ExxonMobil has said that it is “shocked” by the murder of one of their executives, Nicholas Mockford, who was gunned down as he and his wife left a restaurant in Brussels, Belgium on October 14th. The British Newspaper, the Daily Mail, is reporting it appeared to be an “assassination-type” killing, as Mockford was shot three times, with two bullets in his back and one in his head. AP news is reporting 4 shots. There have been no arrests.

Mockford was shot in a tactical-syle killing that almost never happens in real life. A shocked relative said,  “He was shot so calmly and so quickly, it smacks horribly of a professional hit, but we can’t fathom why. He isn’t the type to cave in to blackmail and it just doesn’t compute.”

The murder occurred almost two weeks ago, but has only now been picked up by the international press. This is due to the Belgian police imposing a news blackout, which, apparently and completely idiotically, is not unusual on the continent.

This could well be a simple robbery gone bad. But I do have some questions:

• A Belgian police source said; ‘It could have been a carjacking gone wrong. They panicked and he died. But this is not the only avenue we are pursuing.’ What makes the source say that?
• The investigators report that Mrs. Mockford was actually first attacked, as they grabbed for her purse and beat her, but left her relatively unharmed. So, car-jacking or simple robbery? Why, after such a calm killing, leave a witness right there?
• A witness stated that the men asked for money and the car, only to then turn on the couple. A relative stated that Mr. Mockford was a mild-mannered man who was driving a company car. Not exactly the type to put up a fight. So why did the robbers react so violently and efficiently?
• Why have the Belgian police not released a description of the attackers? Would this not be of help, especially when the police have involved INTERPOL?
• Europe and Brussels are surveillance camera crazy. Is there any video of the incident?
• One family member stated that Mockford was, “always tight-lipped about what he did.” So what did he do exactly? ExxonMobil has stated that Mockford was employed as a head of marketing for ‘green fuels.’ Why did the family source believe he was assassinated?

Was an ExxonMobil executive assassinated in Brussels?

I do not pretend to be a trained police officer, but it seems obvious from this side of the Atlantic, that when the police are baffled and actively seeking the public’s help in finding the killers, perhaps it may seem buffoonish to wait two weeks before any wide reporting on an almost unheard-of murder, not to mention the lack of any description. Two men, one carrying a motorcycle helmet? That’s really the best they can come up with?

Almost two weeks after the murder, Belgian authorities have been silent about most of their theories, but admitted they are actively pursuing the possibility that Mr. Mockton was targeted. Belgian conspiracy websites are apparently awash with theories, with everything from simple robbery gone wrong, to personal assassination, to Mockford’s work with ExxonMobil. I’m sure there are more than a few New-World-Order-ish evil multi-national corporation competition theories as well.

Nicholas Mockford had worked for ExxonMobil since the 1970s, according to the company. He was 60 years old.

So what do you think? Robbery gone wrong, or something more sinister?