True Story of Sherwood: The Creepy Forest Bunker of the Killer Neighbor That Baffled the Cops

BBC’s Sherwood was inspired by killer Robert Boyer, who fled into the forest after killing his neighbor, Keith Frogson, and hid in a lonely makeshift lair for weeks.

Inspired by the true story of a horror double murder that rocked a sleepy mining town, BBC’s thriller Sherwood captivated viewers.

The unrelated murders in a mining town in Nottinghamshire saw the two attackers flee into the same forest, sparking one of the biggest manhunts ever seen by the police force.

It would take weeks for Robert Boyer, then 42, and Terry Rodgers, 55, to be captured and brought to justice. Officers later discovered that Boyer was living in a strange, makeshift den dug into the ground.

The devastating chain of events began when former miner Keith ‘Froggy’ Frogson, 62, was found slaughtered on his doorstep in the mining town of Annesley Woodhouse on the evening of July 19, 2004.

Mr Frogson – who was a member of the National Union of Miners and played a major role in the 1984 strike – had been attacked with a crossbow and hacked to death with a samurai sword after returning from a night at the local pub.

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Desperate to catch the killer, police turned to the miners and found he had a history of clashes with Robert Boyer, 42, who was a member of the rival Democratic Miners’ Union and had been called of “scab” for continuing to work. Strike.

It quickly emerged that Boyer bought the sword for £150 online before attacking Mr Frogson and later setting his house on fire before fleeing to the nearby woods of Annesley.

Meanwhile, on July 30, newlywed Chanel Taylor, 23, was found dead by her husband at their home in the nearby village of Huthwaite, near Mansfield.

The hairdresser had been shot four times in the back and head by her father, Terry Rodgers, 55, who had walked her down the aisle seven weeks earlier.

Rodgers had previously served time in prison for attacking his first wife with a claw hammer and moved in with Chanel and her husband Lee after splitting from his second wife Anne.

Speaking at the time, insiders claimed Chanel was scared of her father, who sold his security business and was said to be in dire financial straits.

Rodgers fled the scene and fled, hiding in Annesley Woods and sparking a massive manhunt – the largest ever by Nottinghamshire Police.

Operation Rendition saw 620 officers assisted by helicopters and heat-seeking equipment scour the 1.5 square miles of woods for the two men.

A scrawny, disheveled Boyer was found first, living in a makeshift den deep in the woods.

His strange hiding place appeared to have been dug into the earth and was lined with carrier bags, newspapers and forest debris. In an effort to protect himself from the elements, Boyer even built a roof using tree branches, garbage bags and pages from a magazine.

It is said that he survived on a meager diet of canned goods and bottled water.

A day later, Rodgers was found and arrested after 17 days on the loose.

Rodgers admitted manslaughter on the grounds of attenuated responsibility, but denied murder. Prosecutors refused to accept his plea, and he was due to stand trial for murder on March 6, 2006.

However, in November 2004, while remanded to Lincoln Jail, Rodgers was placed on suicide watch. After refusing to eat for two years, he died at Lincoln County Hospital on February 25, 2006, at the age of 57.

As for Boyer, the original theory that the murder was linked to the strike was dismissed when it emerged that Boyer was mentally ill and had the illusion that Mr. Frogson was trying to destroy his house.

Prosecutor Andrew Easteal told the court: “He had convinced himself that Keith Frogson was trying to dismantle his house brick by brick, that acid was thrown on the masonry and that a screwdriver had been used to chip the bricks.

“He had developed a fixation with Mr. Frogson. He was obsessed with the idea that Mr. Frogson was persecuting him and trying to damage his house.

“Mr. Frogson was completely innocent of this and had no idea what Boyer was thinking, or what delusions he was suffering from.”

Easteal added: “It was initially suggested that the origin of this tragedy had something to do with the miners’ strike.

“May I clarify that this suggestion is totally false. It has no basis in fact.

“The reason for this misunderstanding is that Boyer was a miner and worked during the strike and Frogson was a leading member of the NUM.

“But Boyer was entirely oblivious to that until after the arrest. The fixation had nothing to do with it.

“He had entirely fanciful beliefs about what he believed Mr. Frogson was doing.”

Prosecutors dropped a murder charge after a mental assessment and Boyer instead pleaded guilty to Frogson’s murder at Nottingham Crown Court.

He was sent to jail and then given an indefinite hospital order.

* Sherwood continues tonight at 9pm on BBC One

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