A wanted man was shot in the face by a masked assassin and then gunned down as he flagged down a passing motorist in a desperate bid to escape, an inquest heard.
Paul Simmons-Turner, 38, was ambushed as he left the Waltham Abbey Marriott Hotel, Essex, on December 8 last year after staying the night with his girlfriend, Chloe Drew.
As he got into his car at 9.45am, a balaclava-clad hitman emerged and shot him at point-blank range in the face, Essex coroners court heard.
Mr Simmons-Turner suffered wounds to his bottom lip and tongue but survived the initial attack, managing to push past the gunman and flag down a passing motorist.
“He explained he had been shot and asked them to take him to hospital, but before they could the first suspect had got sight of them and was then able to get back into the Audi in pursuit of the vehicle”, said Detective Sergeant Michelle Stoten.
“The Audi cut in front of [the] vehicle. He approached the window and produced a shot which caused Mr Simmons-Turner to slump forward.”
Mr Simmons-Turner, a friend of cast members from The Only Way is Essex, was wanted by police at the time over an alleged nightclub assault last May.
He died from a gunshot wound to the chest which pierced his lung and heart.
The killer, who is still on the loose, had lay in wait in the hotel car park since 1.20am, the inquest heard. The Audi had been stolen in a burglary in Barnet last October.
Ruling Mr Simmons-Turner had been unlawfully killed, coroner Caroline Beasley-Murray said: “I hope sympathy will be expressed to his family at this very difficult time.”
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