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Damien Nettles


CrackerC117

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Hello! I'm new here. So I searched to see if a thread had already been made on this case, it seems not. 

On the 2nd/3rd November 1996, 16 year old Damien Nettles vanished. He was last seen on CCTV, walking along Cowes High Street, on the Isle Of Wight. Damien had been out with a friend, but had parted company earlier in the evening. He was seen on CCTV in a takeaway shop at 11:30, some suggest that he may appear under the influence of narcotics, due to his strange nature. He struggled to construct a complete sentence and did seem confused. Less than 40 minutes later, he was sighted for the last time.

I have just watched a documentary on his disappearance, which is available here:- 

 

Here are my points from the documentary. Firstly, the friend  Chris Boon seemed uncomfortable throughout the documentary. He witheld information about his and Damien's usage of drugs initially. You may think that's understandable, he may not want his and Damien's names tarnishing. However, he says that Damien headed for home around an hour before Damien was sighted in the takeaway shop. Is it really believable that Damien decided to turn around and head back in to town on his own on a cold, rainy night?

Damien's family have questioned the editing of the CCTV footage by police. Apparently, some of the footage has been spliced. Why would this be? Why would potentially valuable information be removed?

I also think that some other posibilities need to be explored. For example, the posibility that Damien left the island either by boat or the ferry the next day. A way to rule this out would have been to check CCTV from mainland ports and travel centres from the 3rd November 1996. I believe that this posibility would be unlikely, but would still be worth exploring.

Witnesses in the documentary say they saw a notorious man, often linked with drugs to be having a heated argument with Damien AFTER he left the takeaway. Some suggest that Damien may have been killed as a result of the argument escalating. The investigators in the documentary searched a nearby woodland, where it is rumoured that Damien is buried. They did not find any remains.

The police initially suggested that Damien had come to harm in the sea. Local harbour staff advised Damien's family that this would be unlikely, as Damien's body would most probably have been washed to shore. 

Later in the documentary, the reporters tracked down and questioned a man, who was rumoured to keep relaying the phrase "no body, no crime". The man appeared startled by being approached by the reporter but what sticks out in my mind is that when asked if he would like to make a comment to Damien's mother he said that he's sorry...then he did what could be interpreted as a hesitation and later added "for her loss". Could this be a slip up? 

 

I have done some research in to how narcotics affect a person. Some of the characteristics do seem match Damien's behaviour that evening, for example struggles with communication. However, other people online have suggested that narcotics suppress the appetite, yet according to an online source, Damien ate 2 bags of chips that evening.

Some online posters have speculated on whether the timing for the effects of a drug to take effect would tie in with the timeline of Damien's activity that  night. There is actually a large gap in time betweem whem Damien's friend claims he parted company with him and the footage in the takeaway shop. Online research tells me that narcotics can take just 20 minutes for the effects to be noticable.

The suggested posibility of drugs being involved, despite Damien's family being confident that they weren't, is key to a theory that Damien was killed by a drug dealer for owing money for drugs. One source in the documentary, suggested that Damien was killed by accident over the cost of a small amount of cannabis, during a heated conflict. Would a drug dealer become so heated over a small amount of cannabis that they could accidentally kill someone? Canabis is known to cause paranoia and erratic behaviour, which would make sense if it were the case that the drug dealer used cannabis as well. Cannabis is also known to cause a heightened appetite - which would make sense as to why Damien allegedly had two servings of chips that evening.

 

So, what does everyone think? Despite hours of searching and numerous public appeals, the case has not yet reached a conclusion. It will be 21 years this November since Damien's family last saw him.

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First, welcome to the forum.Cracker. :)

Regarding cannabis, yes it does increase appetite. Did he eat two servings of 'chips' (aka French Fries) or 'crisps' (aka Potato Chips)? There is a significant difference in volume. And yes cannabis is known to cause paranoia, but only in a small number of people. For most initial users it produces heightened hilarity and a sense of euphoria. You also stated that he apparently struggled to form a complete sentence. As far as my experience goes, that is not a symptom of cannabis use. More than likely that comes from using a stronger hallucinogen like mushrooms or acid.

That's what leads me to believe that's why his friend was initially reluctant to mention what drug they may have been taking. And no, I've never heard of anyone getting roughed up over a small amount of pot.

Just my learned opinion. :tu:

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8 hours ago, Likely Guy said:

First, welcome to the forum.Cracker. :)

Regarding cannabis, yes it does increase appetite. Did he eat two servings of 'chips' (aka French Fries) or 'crisps' (aka Potato Chips)? There is a significant difference in volume. And yes cannabis is known to cause paranoia, but only in a small number of people. For most initial users it produces heightened hilarity and a sense of euphoria. You also stated that he apparently struggled to form a complete sentence. As far as my experience goes, that is not a symptom of cannabis use. More than likely that comes from using a stronger hallucinogen like mushrooms or acid.

That's what leads me to believe that's why his friend was initially reluctant to mention what drug they may have been taking. And no, I've never heard of anyone getting roughed up over a small amount of pot.

Just my learned opinion. :tu:

Thank you for the welcome Likely Guy. :)

He ate 2 servings of chips as in French fries, only these were fish shop chips, which are much bigger in volume and portion than French fries. I must admit, I tend to sway towards the same opinion as you with this case.

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8 hours ago, Likely Guy said:

First, welcome to the forum.Cracker. :)

Regarding cannabis, yes it does increase appetite. Did he eat two servings of 'chips' (aka French Fries) or 'crisps' (aka Potato Chips)? There is a significant difference in volume. And yes cannabis is known to cause paranoia, but only in a small number of people. For most initial users it produces heightened hilarity and a sense of euphoria. You also stated that he apparently struggled to form a complete sentence. As far as my experience goes, that is not a symptom of cannabis use. More than likely that comes from using a stronger hallucinogen like mushrooms or acid.

That's what leads me to believe that's why his friend was initially reluctant to mention what drug they may have been taking. And no, I've never heard of anyone getting roughed up over a small amount of pot.

Just my learned opinion. :tu:

Thank you for the welcome Likely Guy. :)

He ate 2 servings of chips as in French fries, only these were fish shop chips, which are much bigger in volume and portion than French fries. I must admit, I tend to sway towards the same opinion as you with this case.

I've attached an image to show you how large fish shop chips are. Copyright, asliceofcherrypie.com

 

247371999_08c2ea1fe4.jpg

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On 9/25/2017 at 3:59 PM, CrackerC117 said:

 He was seen on CCTV in a takeaway shop at 11:30, some suggest that he may appear under the influence of narcotics, due to his strange nature. He struggled to construct a complete sentence and did seem confused. Less than 40 minutes later, he was sighted for the last time.

Where does the info. come from that he was last seen 40 minutes later? The following article reports he was last seen at 11:45.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/8506516/Damien-Nettles-disappearance-five-men-arrested-on-suspicion-of-murder.html

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Just now, regi said:

Where does the info. come from that he was last seen 40 minutes later? The following article reports he was last seen at 11:45.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/8506516/Damien-Nettles-disappearance-five-men-arrested-on-suspicion-of-murder.html

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-36865349

This timeline states that Damien was spotted on CCtV at 00:06 on the 3rd November. This tape was seen by  his mother and then mysteriously, the tape was allegedly lost/taped over.

Edited by CrackerC117
typo
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Just now, regi said:

^I didn't ask when, I asked where.

On the same street as the takeaway shop, High Street, around 20 metres along from there. 

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This is my first post on this forum. This thread and the case interested me so much I wanted to get involved!

I have read as much as I could on this case, and also watched the BBC documentary. Some thoughts and questions have come to mind regarding Damien's disappearence:

1) Damien's disappearence being over 1/8th of weed. Both the Boon brothers are on film saying that Damien used to only do a bit of weed, or 'something like that', implying they did things other than weed. James Nettles, Damien's brother, says they did 'things like pot', again implying they took more than just weed. This is corroborated by Chris Boon later saying they did take Speed. 1/8th weed just isn't enough to cause a deliberate murder or altercation. That's got to be at maximum £60 - £70 for high-grade marijuana according to http://www.marijuana.com/community/threads/how-much-is-an-eighth.261371/ (2010). If it was an attempted roughing up that went wrong that is slightly more plausible, but given that Nicky McNamara ran a large drugs racket, I feel like £60 is a small amount of debt to be that p***ed off with someone given the amount of profit he was probably turning. And as Jonathan 'bunny' Isles says towards the end of the documentary, why would they provide a 16 year old boy with the amount of drugs to even create a huge debt, in the knowledge that he is 16 and unable to pay.

2) Why did Damien go home and then back out to the chip shop, suddenly high after only having had a couple of drinks with Chris Boon? The CCTV footage clearly shows he is under the influence of something. Perhaps there is a possibility he didn't actually go home, but instead went to the drug house where Nicky McNamara/his cronies were in order to get some drugs. A complete guess here, but perhaps he stole something? I don't believe it was Speed. The way he acts in the CCTV footage is very much 'out of it' rather than the 'hyper-focus' that Speed is known for. However it could be conceivable that Damien was high on weed, but had nicked something from Nicky McNamara's house. That would explain the hunger for the two portions of chips, and also gives motive for McNamara to be angry enough to want to 'rough up' Damien. Also I don't know why in the documentary they asked Chris Boon if he knew of any opportunities when Damien could have taken anything? Chris says he left Damien at 2230hrs. The first CCTV footage of Damien is an hour later, around 2330hrs. That's plenty of time to travel to get drugs, take drugs, be affected by said drugs, and go to get food.

3) Nicky McNamara's deathbed statement. He was found facedown in a bathtub days after he died in a drug den. Who would have taken his dying statement? And if someone took it, then someone knew he died. If they knew he died, why wasn't his death reported sooner?

4) Why does Jonathan 'bunny' Isles deny having heard Damien's name before the disappearence? There are multiple witnesses who claimed that Damien had been in contact with Nicky McNamara/his cronies in order to aquire drugs before. If Isles was McNamara's right hand man, he would know at least who Damien was, surely. Why deny that?

5) Inside leak within the police? This occurred to me when when I heard that the statements were available to Danny Spencer. Running a large drug racket on a small island would probably require inside information and support at some level in order to avoid law enforcement. The loss of the CCTV tapes that potentially involve Spencer/McNamara along the high street at the same time Damien was there and Spencer's access to witness statements make this seem pretty possible, as well as the fact that PI Ivor Edwards was asked by the police to stop his investigation. On the statements; when Spencer was stopped for a spontaneous interview by the BBC and asked how he got those police statements, he said "I don't know, they're junkies". Perhaps McNamara/Spencer were supplying someone/or some persons within the police force with drugs in return for confidential information. The allegations of Spencer saying Damien was 'a little ****' and talking about him when drunk should be enough for law enforcement to want to ask him more, no?

6) Why were dogs never used in the searches? This one absolutely baffles me. McNamara was involved from very early on. Do we know when the witness came forward to suggest that Damien's body was buried in the woodland? Surely as soon as this came out it would have been worthwhile getting cadaver dogs straight out to search the whole area.

 

Okay, I think I'm done! Anyone else want to weigh in?

 

SOURCES:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree/item/64585a76-f16c-4de4-82be-9a673131be4e (Character profiles of people involved in the case).

https://scepticpeg.wordpress.com/2017/03/23/operation-ridgewood-the-disappearance-of-damien-nettles/ (Private record of all information in the case).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqXYI6frQ1c&index=8&list=PL64ScZt2I7wEgGLbHcNCWvfHd9QPIV_cR (Documentary).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Damien_Nettles (Wiki page on Damien's disappearence).

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Quote

Into a few cases I seen, some people were lost in the snows and rivers, or fell into cave holes and died. and maybe why some just disappear.   

 

Edited by docyabut2
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On 9/26/2017 at 9:15 PM, CrackerC117 said:

On the same street as the takeaway shop, High Street, around 20 metres along from there. 

And that would be in the same direction he shows to have headed in that chip shop video?

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16 minutes ago, regi said:

And that would be in the same direction he shows to have headed in that chip shop video?

According to the timeline of the night on https://scepticpeg.wordpress.com/2017/03/23/operation-ridgewood-the-disappearance-of-damien-nettles/ which seems pretty comprehensive, no.

Damien left the chip shop at 2330hrs and turned left out of the door, North along the high street. However, there are witness statements that saw him walk South back past the chip shop around 2350hrs. In a drunk and high state, it would be very easy for Damien to walk around the street a bit talking to people he knows and eating before he heads South for the bus stop to go home. He was last seen at 0000hrs around a bus stop on the high street.

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Well, I don't understand why he'd have been wandering around alone- and I think there's more to that aspect than what's been revealed- but regardless, what bothers me most is that although he was exceptionally tall, he was only 16 and clearly under the influence and so based on that, my immediate thought is that he'd have been observed as an easy target/victim. :hmm:

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Hm. I suppose as a 16 year old it would be unusual to be wandering around alone and not with friends. Though he was in a small town he was familiar with, and I would imagine that he would know people who were out that night too. From my own time living in a small town I can safely say it's very hard to go out and not see someone you recognise! 

I suppose Damien could have decided to go and get chips before heading home as he knew it was late and he didn't want to disturb his family or knew there wasn't readily available food at the house. The chip shop was nearby, so he could have decided to pick up some chips to eat on the way home.

What gets me is when did Damien take drugs that night? He's clearly high in the chip shop. If he was intending on heading home, why would he have taken drugs? Did he take them when he was with Chris trying to get in to the pubs?

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51 minutes ago, Seryth said:

Though he was in a small town he was familiar with, and I would imagine that he would know people who were out that night too.

I'm just going off of what we know and what that is, is that the last known person who knew, saw him and spoke to him that night was his friend, Chris. 

51 minutes ago, Seryth said:

 I suppose Damien could have decided to go and get chips before heading home as he knew it was late and he didn't want to disturb his family or knew there wasn't readily available food at the house. The chip shop was nearby, so he could have decided to pick up some chips to eat on the way home.

All I know is that when he left there, he didn't head toward home.

Edit: And that's ^ based on what you've said because I don't know this place from Adam.

Edited by regi
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9 hours ago, regi said:

All I know is that when he left there, he didn't head toward home.

Yup. And because the local LE lost the tape of the CCTV footage where he was last seen, we can't know which direction he headed or where. Or who he was with, if anyone.

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13 hours ago, Seryth said:

Yup. And because the local LE lost the tape of the CCTV footage where he was last seen, we can't know which direction he headed or where. Or who he was with, if anyone.

As I recall, the info. is that that footage showed him walking alone as he ate his chips, but as for direction, it was indicated which direction, I'm just not sure which direction that  from the chip shop. (It's in that doc.)

Anyway, I think if that footage actually was his last known location, then surely it'd be helpful to know where he was when he was out of that camera's range and whether there was another camera located beyond that one and if so, where that was and what was it's range because those things could indicate whether he may have entered a vehicle or exited High St. on foot onto a side street (and whether the latter was even a possibility.) 

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From the doc. episode five, at 3:00 shows Damien's last known location, and based on the storefronts as they show to be now on google maps, it appears to me that Damien was headed north from wherever the fish and chips shop was located at that time.

 

 

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5 hours ago, regi said:

whether there was another camera located beyond that one and if so, where that was and what was it's range because those things could indicate whether he may have entered a vehicle or exited High St. on foot onto a side street (and whether the latter was even a possibility.) 

The CCTV footage that we do have available shows he exited the chip shop to the left. That means he was heading North up the high street. Then witnesses state that he headed back down past Yorkie's chip shop. Frustratingly, the CCTV in Yorkies actually reaches all the way across the street, but every clip I've found cuts off before the stated time that he headed past Southwards.

Then eyewitnesses place him at the bus stop by Co-Op which is to the South of the high street. Then, finally, the CCTV spots him walking back up the high street North again, past Yorkies, and that's the last he was ever seen for definite. No other CCTV captured Damien.

We then have the witness that says it could have been him being held up against a wall along Bath/Bars Rd, which is possible if he headed North. Would also make sense that he wouldn't have been spotted by another CCTV if he went off the high street on to a side road.

I'm going to try and plot all of this information on a Google Map that can be shared around. I'm struggling to maintain it all in my head!

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On 05/10/2017 at 1:07 AM, regi said:

And that would be in the same direction he shows to have headed in that chip shop video?

Yes, but reports suggest he later headed back south, and then north again (when he was last recorded)

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On 05/10/2017 at 2:29 AM, regi said:

Well, I don't understand why he'd have been wandering around alone- and I think there's more to that aspect than what's been revealed- but regardless, what bothers me most is that although he was exceptionally tall, he was only 16 and clearly under the influence and so based on that, my immediate thought is that he'd have been observed as an easy target/victim. :hmm:

He certainly seemed vulnerable. I mentioned in another forum the possibility of a falling out with Chris Boon, which might suggest why he was wandering alone. 

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On 04/10/2017 at 0:56 PM, Seryth said:

This is my first post on this forum. This thread and the case interested me so much I wanted to get involved!

I have read as much as I could on this case, and also watched the BBC documentary. Some thoughts and questions have come to mind regarding Damien's disappearence:

1) Damien's disappearence being over 1/8th of weed. Both the Boon brothers are on film saying that Damien used to only do a bit of weed, or 'something like that', implying they did things other than weed. James Nettles, Damien's brother, says they did 'things

2) Why did Damien go home and then back out to the chip shop, suddenly high after only having had a couple of drinks with Chris Boon? The CCTV footage clearly shows he is under the influence of something. Perhaps there is a possibility he didn't actually go home, but instead went to the drug house where Nicky McNamara/his cronies were in order to get some drugs. A complete guess here, but perhaps he stole something? I don't believe it was Speed. The way he acts in the CCTV footage is very much 'out of it' rather than the 'hyper-focus' that Speed is known for. However it could be conceivable that Damien was high on weed, but had nicked something from Nicky McNamara's house. That would explain the hunger for the two portions of chips, and also gives motive for McNamara to be angry enough to want to 'rough up' Damien. Also I don't know why in the documentary they asked Chris Boon if he knew of any opportunities when Damien could have taken anything? Chris says he left Damien at 2230hrs. The first CCTV footage of Damien is an hour later, around 2330hrs. That's plenty of time to travel to get drugs, take drugs, be affected by said drugs, and go to get food.

 

Welcome to the forum!

I note from the Yorkie's Chip Shop CCTV footage that Damien paid for his chips with loose SILVER change. In 1996, it may have been less common for people not to carry notes (a £5 note was worth considerably more back then), but one would expect that people had at least gold coins, especially someone from large house in a desirable area like Damien. 

So, it seems Damien was incredibly low on funds. This would strengthen the argument that Damien owed money for a debt he couldn't pay. It would also give some strength to your suggestion that he may have stolen something. McNamara was said to be acting erratically by a key wittness in the BBC3 Documentary. He was said to have been doing windmills before he was later alleged to have been seen pinning a young man (who looked similar to Damien against a wall). If McNamara had taken some drug or alcohol, that could explain his erratic behaviour and could explain his temper being lost over a trivial amount of canabis, if of course those allegations are true.

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