Tracie Andrews 'inspired by' road rage killer Kenneth Noye who murdered Stephen Cameron just months before her crime
A new Channel 5 drama links the two heinous murders
Tracie Andrews, famously known as the “road rage killer”, drew inspiration from Kenneth Noye’s brutal crime just months before, a new Channel 5 drama reveals.
Under Suspicion: Tracie Andrews airs this week (Wednesday, September 30) and recreates the night the former hairdresser murdered her fiancé, Lee Harvey.
The 27-year-old stabbed bus driver Lee 42 times, including once in the back as he tried to escape. Tracie then lied to police, claiming a road rage attacker had fatally stabbed Lee.
Now, a feature-length dramatisation of the chilling crime will show the moment the idea took root in Tracie’s mind – when she watched a news report about Kenneth Noye’s road rage attack on Stephen Cameron, just months before she carried out a similar attack herself.
Here’s everything you need to know about the link between road rage killers Tracie Andrews and Kenneth Noye.
Who is road rage killer Kenneth Noye?
Kenneth ‘Kenny’ Noye was born in Bexleyheath, London, where his father ran a post office and his mother a dog racing track. His life of crime began early, and reports say he was caught shoplifting as young as five.
He left school at 15 and spent a year in youth detention centre Borstal after selling stolen bicycles. He later married his barrister’s legal secretary Brenda Tremain. Kenneth was a police informant for many years after being arrested for receiving stolen goods.
Described as a vicious gangster, he built up a legitimate haulage business to use as cover for his illegal money laundering. In 1985, Kenneth was acquitted for the murder of a police officer on the grounds of his home.
Kenneth went to prison for his part in laundering a huge quantity of stolen gold bullion taken during the Brink’s-Mat robbery by six armed men on November 26 1983. He was convicted in 1986 of handling stolen goods, serving eight years in prison of a 14-year sentence. This was dramatised in BBC One drama The Gold, with Jack Lowden playing Kenneth Noye.
He was released from prison in 1994. But, just two years later – in May 1996 – Kenneth murdered Stephen Cameron while on release from prison on licence.
Kenneth Noye killed Stephen Cameron in road rage attack in 1996
On May 19 1996, Kenneth Noye was involved in an altercation with another motorist on a slip road of the M25 motorway near Swanley in Kent.
During the road rage incident, Kenneth killed 21-year-old Stephen Cameron. New driver Danielle Cable – Stephen’s girlfriend – was behind the wheel of Stephen’s red Rascal van when it almost collided with Kenneth’s Land Rover Discovery. A furious Kenneth got out of his vehicle at the traffic lights and punched 6ft 4in Stephen in the eye.
He subsequently went back to his car to grab a knife, and stabbed electrician Stephen twice, penetrating the heart and liver, killing him almost instantly. The killer immediately fled the country.
Witness Danielle helped police with their investigation, and the police eventually tracked Kenneth down and arrested him in Spain two years later. Danielle positively identified Kenneth.
He lost an appeal against his extradition from Spain seven months later and was finally extradited to Britain in May 1999, nine months after his arrest. Kenneth went on trial 10 months later, and was convicted of the crime four years after it happened.
Did road rage killer Kenneth go to prison?
Kenneth told the judge and jury he was not a violent man, and had acted in self defence. However, he was found guilty by the jury’s majority verdict of 11–1 after their deliberations lasted more than eight hours.
A judge sentenced Kenneth to life imprisonment for murdering Stephen Cameron, with a parole set for 16 years. He left behind wife Brenda and their two sons Kevin and Brett.
Meanwhile, Danielle – who had bravely testified against Kenneth in court – was given a new identity under the witness protection programme.
Alan Decabral was another eye witness. He declined protection and was shot dead in his car in Ashford, Kent, on October 5 2000.
Where is Kenneth Noye now? How old is he?
In May 2019, the parole board announced that Kenneth Noye was “suitable for return to the community”. He was released from prison two months later, on June 6 2019. He was aged 72 at the time, and had served 20 years for the M25 attack.
Kenneth Noye is now 79 years old. In 2019, Kenneth reportedly “found love” with a younger woman, and lives in the Sevenoaks area of Kent.
His estranged wife Brenda lives in Aylesford, Kent.
What is the link between Tracie Andrews and Kenneth Noye?
Kenneth Noye and Tracie Andrews are two of the UK’s most notorious convicted murderers. Their high-profile cases became deeply linked as both committed murder in so-called road rage incidents. They happened just six months apart.
Tracie famously invented a “staring-eyed” road rage killer to cover up the fact she had stabbed her fiancé Lee Harvey to death. This just months after Kenneth Noye’s brutal murder of Stephen Cameron was all over the news.
While Kenneth Noye stabbed a stranger to death on May 19, 1996, Tracie killed her own fiancé. On December 1, 1996, 27-year-old Tracie Andrews stabbed her fiancé, Lee Harvey, 42 times with a penknife during a volatile argument in their car in Alvechurch, Worcestershire.
To hide her guilt, she said Lee had been killed in an unprovoked road rage incident.
Read more: Blue Lights: The frightening true story behind BBC One police drama as it returns for series 4
