-children in his early 20s, was not involved in any criminal activity and had never been in trouble with them.</p><p>Detective Chief Inspector Kate Kieran said: "We believe this is a case of mistaken identity.</p><p>"There is nothing in Dean's life, background, family and friends, or in the pubs he visited earlier that evening that indicate he's had a row or argument - nothing.</p> <p>"It means we can concentrate on criminality in the area and those with access to firearms.</p><p>"Someone has to have been in the park, and he's been shot some point in this alleyway. Someone was in the park, with a gun. Why? We are keeping an open mind, but it was not linked to Dean."</p><p>No arrests have been made.</p><p>DC Kieran added: "For there to have been a single person who has got hold of a firearm, shot someone dead in a park - not necessarily the person they were intending - and then not talk about it, that would be highly unusual.</p> <p>"We really do think there are people out there who know what's happened - that's who we want to hear from.</p><p>"Nobody has a bad word to say about Dean. This case - with Dean being an innocent victim - has a particular impetus."</p><p>Mr Edwards' death was one among a spate of violent murders in the capital during a short period last month.</p><p><strong>Anyone with information is asked to contact police on 020 8721 4868, or via 101 quoting CAD 1402/12JUL.</strong></p>