A murder a month on West Midlands streets

The 44 per cent increase saw the numbers rise from nine in 2014, and eight in 2013, meaning there was, on average, a murder a month.

It comes amid fears that violent crime, including murder, rape, gun and knife offences are on the increase.

New West Midlands Chief Constable Dave Thompson today defended the figures, saying murder rates 'remained low' compared to other regions and Western countries.

He said: "Any murder is one too many. A high proportion of those taking place here are spontaneous disputes that are domestic related.

"It is not like we have a series of deaths around gang violence. We are working incredibly hard trying to prevent killings around domestic abuse.

"But if you compare us to other Western country, the rate of murders is incredibly low. If you went and had a look at the murder rate in Chicago which is about the same size, you would fall over – it is in the hundreds."

Across the West Midlands force area there were 30 murders in 2015 – up from 24 in 2014. It means the Black Country made up for nearly half of all murders.

Sandwell saw more murders than any other area in 2015 with eight. Meanwhile there were two in Wolverhampton and Walsall, and one in Dudley.

The Sandwell murders include the killing of 15-year-old Jamar Walker who was stabbed to death in Raglan Road in Smethwick on December 20.

At least three other murders in the Black Country last year were caused by stabbing – a trend that is causing concern for Mr Thompson.

He said: "I think we have had too many knife crime murders. We are doing work around that and the disturbing propensity that some young people have to carry a knife or use one.

"And these are not sophisticated things. They are sometimes ordinary kitchen knives. This will always be a concern for me.

"Tackling violence as a whole must be prioritised.

"We can police the night-time economy, and hot spots, but some of the things that can change violent behaviour are not things the police can do.

"Thirty murders in total in comparison to what we would expect is low and there is no particular pattern."

The end of 2015 saw a flurry of violent crimes, including the return of gun fire on the region's streets.

Six of the 13 Black Country murders occurred in November and December.

January 1: Baljit Singh

The 50-year-old's body was found by police in the basement of a terraced house in Beeches Road, Rowley Regis.

Mr Singh, known as Bill, was battered over the head up to 20 times with a blunt instrument – possibly a short iron bar like a wheel brace.

Stuart Millership was jailed for life after pleading guilty to murder.

The pair had known each other for 15 years. Millership, 33, 'completely lost it' when the victim refused to give his £15,000 Range Rover to the defendant in payment for an alleged debt.

April 13: Herman ‘Louis’ Simpson

The former music teacher was stabbed after a pre-arranged drug deal at his flat in Compton Road, Compton, Wolverhampton.

Dylan Jackson, 20, of Crosby Close, Wolverhampton, killed the 46-year-old after stabbing him through the heart.

Jackson was arrested in Bath on 29 April and was found guilty of murder and will serve a minimum of 16 years in prison.

June 2: Ronald Smith

Ronald Smith, 65, was found dead at his home in Cottage Walk in West Bromwich on June 2 after police were called amid concerns for his welfare.

Supt Rich Youds, from Sandwell Police, said: "Local officers are working hand-in-hand with detectives, as well as the local community as we all work together to bring the person responsible for Ronald's death to justice as quickly as possible." A man was arrested on suspicion of murder and later bailed.

August 18: Susan Whiting

Miss Whiting's body was found at a house in Heather Close, Bloxwich, on August 18, where she was said to have stayed two nights previously.

The alarm was raised after she failed to return to her home on Station Street by lunchtime on Monday, August 17. She had a learning impairment.

Steven Beards, aged 34, of Rowland Avenue, Bentley, and Julie Beards, 35, of Heather Close, Dudley Fields,have been charged with the 20-year-old's murder.

August 28: Wendy Mann

The body of the 26-year-old was discovered in the kitchen of her house in Chapel Street, West Bromwich. A post-mortem revealed she had died from asphyxiation.

Her former partner Trevor Tyndale, of Abbey Close, West Bromwich, was charged with her murder. A two-week trial date has been fixed for February 22.

August 28: Masoud Esmailian

Just 12 hours after Wendy Mann's body was found,pizza shop owner Masoud Esmailian was stabbed in the chest as he cashed up the week's takings at home in Mongomery Walk, West Bromwich.

West Midlands Police say a 19-year-old was arrested by Romanian police in the Arges area of the country on a European Arrest Warrant and is now going through the extradition process.

Paying tribute, Mr Esmailian's said: "Masoud will always be in our hearts, the hardest thing to comprehend is that we will never see him again."

October 11: Philip Evans

Mr Evans, 42, was found dead at his home in Blackwood Avenue, Wednesfield, after police were called at 5.50am.

He was found to have died from head injuries. Fewer than two hours later Patrick Ryan, 25, was arrested at his home in the street.

He was later charged.

Det Insp Martin Slevin said: "We continue to appeal for anyone who saw anything suspicious in Blackwood Avenue between midnight and 6am and has not yet come forward to contact me or one of the team."

November 11: Indiga Daniel Wallace

The body of 24-year-old Mr Wallace was found in a flat in Fisher Street in Great Bridge. A post mortem revealed that he died as a result of head injuries.

Three people have been charged with the murder: Unemployed Kingsley Campbell, aged 30 from no fixed abode, Sam Arnold, 21, from Slater Street, Great Bridge, and 30-year-old Dwayne Wallace (no relation to the victim) from Lones Road in West Bromwich.

November 12: Barbara Baraniecka

The body of Barbara Baraniecka, aged 43, was found at a house in Standbridge Way, Tipton. Police were called to the property at around 2.30pm by the ambulance service after Miss Baraniecka was pronounced dead at the scene

Her partner factory worker Cezary Sobiewski, aged 40, appeared at Wolverhampton Magistrates Court charged with murder where he was further remanded in custody.

November 22: Inderjit Singh Dhariwal

Mr Dhariwal, 49, from the Langley area of Oldbury, suffered serious head injuries after being assaulted at Samsons Banqueting Suite in Rood End Road, Oldbury.

West Midlands Police said there was an 'altercation' at the venue, which had been hosting a charity event.

He was taken to hospital but died of his injuries. Police arrested two men on suspicion of murder: a 36-year-old from Stourbridge and a 42-year-old from Rowley Regis. West Midlands Police said the men were helping them with their inquiries.

December 11: Jacqueline Abbott

Jacqueline Abbott, aged 54, died shortly after being being found with serious head injuries at her house in Lodge Crescent, Netherton.

Her husband Paul Abbott, 56, was charged with murder at the scene and remanded in custody to appear before crown court on March 15 for his plea and case management hearing.

Since her death, tributes have flooded in for the grandmother, who lived with Mr Abbott and their two sons Martyn and Ryan.

December 20: Jamar Walker

The 15-year-old was found with stab wounds on Raglan Road at around 2.20am near the The Puffing Billy pub in Smethwick.

A 17-year-old from Smethwick, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has appeared in court charged with Jamar's murder.

A 16-year-old boy has also been arrested and later bailed and a 33-year-old man arrested on suspicion of murder continues to help police with their inquiries.

December 28: Glyn Evans

Mr Evans, 56, was pronounced dead at an address on Walsall Street, Willenhall at around 8.30pm.

A stab wound to the kidney which severed an artery was the cause of death.

Unemployed Stella Downing, aged 37 and of no fixed address, and labourer Martin Stokes, aged 49 from St Giles Road, Willenhall, have been charged with murder and appeared before Wolverhampton magistrates.

They are due to appear at Wolverhampton Crown Court on March 23.

Murder investigations started on the first day of 2015 after the body of Baljit Singh was found by police in the basement of a terraced house in Beeches Road, Rowley Regis. Mr Singh, known as Bill, was battered over the head up to 20 times with a blunt instrument – possibly a short iron bar like a wheel brace

Stuart Millership was jailed for life after pleading guilty to the 50-year-old's murder.

The pair had known each other for 15 years. Millership, 33, 'completely lost it' when the victim refused to give his £15,000 Range Rover to the defendant in payment for an alleged debt.

Millership claimed in court that two Albanian gangsters were involved in the murder.

The next murder did not occur until three months later.

Herman 'Louis' Simpson, a former music teacher, was stabbed after a pre-arranged drug deal at his flat in Compton Road, Compton, Wolverhampton.

Dylan Jackson, 20, of Crosby Close, Wolverhampton, killed the 46-year-old, stabbing him through the heart.

Jackson was arrested in Bath on April 29 and was found guilty of murder. He will serve a minimum of 16 years in prison.

Another notable murder is the death of Susan Whiting who had a learning impairment and went missing from her Bloxwich home.

Her body was found at a house in Heather Close, Bloxwich, on August 18.

Steven Beards, aged 34, of Rowland Avenue, Bentley, and Julie Beards, 35, of Heather Close, Dudley Fields, have been charged with the 20-year-old's murder.

And in December, Paul Abbott, 56, was arrested and charged with the murder of his wife Jacqueline at their home in Lodge Crescent, Netherton.

Mrs Abbott, 54, died shortly after being found with serious head injuries.

The last Black Country murder of 2015 was that of Glyn Evans.

Mr Evans, 56, was pronounced dead in Walsall Street, Willenhall.

A stab wound to the kidney which severed an artery was the cause of death.

Unemployed Stella Downing, aged 37 and of no fixed address, and labourer Martin Stokes, aged 49 from St Giles Road, Willenhall, have been charged with murder and appeared before Wolverhampton magistrates.

They are due to appear at Wolverhampton Crown Court on March 23.

On New Year's Eve, Darel Clarke, father of former Wolves footballer Leon Clarke, suffered head injuries in an attack in the outside area of The Boat pub in Wednesfield, at around 10.30pm.

He died in New Cross Hospital on January 2, meaning his murder is registered for 2016.

Between 2011 and 2015 there were 166 murders across the entire region. Over the past five years there have been 24 murders in Sandwell, 15 in Wolverhampton, 14 in Walsall, and six in Dudley.

The number of people murdered in England and Wales increased by 14 per cent in the year to September and instances of attempted murder went up by 19 per cent, while knife crime rose by nine per cent and firearms offences by four per cent.

The overall numbers of violent offences surged by 27 per cent, although much of the increase was attributed to improved recording techniques by the police.

West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner David Jamieson said: "One murder is one too many. Huge resources are put into the solving of murders and investigating such crimes will always be a top priority.

"There has been a slight increase in the number of murders taking place across the region, but both across the whole of the West Midlands and in the Black Country the number of murders are down compared to 2012.

"The West Midlands and the Black Country remain safe places to live and the rate of violent crimes is lower here than in other urban areas in the UK.

"West Midlands Police has increased its Public Protection Unit from 300 to over 800 people."

In Staffordshire, the killing of Carl Tindall hit the headlines during 2015.

Mr Tindall, aged 35 and from Brocton, died in hospital a day after passers by found him lying injured in Cull Avenue in August 2015. He had serious head injuries.

Shortly after Mr Tindall's death 35-year-old Jamie Sleigh was charged with manslaughter, and three more people have been charged in relation to the attack.

Louise Hurmson, 32, of Avenue Road, Cannock; Sarah Hurmson, 35, of Greig Court, Cannock, and Anthony Boddison, 25, of St Peter's Gardens, Stafford, are all charged with assisting an offender.