How Dennis Nilsen evaded capture for so long (Part 3/3) | Forensic Files

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your app or on our website with the Dennis Nilsen committed to stand trial for the murders of six men
and to the attempted murder of two others the public and press questioned how he could have gotten away with the
crimes for so long the reality was that most of Nielsen's victims were social outcasts without solid family structures
or fixed addresses many associated with the drug users and sex workers who were unlikely to approach the police making
it easy for their disappearances to go unnoticed in fact of the 15 men Nielsen claimed to have murdered only three
Billy Sutherland Kenneth Ockendon and Stephen Holmes were ever confirmed to have been reported missing The Guardian
newspaper reported that Nelson insulated himself from detection by choosing victims who were quote young homeless
down-and-out homosexuals and surmised the reason why nobody knew that Nielsen was killing was that nobody accepted
Nielsen knew that any killings were going on the article also highlighted how the banality of Nelson's public
persona cloaked his true character quote nobody knew or even suspected because Nielsen not only possessed all the
trappings of a thoroughly normal suburban life he was positively dreary the least I catch a man in the crowd it
was not only his neighbors that saw him without noticing him most of those who worked with him or drank with him were
bored by him as for the attempted murders the survivors were likely hesitant to follow through with police
reports due to fear they wouldn't be taken seriously on account of being gay the attacks were also so bizarre and
inexplicable that the survivors themselves could barely comprehend what had happened The Guardian reported that
Nielson himself expressed the disbelief at how long his crimes went undetected stating I was in a quasi godlike role I
thought I could do anything I wanted while this was going on there were people upstairs and people next door and
nobody knew as Nielsen's trial date approached the prosecution continued investigating and
were able to identify several more victims when examining the skull of one unidentified victim forensic
investigators discovered there was a metal plate in the jaw using dental records they determined that the skull
belonged to 27 year-old Graham Allen the Scottish heroin addict who Nielsen had met in September 1982 after Graham had
an argument with his girlfriend Leslie Nielsen had taken Graham to his Ma's well hill flat cooked him an omelet and
two then strangled him to death when he passed out midway through eating the meal Nielsen had previously told police
about this murder but couldn't recall the victim's name referring to the incident simply as the omelet death by
the time Graham was identified it was too late to add a seventh murder charge to Nielsen's indictment but the
prosecution intended to use the details of Graham's murder as evidence at trial japanese chef tasha Mitsui ozawa who
escaped to Nielsen's attempt to strangle him at the muzzle he'll flatten on New Year's Eve in 1982 was identified when
police found the initial report he'd made against Nielson following the attack Tasha minsu hadn't followed through with
a formal complaint as he felt it was too much work when the police read the statement to
Nielson he responded I find that frightening no charges were laid against him for
this crime but the statement would be used as evidence against him during trial when Nilson was first arrested he
described an attack he'd committed against the young man he had met at the black cap pub in Camden in May 1982 he
couldn't remember the man's name but recalled that he had been in the process of escaping an abusive
relationship and Neilson had lent him a friend - a year before inviting him to stay at his Ma's well he'll flower after
the young man had gone to bed Nielson began strangling him in his sleep then blamed to the injuries on a broken
sleeping bag zipper the men eventually lost the consciousness at which point Neilson attempted to drown him in his
bathtub before deciding to let him live police used this statement to track the survivor down identifying him as Karl
stata who had been 21 at the time of the attack Karl shared his recollection of the events with police which matched
Nielsen's statement and confirmed to Nielson was telling the truth it was too late to add another attempted
murder charge to Nielsen's indictment but the prosecution decided to call Carl as a witness at trial to establish
evidence regarding Nielsen's modus operandi on Monday October 24 1983 Dennis Nelson's trial commenced in the
Old Bailey the Central Criminal Court of England and Wales with the Justice David
crumb Johnson presiding Neilson heeding the advice of his solicitor cleaned to diminish two responsibilities by reason
of mental disorder in the hope of reducing his charges to manslaughter for the murders of Stephen Sinclair and John
Hallett Billy Sutherland Martin Duffy Kenneth Ockendon and Malcolm Barlow as well as the attempted murders of Paul
nobs and Douglas Stewart Neilson entered the same plea not guilty [Music] [Music]
under Section two of the homicide Act in 1957 a person suffering from diminished
responsibility was protected from being convicted of murder if they were found to be suffering from an abnormality of
the mind that substantially impaired their mental responsibilities during the act of killing therefore the jury of
eight men and four women were asked not to determine whether Nielson was a killer as this was undeniable but
whether he was of sound mind when he committed his crimes to complicate matters the defense of diminished
responsibility didn't apply to attempted murder Nielsen's Defense Council Ivan Lawrence
who was working alongside Solicitor Ralph hyeme's requested that the two charges of
attempted murder be dropped so as to not confused the jury but his request was denied and the charges remained although
several of Nielsen's victims were gay many weren't entered the prosecution had conceded not to position any of the
murders as quote homosexual in nature or motivation prosecutor Alan green opened the case
against Nelson by reassuring the jury they wouldn't be exposed to any photographs of the human remains found
in the defendants home he then took the court through the sequence of events that led to Nielsen's arrest starting
with the block two drains at twenty-three cranly Gardens before summarizing each of the 15 murders
Nielson confessed to during police questioning Green highlighted that during their
confessions Nielson described murdering one of his victims as quote as easy as taking candy from a baby
and that he had strangled her so many victims that he had used all of his 15 neckties the prosecution agreed that
Dennis Nilsen was certainly abnormal but argued he had deliberately killed with full awareness and was therefore guilty
of murder three of the men who Nielsen had attacked were called to testify the first was Douglas Stewart The
Scotsman who had met Nelson at the Golden Lion pub on November 10 1980 and reluctantly agreed to join him for a
drink at his Melrose Avenue flat to avoid being rude Douglas recounted that he drank two
pints of beer and two then declined Nielsen's offer of a vodka after falling asleep in an armchair he awoke to
Nielson attempting to strangle him with a necktie and managed to fight him off scratching him under the eye in the
process during the struggle Nielson had a loudly yelled take my money take my money which the prosecution submitted
was an attempt to make himself appear the victim in case one of his neighbors heard the attack Greene argued that such
awareness and foresight indicated Nelson's calm state of mind at the time once the fight concluded Douglas tried
to placate Nielson by staying for another drink before eventually fleeing to inform the police when police
officers arrived at the flat Nielson claimed that he and Douglas were in a relationship and that they had simply
had an argument the police ultimately dismissed Douglass's complaint as they hadn't
noticed the scratch under Nielsen's eye prior to the trial Nielson said he didn't recall this attack but as Douglas
testified Nielson hastily passed two notes to his defense team to highlight inconsistencies in the story including
that he only kept a ram in his house and would never have offered Douglas a vodka
Nilsson also refuted Douglass's testimony that he had introduced himself as Dennis claiming that he only ever
went by the name des during cross-examination by the defense Lawrence asked why Douglas hadn't told
police to look for the scratch until Nelson's are Douglas replied that he hadn't thought
to mention it because he wasn't used to people trying to kill him when asked why
he stayed for another drink instead of running for his life Douglas didn't have an answer Douglas had previously sold
his story to tabloid newspaper the Sunday Mirror and to Lawrence suggested that he had fabricated certain details
to appease the newspapers requests for detail others in the courthouse perceived to Douglas as being cocky and
self-possessed and seemed to agree that his testimony might not be 100% reliable
the next witness to take the stand was Paul nobs the university student who Nielson tried to strangle in his sleep
on November 23 1981 marking the first of his attacks in the muscle Hill flat on the stand
Paul was visibly nervous and so softly spoken that both the prosecution and the judge had to ask him to speak up as he
detailed the assault that had left him with a visible mark across his neck for three months under cross-examination the
defense didn't challenge any of Paul's statements but instead asked the series of questions designed to show the jury
that there was no obvious motive for Nelson's attack which could indicate he was mentally unstable Lawrence put
forward that when the two men met at the Golden Lion Park Nielson offered Paul a
genuine friendship and agreed to accompany him to buy some books Nielson then cooked Paul dinner and offered him
a place to stay for the night in the morning when Paul was clearly injured and unwell Nielson gave no
indication that he was responsible instead showing genuine concern and suggesting that Paul see a doctor Paul
confirmed to all of these points to be true and also agreed that Nielson hadn't tried to coerce him into sacks or
any acts of sadism or violence in an attempt to disprove the prosecution's position that Nilson purposefully
targeted vagrants and drifters who wouldn't be reported as missing the defense pointed to the fact that Nelson
had allowed Paul to phone his mother on the evening in question the next eye witness to take the stand was survivor
Karl Stoddard who was visibly apprehensive as he relayed he's terrifying ordeal at Nelson's Muswell
Hill flat author Brian masters later wrote if Paul nobs was nervous Carlotta was positively terrified Karl testified
that when he first met Nelson at the black cat pub in Camden Nelson had asked whether Karl had any family later at his
flat Nilsson warned Karl that the sleeping bag he was using had a loose zipper the prosecution put forward that
both of these factors indicated that the attempted murder was premeditated they argued that Nelson wanted to check
whether his victim would be missed by anyone who might attempt to find him while the mention of the broken zipper
implied to Nelson was planning to strangle Karl and gave this warning in case the attack was botched
Nelson claimed to not to recall this attack which the defense used to infer that he must have had a complete mental
block or been dissociating at the time Nelson had asked ordered karl to the nearest tube station the day after the
assault which the defense stated further proved his mental instability karl also
described to nielsen as completely calm before and after the incident as though he was unaware that he had caused any
harm Detective Chief Inspector Peter J was also called to testify as well as recounting the events that led to
Nelson's arrest he read a layout from a number of statements Nelson had written while in custody including one from
February 15 1983 that Nelson had titled unscrambling behavior in the statement Nelson attempted to explain why he
killed surmising that he was a creative psychopath who had the power to temporarily lapse into a destructive
psychopath when drinking alcohol rapidly Nielson explained to that at his core he
felt completely socially isolated and was desperately searching for his sexual identity he also admitted that after
murdering his first victim he had been incapable of having sexual intercourse with a partner for some time Nielson
speculated as to the motivation behind his crimes saying he wished he could blame his actions on jealousy hate
revenge sex or robbery but that there was no clinical reason why he attacked he wrote god only knows what thoughts go
through my mind when its captive within a destructive binge it may be the perverted overkill of my need to help
people victims who I decide to release quickly from the slings and arrows of their outrageous fortune pain and
suffering there is no disputing the fact that I am a violent killer under certain
circumstances the victim is the dirty plotter after the face and to the washing up is
a clinically ordinary task Nielsen also questioned whether his desire to kill was a subconscious
primitive instinct or whether he simply enjoyed the thrill of getting away with murder
he wrote it amazes me I have no tears for the victims I have no tears for myself or for those
bereaved by my actions am i a wicked person constantly under pressure who just cannot cope with it who escapes
to reap revenge against society through the haze of a bottle of spirits maybe it's because I was just born an evil man
living with so much violence and death of not being haunted by the souls and ghosts of the Dead leading me to believe
that no such fictional phenomena has does or ever will exist DC IJ confirmed that Nilson was unusually cooperative
with the police investigation as well as eerily calm and unfazed when describing
the horrific acts he had committed Detective Chief Superintendent Jeffrey chambers also testified reading the long
transcripts of Nielsen's police interviews verbatim which took four hours to do DCs chambers said that
Nilson showed no remorse nor any indication of distress or disgust when describing how he dissected rotting
bodies or boiled human heads and flesh the large cooking pot nielsen had used to boil his victims as well as the
cutting board he had used for one of the dismemberments were produced as evidence
much to the horror of the jury who appeared nervous and physically ill upon hearing the accounts
author Brian masters who was present at the trial recalled at the point when Nielsen had described to unpacking
bundles of human remains the stench and the colonies of maggots even the judge looked repelled by what he heard for the
first time in the trial there was much nervous coughing in court there could hardly have been a more eloquent
demonstration of the Gulf which divided ordinary men and women from the impassive prisoner in the dark at this
point it was difficult to believe he was human at all Nielsen's defense team called upon two psychiatrists to support
their contention that Nilson was suffering from abnormality of the mind at the times of his crimes forensic
psychiatrist dr. James McKeith testified that Nelson was paranoid unsure of his own identity experienced feelings of
grandiosity and was desperate for the attention of others citing Nelson's bizarre sexual development and extreme
fantasies doctormick Heath believed he had an obsession with nudity and unconsciousness which was spurred by his
drinking binges and repressed sexuality he was also hindered by depersonalization a state in which an
individual experiences a feeling of observing themselves from outside their body or senses that their surroundings
are real according to dr. make--the this was evident in Nelson's ability to appear normal and calm at work
shortly after having murdered and dismembered victims at home as Nilsson had shown a complete lack of remorse yet
considered himself sane dr. make--the diagnosed him as having a severe personality disorder which
incorporated paranoid schizoid hysterical and sociopathic tendencies under cross-examination the prosecution
argued that Nelson wasn't mentally ill but intelligent cunning quick-witted and a resourceful they pointed out that his
occasional changes of heart when attacking certain victims indicated he was in control and capable of making
conscious choices when the prosecution asked the doctor Mackay's whether he believed that Nelson was of diminished
responsibility he responded I cannot answer that as an expert witness he explained that was up to the court to
assess the psychiatric evidence against the legal meaning of diminished responsibility and determine Nielsen's
abnormality of mind the second forensic psychiatrist to give evidence for the defense was dr. Patrick
Galway who concluded that Neilson suffered from arrested personality development which substantially impaired
his responsibility for his actions he described in Nielsen's condition as false self syndrome which was
characterized by the combination of paranoid and schizoid elements he exhibited while maintaining a seemingly
normal personality dr. Galway believed that Nilson masked his true personality causing periodic
breakdowns whenever the schizoid feature was prominent which led to his imagination taking over by projecting
his destruction onto victims that he viewed as objects instead of directing it inwards Neilson was able to prevent
his mind from entering psychosis during cross-examination the prosecution put it
the dr. Galway that Nelson knew intellectually exactly what he was doing when he committed his crimes
dr. Galway agreed but clarified that a person could not know what he was doing unless he also had emotional awareness
of it he reasoned quote I cannot see how Nelson can be guilty of malice aforethought if he is entirely without
feeling since billing is an integral part of a person's intent and motivation dr. Galway concluded that without the
emotional factor Nielsen would have behaved like a machine understanding the nature of his actions but not the
meaning of them the prosecution called their own expert witness to the stand dr. Paul Bowden at Brixton prison
psychiatrist who had interviewed in Nelson on 16 separate occasions over the past eight months
dr. Burton rejected the defense psychiatrists diagnosis declaring that he found no evidence to suggest that
Nelson had a severe personality disorder dissociated from his crimes or suffered
from arrest the development of the mind either intellectually or emotionally he deduced that there was no inherent cause
for Nelson's behavior and that he simply enjoyed the feeling of having power over
his victims dr. Baron also suggested that Nelson killed to transfer the feelings of
criminality he had towards being Jay to being a murderer instead dr. Baron rejected the suggestion that nelson was
remorseless and unemotional recounting that during one of their sessions together Nielson had broken down when
pressed about the details of John helots murder dr. Burton recalled quote tears filled his eyes and he was about to
start crying and he spoke about never being able to show his feelings then he got up and walked out the trial lasted
for nine days with the legal teams delivering their closing remarks on Wednesday November 2 1983 prosecutor
green concluded Dennis Nilsen was free to choose and he did choose who to leave alone and who to kill and who to
reprieve and a greater power hath no man than this he had been cunning in disposing of the possessions of his
victims and a resourceful in dealing with the police who were called by a victim who escaped he is a plausible
fellow a person who is able to Bluff his way out of many a situation the mind of
a man who can kill 15 people and try to kill six or seven others that mind in doing those things must be abnormal but
that did not mean that he was suffering from a diagnosable medical disorder he had killed for pleasure defense counsel
Ivan Lawrence urged the jury to use their common sense to determine that anyone capable of committing such brutal
and inhumane crimes had to be out of their mind after cataloguing Nielsen's crimes
mr. Lawrence concluded is there nothing substantially wrong with the mind of a man like that
injustice Croom Johnson reminded the jury that for Nilson to satisfy the legal definition of abnormality of the
mind quote there must be no excuses for Nilson if he has moral defects a nasty nature is not the same as an Arrested
Development of the mind on Tuesday November 3 the jury retired to deliberate but were unable to reach a
unanimous decision this continued the following day so just this Croom Johnson decided he would
accept the majority decision on the afternoon of November 4 the jury returned their verdicts for the murders
of Kenneth Ockendon Martin Duffy Billie Sutherland Malcolm Barlow John Hallett and Stephen Sinclair and
for the two attempted murders of Douglas Stewart and Paul nobs they found two Nelson guilty on all
counts Justice Croom Johnson handed down his sentence immediately stating quote Dennis Andrew Nilson on the verdicts of
the jury on the murder counts there is only one sentence which it is possible for me to pass he's sentenced Nelson to
life in prison with a minimum of 25 years clarifying that he would have passed the same sentence even if Nelson
had been found guilty of manslaughter due to diminished responsibility as his condition did not appear to be treatable
and he therefore was unlikely to benefit from time in a psychiatric facility Nelson was escorted out of the dock by
four prison guards and into the cells below the courthouse he commenced his life sentence that the
Wormwood Scrubs prison located in the London borough of Hammersmith and Fulham where he was assigned to his own six by
eight foot cell containing a desk and iron framed to bed a sink and a bucket toilet Neilson kept a scrapbook of
newspaper articles featuring his story and denoted down any inaccuracies he came across he complained about the
ongoing media attention and to their portrayal of him but those who spent time with Nelson believed he would have
struggled without the infamy Nelson mostly kept to himself which earned him a reputation amongst the
other inmates as pretentious this combined with the fact that they viewed his crimes as sexually motivated meant
that Nelson's fellow prisoners gave him a difficult time on December 20 1983 Nielson was in the exercise yard when
someone whispered you'd better watch your back mate the following day in the yard Nielson suddenly felt a blow to his
cheek and heard a metal object clutter to the ground upon looking down and seeing blood dripping onto his shirt he
realized his face had been slashed with a razor the injury required 89 stitches and
resulted in a deep scar that ran across the left-hand side of his face from his mouth to his ear the prisoner
responsible for the attack was small-time gangster Albert Moffatt who was charged for the assault and faced a
trial on June 18 1984 Moffatt openly admitted to the crime claiming he had acted in response to
Nielson making a sexual advance on him the jury decided that there was not enough evidence for a conviction and to
the charge was dropped [Music] later that year Nielson was transferred to Wakefield prison a facility roughly
295 kilometres northwest of London that specialised in housing sex offenders he soon struck up a romantic relationship
with a fellow inmate 28 year-old Jimmy Butler who was serving nine years for an armed robbery
Jimmy bore a resemblance to the Rolling Stones co-founder and guitarist Keith Richards and to Nielson was attracted to
his left-wing politics and energy Jimmy encouraged the Nielson to reengage his chef skills and the to set up a small
curry business during recreation time in the prison's common room kitchen nielsen
spent the majority of his meager prison earnings on cannabis which angered Jimmy
as did the fact that Nilson constantly questioned Jimmy about his unhappy childhood
the two started fighting with one argument turning physically violent and a Jimmy was eventually transferred to
another prison in 1985 Nielson wrote a letter to his mother Betty saying he wanted to permanently cease all contact
with her it is not known whether he had any contact with any other family members thereafter that same year author
Brian masters released his book about Nelson titled killing for company which featured excerpts from his
correspondence with the murderer and first-hand descriptions of the crimes the content raised concerns with
politicians from the Conservative Party who attempted to have masters and the books publisher Random House prosecuted
under the obscene publications Act the Attorney General denied their request and killing for company went on
to win awards for nonfiction crime writing the book was praised by one of Britain's preeminent psychological
fiction writers Dame Beryl Bainbridge who said killing for company must stand as one of the most remarkable and
accurate accounts ever written of the singular relationship between a mass murderer and a society
Brian masters in the writing has achieved the impossible though dealing with sensational and horrific matters he
has managed God knows how to treat his material with such objectivity and to restraint that what we have is not a
penny dreadful from the hammer house of horror but a bloody masterpiece On February 4 1986 survivor Carl Stoddart
wrote to Nielsen in prison asking why he had chosen to spare his life they exchanged a number of letters over the
following months with Carl later telling journalists to Russ coffee that the closest to an explanation
Nielsen offered was that a thin strand of humanity passed between them on the night of the attack however Carl
believes the real reason his life was spared was that Nielsen simply didn't have room
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leading child protection organization act for kids is urging Australians to stand together to protect the vulnerable
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impact that kovat 19 will have on child abuse and neglect cases as some families
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support vulnerable kids in the community during the mid-1980s the AIDS epidemic was a public focus in Britain and
Nilsson wanted the campaign for gay rights he wrote to the prison authorities requesting that inmates be
permitted to buy condoms but they rejected his request on the basis that gay acts were considered contrary to
good order and discipline Nielsen reported this to LGBTQ magazine gay times which published the story as the
Senators felt that the issue of AIDS imprisoned deserved attention even if the information was coming from a serial
killer Nielson also started receiving letters from members of the gay community who were struck by the idea
that his murders may have resulted from the psychological impact of his sexual isolation in 1990 Nielson was
transferred to full sutton prison in Yorkshire much to the anger of many of its inmates one night two hooded men
burst into Nelson's cell carrying a bowl of boiling water filled with sugar which
increases the temperature of boiling water to defend himself Nielson threw a battery at the man causing them to drop
the bowl before they could use its contents to launch an assault Nielsen was subsequently transferred to the
segregation unit for his own protection where he remained for several months before being moved to the vulnerable
prisoner unit award that mainly housed sex offenders the following year in 1991 Nielson was transferred to Albany prison
on the Isle of Wight a facility on the south coast of England specialising almost exclusively in vulnerable
prisoners he was allocated to work hard labor in the prisons mill and started receiving
visits from Lord Longford a devout Roman Catholic and a Labour Party politician famed for championing
social outcasts and forming friendships with unpopular prisoners he had famously
visited Moore's murderer Myra Hindley whose crimes were covered in episode 49 of case file in the early 1960s
Hindley and her partner Ian Brady murdered five children and was sentenced to life in prison
Lord Longford had campaigned for Hindley's parole on the grounds that she had found a religious faith he visited
Milsons several times before nielsen determined that their beliefs were incompatible and to amicably request
that a stop to the visits at the beginning of 1993 Nielson was transferred yet again this time to the
brand-new white Moore prison near Peterborough 150 kilometers north of London where he was housed in the
special secure unit on January 26 a video interview that he had participated in during his time in Albany prison was
aired on national television as part of a program titled murder in mind the one-hour show was the result of a
two-year investigation into serial killings in the United Kingdom and United States and described how
psychologists sent computerized data banks could help police trap killers the British Home Office had appealed to the
High Court to have the broadcaster banned on the grounds that the interview would cause pain to Nielsen's victims
and to their families the High Court rejected the request declaring that the program was in the public interest and
that the relatives of the victims could find comfort in knowing the loss of their loved ones was being used to
prevent such tragedy happening to others the interview with Nelson that was broadcast had been condensed into a six
minute segment during which nielsen said that he had to get blind too drunk in order to dissect his victims bodies as
well as detailing the manner in which he dismembered his victims Neilson discussed these fantasies in which he
watched himself pretending to be dead in the mirror explaining that he applied makeup in an attempt to convince himself
he was someone else he also stated that his victims looked better once they were
dead and that after they were washed and dressed in clean underwear he viewed their bodies as himself in his mirror
fantasies Neilson explained that carrying the dead body was an expression of his power and that the more lifeless
and passive the victim was the more powerful he felt concluded by saying that although the
bodies of his victims were gone he still felt a quote spiritual communion with these people after the murder in mind
program aired Nielson stated that he thought the interview quote stinks because it showed him in an unfavorable
light and to that its producers had missed a unique opportunity later in 1993 Nielsen was required to take part
in the UK's new sex offender treatment program one of the first of its kind in the world
Nielsen claimed that he learned nothing new from the program that he didn't already know himself since Nielsen's
conviction the British government had introduced the new policy in response to public fears about increased crime rates
in which home secretaries could use their discretion to impose whole life tariffs on prisoners who satisfied the
criteria for the worst type of murders in 1994 the then Home Secretary Michael Howard announced that a whole life
tariff would be applied to Nilsson meaning he would never become eligible for parole by the mid-1990s Nilsson
completed the first draft of his autobiography which he titled history of a drowning boy hoping to eventually have
it published he sent it off site to his solicitors for safekeeping later he wrote to water and gay literary icon
Peter Paul Hartnett better known as PP asking for his help to edit the manuscript PP had first contacted nelson
in 1993 asking for his insights into the subject of isolation in gay urban culture and - the two had corresponded
ever since however prison authorities Bend Nelson and peepee from collaborating on the
manuscript and wouldn't permit the manuscript to be returned to the prison prison guards increased their scrutiny
of Nelson and searched his self finding a copy of a gay pornography magazine in the provocative art book by French
artists Pierre and Jill the two publications were confiscated Nielson was infuriated and determined to fight
for his rights to view pornography under the Human Rights Act he attempted to lodge the complaint in court but the
judge refused to allow his case to be heard although Nilsson was banned from accessing his manuscript PP Hartnett
being outside the prison systems control was still free to edit it and arrange to
have it published however Nilsson was unhappy with the draft in its current form and eventually
lost confidence in Pepe's ability to complete the project instead Nilsson took the risk of asking
his lawyer Nick Wells to send him the manuscript on March 7 2001 Wells obliged describing the document as legally
privileged the governor at white Moor prison determined to the manuscript did not fit
this criteria and to returned it to Wells explaining it would need to be examined by prison authorities to ensure
it complied with their rules on November 27 2001 Nielson was transferred back to
full Sutton prison where the dispute about his manuscript continued prison officials read it and determined it was
not to be passed back to Nelson on the grounds that it was intended for publication and described to Nielsen's
criminal offenses without forming serious comments about the crimes the processes of justice or the penal system
in a letter dated October 23 2002 the governor of the prison detailed his reasons for the decision stating that
the manuscript quote is a platform for mr. Nelson to seek to justify his conduct and denigrate people he dislikes
the manuscript contains several lurid and pornographic passages it contains highly personal details of a number of
mr. Nelson's offenses it seeks to portray mr. Nelson as a morally and intellectually superior being who
justifiably holds others in contempt its publication would be likely to cause great distress to mr. Nelson's surviving
victims and to the families of all his victims and would be likely to cause a justifiable sense of outrage among the
general public nielsen mounted a legal challenge against the decision but the High Court
ruled that the determination of the prison service be upheld not content with this outcome
Nielsen filed an appeal in 2004 to the Supreme Court but the judges ruled that his case be
dismissed he then submitted a request to appeal to the House of Lords this too was denied
so he took his case to the European Court of Human Rights the court eventually ruled in favor of the Prison
Service effectively ending Nielsen's Avenue of Appeal and ensuring he would never get his manuscript back when news
of Nielsen's writings first began leaking in the press one of his surviving victims Carl Stata filed a
petition against its publication he later told a journalist Russ Coffey quote this book is just
about his desire for attention and publicity that's all it is Nielsen wants Takeda for his monster ego
image he's just a monster and we shouldn't pay attention to him we should be thinking about the victims and the
ripple effect on other victims in 2006 a team of police were reviewing the disappearance of 14 year old Stephen
Dean Holmes who had gone missing after walking home from a pop concert on December 30 1978 they showed Nilsson a
photo of Stephen who identified the teenager as his first two victim the two had met at the Cricklewood Arms Hotel
where Stephen was refused service on account of his age prompting Nielson to invite him back to his Melrose Avenue
flat for a drink once there they drank heavily and after Stephen fell asleep Nelson strangled him using an AK tire
then hid his body underneath the floorboards Nelson had told police about this murder upon his arrest in 1983 but
didn't know the name of his victim and was therefore never charged for the crime the police contacted Stephens
sister to inform her that her brother had now been identified as one of Nelson's victims sadly their mother had
passed away just four years earlier in 2002 and had campaigned for information about her son's whereabouts until the
very end the Holmes family found it too painful to talk about Stephens murder publicly but issued a statement that
read we are thankful to the police and glad it is all over now we hope that people will respect our privacy at this
sad time it was thought that Nelson may face a fresh trial for Stephens murder but this never eventuated also in 2006
Nelson's whole life tariff was reviewed after home secretaries were stripped of their right to impose such sentences
instead it was determined that the decision must be made by an independent and impartial tribunal established to by
law the trial judge reviewed in Nelson's case and affirmed the existing whole life tariff concluding that he would
never be eligible for parole nielsen stated that he wouldn't appeal for release as he owed it to his victims
to serve the allocated time in october 2013 some text was posted to an online blog which was said to be an excerpt
from Nielsen's history of a drowning boy manuscript although the author of the blog is
unknown experts have confirmed the excerpts appears to have been written by Nielson
in response to the lake Seton Sutherland whose brother Billy Sutherland was one of Nelson's confirmed victims told the
Daily Mail newspaper this man is a monster and he should not be allowed a voice this is attempting to glorify what
he did and it was the right decision to stop his autobiography ever being published take the blog down for the
sake of the families who were still having to deal with what he did it wasn't just our loved ones he killed
something died inside my parents and my brothers and sisters he ruined our family we've never had anywhere to go to
grieve for Billy because of what Nelson did to him and to the horror of how he died and what happened to him afterwards
never leaves us Shane Levine whose father was Nielsen's 14th victim Graham Allen had a different view and was
passionately in favor of the manuscripts publication on his own blog Shane explained that he would like to read
Nielsen's uncensored and honest words rather than the inaccurate words and beliefs that was splashed around in the
media Shane wrote there's a whole lot of hypocrisy and - nonsense logic around this question it's like the powers that
be don't want to know his real feelings they want to take away all the words which they don't want to hear and to
leave only those which give the impression that the criminal justice system and rehabilitation works
shouldn't the public psychiatrists forensic psychologists and criminal profilers be grateful for such a
first-hand account and done ashamed - glorifying of such a crime to me such a book would be extremely useful I think
the book has every right to be published and I think it's in the public interest
to do so in full Sutton prison Neilson continued writing autobiographical reflections eventually amassing more
than 4,500 pages in 2013 portions of history of a drowning boy were published in a book
written by journalist Russ coffee titled Dennis Nilsen conversations with Britain's most evil serial killer coffee
had first contacted Nelson in prison in 1998 and the two corresponded regularly throughout the 2000s with Nilsson
providing copious essays letters and additional chapters for his manuscript a draft that existed outside the prison
coffee is reported to be one of only four people who have read history of a drowning boy
in a 2018 article he wrote for the Daily Mail Coffey said Nielsen told me it was
the first serious attempt to explore his psychological condition in truth it was
a work of abject self-pity both the rust coffee and brian masters have warned readers of their books that Nelson's own
accounts are not necessarily trustworthy this has been echoed by others including
a man who served alongside Nelson in the Army during the early 1970s who told coffee having been stationed with the
bloke and having seen documentaries I have often been struck by how much journalists assume what he says is
actually true I would advise anyone writing about him to take his autobiographical claims with
a large pinch of salt in early 2012 a new bill was tabled in British Parliament that addressed the subject of
whole life prison tariffs it was proposed that certain prisoners with life sentences should be put before the
parole board after serving 30 years in order to ascertain whether it was still necessary to keep them incarcerated for
the protection of the public if the bill passed Nielson would be eligible for a parole board review in
2013 On February 9 2012 the bill was debated in Parliament by the House of Lords and de Nelson was put forward as
an example upon his return to full sutton prison in late 2001 one of the facilities education officers noticed
that Nelson displayed certain characteristics and skills that could be harnessed to the public good he was
taught to write in Braille and went on to transcribe more than 87 published books in addition to figuring out how to
describe graphs in Braille so that he could translate science textbooks for blind children in Parliament this was
provided as an example of how someone who had been rejected by society was still able to make a positive
contribution to the community Lord Tom McNally debated that the seriousness of a particularly heinous
crime does not diminish over time and that the whole life tariff reflects such seriousness with regard to Nelson's work
for the blind Lord a McNally stated such activity is to be commended for the good that it does to others and it shows
that an offender can engage in purposeful activity even where there may be no prospect of release there is no
doubt that an offender can do good while in prison but that does not necessarily
mean that his risk is diminished the bill was ultimately rejected by Parliament ensuring Dennis Nilsen
would spend the rest of his natural life in prison in the early morning hours of
Thursday May 10 2008 een Neilson complained to prison wardens that he was experiencing abdominal pain a few hours
later he was taken to the nurses clinic which was out of character as he typically refused all offers of health
care although all of his vital signs were normal the nurses took his complaint seriously given his usual
reluctance to engage with medical intervention he was seen by a doctor who suspected Nielson was suffering from a
urine infection or kidney stones and he was given paracetamol and sent back to his cell at 2:15 that afternoon prison
wardens found Nilsson naked and asleep on the toilet in his cell barely responsive and in a disorientated state
healthcare assistance was called but due to miscommunications and assumptions those responding did not appreciate the
seriousness of his condition and it was nearly three hours until a doctor attended to Nielson over the course of
the day Nelson's condition significantly worsened and at 6 p.m. paramedics arrived to transfer him by ambulance to
York District Hospital where he was diagnosed as having a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm
Nielsen had been offered a screening test for this condition 18 months earlier in December of 2016 as was
standard procedure for men over the age of 65 but had declined due to his disinterest in engaging with health care
had he been screened there was a high likelihood the condition would have been detected in its early stages and treated
accordingly instead Nielsen underwent emergency surgery and was then placed in the
intensive care unit the following day he was operated on a second time but the internal bleeding caused by the rupture
couldn't be stopped at 9:20 the next morning Saturday May 12 mm 18 Dennis Nilsen died at the age of 72 two days
later journalists Russ coffee wrote an article for the Daily Mail which read I feel a
sense of relief at his passing Dennis Nilsen liked to portray himself as a serial killer worthy of Hollywood as
sick a genius like Hannibal Lecter with the emotional complexity of Norman Bates
in psycho in his own distorted mind he was a crusader a poet a composer and a wit the Oscar Wilde of mass murderers
but in truth this deluded manipulative murderer was essentially just a grubby sex offender who was lucky to have got
away with his inadequate and disgusting crimes for as long as he did Neilsen wanted to believe he was a
unique case in fact he was the opposite prisons are full of people like him it's just that Nelson was good at
spinning his own mythology and too many people wanted to believe it he wanted to
be a monster and the world indulged him Dennis Nilsen was not as he wanted us to
believe an exceptional person destroyed by a murderous floor he was just a vile sex criminal whose brain lacked a
crucial component On June 7 2018 26 days after Nelson's death his body was cremated in secret and his ashes were
given to an unidentified friend the secrecy surrounding his funeral arrangements resulted from the 2017
controversy regarding the disposal of the remains of Moore's murderer Ian Brady prior to his death Brady had
requested that his ashes be scattered in his home city of Glasgow Scotland the Glasgow city authorities refused
permission and his ashes were instead placed in a cardboard container and dumped at sea the current whereabouts of
Nelson's ashes has not been made public he was never charged for the murders of Stephen Holmes Graham Allen or for the
attempted murders of Carlotta Tosh omitsu ozawa Andrew Howe or Trevor Simpson the seven other victims he
claimed to have murdered and burned at his Melrose Avenue flat have never been identified
in terms of the sheer number of victims Dennis Nilsen is considered one of the most prolific serial killers in British
history second only to dr. Harold Shipman a general practitioner suspected of killing as many as 215 of his patients
during the 1990s the fundamental question as to why Nielson killed remains up for debate in the BBC
documentary killing for company Brian masters claims that after Nielson was convicted he commented I have to
come clean with you Brian I should have told you before but I did it because I enjoyed it expanding on this Nielson
wrote a letter to masters that read I had always wished to kill but the opportunity never really presented
itself in safe conditions the kill was only part of the whole the whole experience which thrilled me intensely
was the drink the chase the social seduction to getting the friend back the decision to kill the body and its
disposal the pressure needed release he denied feeling hatred towards his victims and claimed that sex or murder
was never his intention when inviting the men back to his home insisting he only ever sought a warm relationship and
someone to talk to masters believes that Nelson's habit of carefully washing the bodies of his
victims and placing them on a chair in front of the television indicates quote the stark unpalatable fact that Nelson
killed for company to have someone to talk to someone to care for Shayne Levine son of victim Graham Allen
disagrees with master's theory as he sees it as a sympathetic and comforting notion Shayne believes that while
Nelson's loneliness sent a need for company played a role in the killings sex was the biggest motivator a post on
Shane's blog reads I think Nilson got a bigger sexual kick from the murders than
he has ever admitted sexual impulse is one of the few psychological states that really take us out of ourselves and to
make the perverse and grotesque exciting and realizable and as with many sexual fetishes after they have been fulfilled
one feels disgusted horrified and saddened by them others believe that Nelson killed because he enjoyed the
feeling of having power over his victims journalists thrust coffee comments in his book that the statements Nelson gave
imply that he killed whenever he was feeling low in order to satisfy his sex ritual to temporarily relieve him of his
feelings of inadequacy reflecting on the case years later DCI J told television show Britain's
most evil killers quote Nelson was so ordinary you begin to think to yourself how many more of them are around how
many more Nelson's are around I've never met anybody like him before in my life you deal with people as police officers
and you stick them in the evil box or cry for help box there's always a box but Nelson I never got to the bottom of
I couldn't understand at all the ground floor flat at Melrose Avenue in creeper would wet Nielsen killed 12
of his victims was purchased by a young couple in April 2016 it sold for 493 thousand pounds or just
under 1 million Australian dollars which was considered a good deal for its size
and location the couple completely renovated the flat installing new pipes floorboards and a new garden they told
the Sun newspaper we know a lot of people would not live here but from the moment people see what the place looks
like it puts that to rest of course you feel for the victims but I'm sure in a street like this there have been a lot
of deaths as for the flat at cranly Gardens in Muswell Hill the entire kitchen was relocated to London's crime
Museum at the Metropolitan Police Headquarters after Nielsen's trial better known as the black Museum the
private facility displays items of criminal significance from the past 145 years and is used to educate new police
recruits Nielsen's kitchen display includes the cooking pot he used to boil the heads of his victims as well as a
sample of the boiled flesh he flushed down the toilet the flat itself was put up for sale shortly after nelson's
conviction attracting morbidly curious visitors who rummaged through his remaining possessions it has changed
ownership several times over the years and in 2013 it was sold to a developer and extensively refurbished in 2016 the
flats sold for 250,000 pounds the equivalent of 450,000 Australian dollars at the time which was
approximately 100,000 pounds less than other identical flats in the street in late November 2019 it was announced
that British free-to-air TV channel ITV will be producing a three-part scripted series titled des covering Nielsen's
crimes from the perspectives of nelson brian masters and to DCI j dr. whose former leading actor David Tennant has
been cast in the role of Nelson with the show intended for release in mid to late
2020 the show's executive producer Kim varville said Dennis Nielsen's crimes shocked the nation in the early 1980s
our program focuses on the emotional impact of those terrible crimes both on those who came into contact with Nelson
himself and also on the victims families [Music] however some relatives of the victims
have slammed the show as a cash grabbing drama that will force them to relive the
horrific incidents on national television a friend of Billy Sutherlands family told the son it hurt the whole family
Nielsen is dead but the victims families aren't the Sutherland family have previously spoken out against the way
Billy's murder was covered by the press as he was reported as being gay and a sex worker both of which were incorrect
in a 2013 interview with the Daily Mail Billy's younger brother Seton Sutherland
stated Billy was the biggest womanizer going knowing Billy he probably thought Nelson
was being friendly towards him because they were both Scots I hate the fact that every time I search on the internet
for Billy Sutherland which is also the name of my son that a picture of my brother comes up with the words male
prostitute next to a photograph of Nelson I'm angry that's how my brother's remembered Seaton said that after Billy
was identified as one of Nelson's victims his marine engineer father couldn't bear to return to work and his
mother developed depression she had hoped to see Nielson die in prison but both of his parents passed away before
Nielsen's demise Shane Levine writes on his blog about the profound effect his father graham
Allen's death had on his mother Leslie who spiraled into alcoholism after Nielsen's trial and attempted suicide
numerous times as Shane was only nine years old when Graham was killed and not close with his father he considers
himself to be a secondary victim explaining that although the murder didn't take a direct emotional toll on
his life his mother's reaction and behavior had a significant impact shane writes of his childhood quote it was
horrendous and vulgar and perverted but gave me unique eyes and a unique insight
into suffering and despair a master's degree in the filth of a life Shayne himself struggled with the drug
addiction but holds no ill feelings towards Nelson expressing that he doesn't want to waste time pondering the
butterfly effect of someone else's choices quote after everything we still determine our own actions we must live
and die by our swords we cannot blame our enemy for us taking up arms that is a bitter and all-consuming road to take
[Music] you [Music]

Case 144: The Muswell Hill Murderer (Part 3)

[Part 3 of 3] With Dennis Nilsen committed to stand trial for the murders of six men and the attempted murder of two others, the public and press questioned how he could have gotten away with the crimes for so long…

CREDITS

Narration – Anonymous Host Research – Holly Boyd Writing – Elsha McGill Creative direction – Milly Raso Production, scoring – Mike Migas and Andrew Joslyn

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Brief Summary

Dennis Nilsen's trial reveals his calculated murders and the psychological complexities behind his actions, impacting victims' families profoundly.

Key points

Silent Waves Podcast Series. A powerful seven-part series about Raquel O'Brien's journey of healing from trauma.
Dennis Nilsen's Trial Begins. The trial of Dennis Nilsen commenced, revealing shocking details of his crimes.
Nilsen's Confessions. Nilsen described his murders with chilling ease, claiming it was as easy as taking candy from a baby.
Dr. Galway's Emotional Awareness Argument. Dr. Galway argues that emotional awareness is crucial for understanding intent in crimes.
The Jury's Dilemma. The jury struggles to reach a unanimous decision on Nilsen's guilt.
Verdict and Sentencing of Dennis Nilsen. Dennis Nilsen is sentenced to life in prison for his heinous crimes.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

I thought I could do anything I wanted.

Dennis Nilsen reflecting on his crimes.

3:52WatchMay 23, 2020

Tension

75/ 100High tension

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