A WIDOW is facing up to her third Christmas without knowing why a callous gunman killed her husband at a Huddersfield garage.

Fifty-year-old Brian Hardwick was shot exactly two years ago on Friday.

Now his widow, Lynne, is facing the anguish of yet another Christmas not knowing who killed her husband . . . or why.

A highly skilled car electrician, Brian was killed shortly after 5.30pm on Wednesday, November 21, 2001, at Huddersfield Car Electrical Services on Colne Road, Huddersfield, where he worked.

He was shot in the chest and head with a small calibre weapon.

His wallet, purse, pendant and chain were taken by the thief who withdrew cash from his account at a busy supermarket cash dispenser minutes later.

Brian, a father-of-two, had married Lynne just six months before his death.

Today Mrs Hardwick spoke out about her grief.

She said: "The last two years have been sheer hell. I'd like a lot of answers to a lot of questions and the biggest one is: Why?

"The police have interviewed a lot of people but no-one had a bad word to say about Brian, he was just so caring.

"All my friends have been so supportive but it is still so lonely, especially when I shut the door at the end of the day and I'm at home alone."

His death remains a baffling and, in some ways, bizarre killing.

Brian seems to have been deliberately targeted, yet, on the face of it, the motive was robbery.

But the thieves escaped with only one or two items of jewellery along with his wallet.

His cashpoint number was written on a piece of paper in the wallet and was used to withdraw £350 from the cash machines outside the main foyer at the Asda supermarket on Bradford Road, Huddersfield, within minutes of the murder.

The detective now leading the inquiry, Det Supt Graham Shaw, said: "It seems a lot of planning has gone into stealing just £350 if robbery was indeed the motive.

"I would rather think there is something else behind this. Someone somewhere is sitting on a vital piece of information."

The big question is why would anyone target Brian? He was very popular and police checks on his background have yielded no idea why anyone would want to harm him.

After the killing, why would the murderer take a serious risk getting caught by using Brian's cashpoint card three times to withdraw the money from cash machines at Asda when there are cash dispensers at far quieter, darker and less busy places?

The supermarket has security cameras, but none were pointing at the cash machine at the time it was used.

The card has not been used since and has never been found.

Det Supt Shaw and his team remain convinced that a third party knows who pulled the trigger that night.

He said: "We are hoping that with the passage of time circumstances may have changed and someone who did not feel confident in coming forward initially may now wish to do so.

"We still do not know the reason for Brian's murder.

"No-one has had a bad word to say about him and there is nothing in his background which would make him a target."

Brian, of Wibsey near Bradford, was last seen alive at about 5.30pm.

As he left work with his colleagues, he noticed his car tyre had been deliberately punctured.

He drove the car back into the garage and was repairing it when he was shot.

The killer then stole a small grey popper purse, a brown leather wallet, a set of work keys and a gold necklace with a broken heart design pendant.

Lynne has the other half.

Police are still trying to track down a number of people seen near Huddersfield Car Electrical Services the day Brian died.

Contact Huddersfield CID on 01484 436582 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

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