William Danso

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William Danso, born in 1962, is a British man who was murdered in 1993, along with police officer Patrick Dunne, by Gary Nelson.

Danso, a doorman at the Brixton Academy, had refused Nelson entry to the nightclub and, on the day he died, he was working as a part-time security guard at a shop when he broke up a fight involving Nelson. Nelson and two unidentified accomplices laughed as they fired a hail of bullets at Danso in his hallway in Cato Road, Clapham, on 20 October 1993.

Pc Dunne had been investigating a minor domestic dispute, heard gunshots from Danso’s house and went to investigate. As the unarmed policeman stepped into the street he was hit by a single shot to the chest, killing him instantly.

Nelson was originally charged with the murders five weeks after they took place, but the case was dropped because of insufficient evidence.

In January 2004 Nelson was jailed for life for possessing weapons and ammunition for a second weapon. While in prison, he was again charged with the Clapham murders. Among the evidence against him was the discovery of the murder weapon in Wandsworth cemetery, south London, in June 1994, wrapped in a plastic bag with Nelson's mother's fingerprint on it.

During the trial he was brought to court every day from nearby Belmarsh prison.

Upon being found guilty, Nelson was jailed for life. He will serve a minimum of 35 years.