A gun fanatic who killed an innocent taxi driver for the “thrill” has died in jail.
Colin Cheetham, 81, passed away in the healthcare unit at maximum security Wakefield prison in West Yorkshire.
Cheetham was convicted in 2010 of luring taxi driver Stuart Ludlam, 43, to an isolated train station and executing him.
The former gun club member had been planning the cold-hearted killing for years.
He ordered a taxi to meet him at Cronford station, Derbyshire, on 17th September 2009.
Cheetham did not know father-of-three Mr Ludlam.
When the cab arrived, he fired at him through the rear windscreen, hitting him in the head and injuring him.
Mr Ludlam was marched to the back of the cab and forced to kneel before being shot in the head execution-style.
His body was found by horrified holidaymakers who saw his lifeless arm hanging out of the car with the engine still running.
Baffled cops tracked down Cheetham after tracing a mobile used to call MJ’s taxi firm.
The pay-as-you go mobile had been bought with cash, but Cheetham had used his credit card to top it up.
Cheetham, who owned a firearms license, denied murder and blamed two other fictitious men.
He acknowledged the fatal shot had been from a gun he owned.
A jury convicted him after a trial at Nottingham Crown Court.
He was jailed for a minimum of 30-years.
Cheetham had been ill for the last few years, and is not believed to have tested positive for covid-19.
A Prison Service spokesperson said: “HMP Wakefield prisoner Colin Cheetham died in prison on 1 May.
“As with all deaths in custody, the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman has been informed.”
Following Cheetham’s arrested, police raided his home in Ripley, Derbyshire, and discovered train timetables and photos of train stations.
During the trial prosecutor Peter Joyce QC said that Cheetham appeared to have no motive other than the desire to shoot a “complete stranger”.
Detective Chief Superintendent Tony Blockley, of Derbyshire Police, said at the time: “Colin Cheetham is an evil man who carried out a despicable act which was seemingly motiveless.
“This crime was totally unpredictable. My view is that he has executed Mr Ludlam simply to see what it would be like to kill someone.”
Mr Ludlam’s mother, Sheila Ludlam, said after the verdict the family had been devastated by the killing.
“Three children for him and three grandchildren for me and he loved them with all his heart.
“All he wanted was a little girl – he got his little girl but of course she hasn’t got a daddy any more.”
