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[Music] our episodes deal with serious and often distressing incidents if you feel at
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anytime you need support please contact your local crisis center for suggested phone numbers for confidential support
00:01:41
please see the show notes for this episode on your app or on our website [Music]
00:01:53
when Dennis Nilsen moved out of his flat at 195 Melrose Avenue in Cricklewood he
00:02:00
had already taken the lives of 12 victims by Monday November 23 1981 he had been living in his new flat at 23
00:02:10
cranly gardens in Muswell Hill for seven weeks and was eager to put the past behind him and start afresh
00:02:17
it was his 36th birthday and to celebrate he took the day off work and headed out to the park as his new home
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was only five miles from his old address he continued to frequent many of his usual drinking horns at 1:30 p.m.
00:02:37
Nielson was drinking in the Golden Lion pub on Dean Street in Soho when he struck up a conversation with Paul nobs
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a 19 year old undergrad who was studying Slavonic and Eastern European studies at
00:02:51
the University of London Paul was supposed to be attending a lecture but had decided to take the
00:02:58
afternoon off to buy some books Nielsen was impressed by Paul's intelligence into the two chatted for an hour until
00:03:06
Paul announced that he needed to go to the bookstore Neilson accompanied him there and
00:03:13
invited Paul back to his flat for dinner afterwards Paul accepted the invitation and they
00:03:21
stopped at a nearby supermarket to purchase some chops and liquor arriving back at 23:00 cranly Gardens at around
00:03:28
5:45 p.m. [Music] the three-story residence was once a single-family home but it's since been
00:03:38
split into a multi tenant building that zona didn't live on site instead hiring the services of local real estate agency
00:03:47
Ellis and Co to manage the property and its tenants in addition to Dennis Nilsen
00:03:54
there were four other tenants living in the building the ground-floor was divided into two flats one of which was
00:04:02
occupied by a builder named Jamal [ __ ] and his bartender girlfriend Fiona bridges the other was leased to two
00:04:11
young women a dental nurse from New Zealand named Vivian mix day and a youth worker from Holland named Minnie Kevin
00:04:19
Ruta the first floor was unoccupied Neilson lived on the top floor in a small squalid attic space that was
00:04:30
accessed to fire two flights of stairs it's front door opened to a small granny hallway that served as a kitchen with a
00:04:39
small cupboard gas stove and sink to the left as well as a door that led directly
00:04:45
to a grubby bathroom to the right of the hallway were two doors one that opened onto a living room containing wardrobes
00:04:54
two armchairs and a tea chest and another that led to Nielsen's disorganized bedroom a double bed sat in
00:05:03
the middle of the room with a small sofa to what's right along with a television
00:05:08
stereo several pot plants and other rods and dance each room had sloping ceilings
00:05:16
and two dull brown carpets that were simply laid on top of the floor instead of fitted into place when Nielsen and
00:05:26
Paul nobs arrived at the flat nielsen cooked them dinner and two the two sat down to drink and watch television Paul
00:05:35
called his mother to let her know he'd be home shortly but he then started feeling sick from all the alcohol and
00:05:42
phoned her back to say he would be spending the night at a friend's place the two men eventually undressed hopped
00:05:50
into Nielsen's bed and started kissing but they were both tired and soon fell asleep
00:05:58
at 2:00 a.m. Paul woke up feeling nauseated with a throbbing headache he went to the kitchen poured himself a
00:06:07
glass of water and sat on the couch for a while Nielson got up to check on him and -
00:06:14
they both went back to bed at 6 a.m. Paul woke again and went back to the kitchen which had a mirror above the
00:06:23
sink upon catching a glimpse of his reflection Paul realized that his face was red and bruised and his eyes were
00:06:33
bloodshot his hands were shaking uncontrollably he's throat hurt and - there was a deep
00:06:40
red mark across his neck when Nilsson saw Paul he remarked God you look awful and suggested that he see a doctor he
00:06:52
then wrote down his address and told Paul that he hoped they would see one another again
00:06:58
[Music] Paul's staggered away from Nielsen's flat and made his way to the University
00:07:05
of London for his scheduled classes one of his tutors noticed that he looked incredibly unwell and immediately booked
00:07:13
him an appointment at the University College Hospital around the corner from the campus at the clinic Paul's hands
00:07:22
shook so badly that he knocked over a cup of coffee and was unable to light a cigarette the doctor gave him a
00:07:30
tranquilizer to calm his nerves and after conducting a check-up deemed that Paul symptoms were consistent with
00:07:38
having been strangled [Music] [Music] although Paul nobs realized that Dennis Nilsen must have attacked him in his
00:08:13
sleep and then acted as though nothing had ever happened he decided not to report
00:08:18
the incident to the police to explain the mark that remained visible across his neck for the next three months
00:08:26
he told others that he had been attacked - during a mugging Paul spotted Nelson at the Golden Lion
00:08:33
about a year after the incident but avoided speaking to him in March 1982 four months after the attack on Paul
00:08:44
nobs Nielson was drinking at the Salisbury on st. Martins Lane London's preeminent gay bar when he ran into
00:08:52
28-year old John Hallett whom Nielson knew as John the Guardsman the two had met at another part a couple of months
00:09:02
earlier where John had boasted of being an ex Grenadier Guards man and they had chatted over drinks for a couple of
00:09:09
hours John had to live the trouble to life at the age of 13 he was kicked out of his family home and spent his
00:09:18
adolescence living in group residences where he was constantly in trouble with the police as an adult
00:09:26
John had served time in prison for theft and made ends meet by working in travelling Fairgrounds at the Salisbury
00:09:37
John recognized the Nelson and to joined him for a drink at the bar the service was slow which frustrated Nelson and he
00:09:47
suggests that they go to his flat to drink instead John agreed and to the pair walked to a liquor store to stock
00:09:54
up on alcohol before catching the tube back to 23:00 Cranley Gardens there nielsen cooked a dinner and two
00:10:04
the two settled in to drink and watch television in the living room as midnight approached John asked if he
00:10:12
could rest his head for a while Nielsen agreed and continued watching TV while John left to lie down in the
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bedroom at around 1:00 a.m. Nielson went to the bedroom and found two John lying
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half-naked and asleep in his bed he woke him and commented I thought you were getting your head down I didn't know you
00:10:38
were moving in Nielson offered to call John a taxi but John said he didn't feel like getting up this frustrated Nielsen
00:10:51
as he didn't find a joint attractive and to no longer wanted him in his flat he poured himself another glass of rum and
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sat on the edge of the bed contemplating what to do next eventually Nielsen retrieved a strap of
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material from underneath an armchair straddled to John's body and tied the material around his neck remarking it's
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about time you went a furious struggle ensued during which Nielson struck at John's head against to
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the edge of the headrest drawing blood John continued to fight back but soon fell off the bed and too lost
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consciousness Nielsen tightened to the material around to John's neck until he was sure he was dead
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Nielsen's dog bleep was barking frantically in the next room so he went to comfort her when he returned to the
00:11:55
bedroom a few minutes later he discovered that John was still breathing Nilsson strangled him again then dragged
00:12:03
him into the bathroom filled the tub with water and held John's head down until he was no longer breathing
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Nilsson left him there has he changed the sheets on his bed and then went to sleep with bleep caught up by his fate
00:12:21
the following morning Nilsson heeded John's body in his wardrobe three days later he covered his bathroom floor with
00:12:30
garbage bags retrieved the body and to begin dismembering it to dispose of the organs he cut them into pieces
00:12:39
and flushed them down the toilet this proved to be a time-consuming process so he attempted to speed things
00:12:48
up by boiling the flesh and organs into a superlight consistency that was easier
00:12:53
to flash once the bones of the hands feet and ribs were free of flesh he broke them apart and placed them in his
00:13:02
regular rubbish bin to be tossed out with the rest of his household waste Nielsen packed the bigger bones
00:13:10
including the skull arms legs and pelvis into several garbage bags along with salt and padding and stored them in the
00:13:19
tea chests in the corner of his living room two months later in May 1982 Nielson was drinking at a gay bar in
00:13:34
Campton called the black car when he noticed the young blonde man drinking alone the men had several red marks on
00:13:43
his face and to Nielson approached to ask about his injuries the man introduced himself as 21-year
00:13:51
old Carl Stata and explained that he had just escaped from an abusive boyfriend his facial wounds were carpet burns from
00:14:00
the most recent attack and he was drinking to distract himself Nielson smiled and reassured Carl that he was
00:14:08
still attractive despite his injuries Carl was struck by Nielsen's kindness and the two began chatting bonding over
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the shared alienation they felt from their families when the black cap closed Nielsen invited Carl back to his flat he
00:14:29
accepted until they caught a cab holding hands throughout the ride Nielsen didn't approve of the route the
00:14:37
driver chose to take them home and two became unusually angry retaliating by paying with the smallest to change
00:14:44
possible once they arrived at 23:00 cranly Gardens the two men drank heavily while
00:14:52
listening to music at one point Nielsen insisted Carl listened to his favorite song using headphones and stood behind
00:15:02
him as he did so watching intently they became affectionate but Carl told Nielson he didn't feel like having sex
00:15:12
Carl eventually had too much to drink and felt ill so they decided to go to bed Nielsen pointed out that the sleeping
00:15:22
bag on his bed had a loose zipper and warned Carl to be careful not to get caught in it about an hour later Carl
00:15:33
woke up suddenly when he felt a sharp pain and sense of tightness around his neck Nielsen was behind him pulling on
00:15:42
the sleeping bag warning Carl to stay still thinking he was caught in the zipper and to that Nielson was trying to
00:15:50
help him out Carl struggled to set himself free but soon lost consciousness when he came to
00:15:58
he could hear water running and felt incredibly cold quote I knew I was in the water and he was trying to drown me
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he kept pushing me into the water the third time I came up I said no more please no more and he pushed me under
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again I just thought I was dying I thought this man was killing me and always dying I thought you were drowning
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this is what it feels like to die I felt very relaxed and I passed out I couldn't
00:16:42
fight anymore assuming that Carl was now dead Nielsen carried him out of the bath and
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placed him on the living room floor his dog bleep then started to licking Carl's face which alerted at Nielson to
00:16:59
the fact that he was still alive seemingly changing his mind about murdering Carl he spent the next few
00:17:06
hours attempting to revive him and warming him up Carl eventually regained consciousness
00:17:14
but was dazed and disorientated and had trouble remembering what had happened he
00:17:21
saw his reflection and realized there was a deep red mark around his neck and broken blood vessels all over his face
00:17:29
and in his eyes Nielson explained that Carl had been caught in a sleeping bag zipper and too lost consciousness and
00:17:38
that he had splashed water onto Carl's face to wake him up in a state of shock Carl believed in Nielson who spent the
00:17:47
morning comforting him when Carl started to feel slightly better Nielsen walked him to a nearby
00:17:55
tube station and gave him his name and address in case he wanted to remain in contact Carl made his way to the Royal
00:18:05
Free Hospital in Hampstead roughly three miles from Nielsen's flat and told a doctor there that had been caught in a
00:18:12
zipper the doctor was adamant that Carl's injuries were consistent with having been strangled and concluded that
00:18:21
someone may have tried to kill him but Carl still in a state of shock was uncertain what to believe
00:18:36
around the time of the attack on Col Stata Nielsen applied for another promotion at the Job Center but was once
00:18:43
again denied he wrote a letter to his personnel manager saying that he felt victimized and asked what was preventing
00:18:52
him from moving up the ladder Nielsen was subsequently invited to appeal the decision and succeeded after eight years
00:19:02
of service he was finally promoted to the role of executive officer On June 28 1982 Nielson was reassigned to the
00:19:14
Kentish Town Job Center branch located approximately three and a half miles from his flat in Moz well hill his
00:19:22
manager was a woman named - Janet Lehman and - the two formed a close professional relationship that was the
00:19:30
happiest of Nielsen's working career despite these positive changes he continued to drink heavily and within
00:19:38
a couple of months he resumed his old patterns one September evening Nielson returned
00:19:47
to his flat with 27 year-old Graham Alan Graham was a Scottish born heroin addict
00:19:54
with a troubled past who had moved to London in 1971 under the false Ulua of AZ employment since then he'd spent
00:20:05
years squatting in abandoned buildings funding his drug addiction through a mix of government unemployment benefits pain
00:20:12
handling and petty theft throughout the late 1970's and early 80's he spent time in both the rehab and
00:20:22
prison and when released he escalated to robbing pharmacies Graham was engaged in
00:20:30
a long-running affair with a woman named - Leslie who was the girlfriend of a well-known local criminal and - the two
00:20:38
had a young son together one night in September 1982 Graham and - Leslie had a frenzied
00:20:47
argument Graham was drunk and demanded that Leslie give him money to buy heroin when she refused he proceeded to punch
00:20:57
himself in the face fearful of his increasingly violent behavior Leslie locked - Graham out of her house
00:21:05
telling him to go away and to never come back it's unclear where Graham enter Nielsen met or Hal
00:21:16
Graham ended up at Nelson's flat but once they were there Graham requested something to eat Nielson didn't have
00:21:24
much food in the house except for a carton of eggs so he made Graham a large omelet when
00:21:32
Graham was about three-quarters of the way through weeding it he suddenly fell asleep or passed out with a large piece
00:21:39
of the omelet hanging out of his mouth Nielsen couldn't tell whether Graham was still breathing or not but he leaned
00:21:47
forward and proceeded to strangle him he later recalled if the omelet killed him I don't know but anyway in going
00:22:00
forward I intended to kill him an omelet doesn't leave faretta marks on her neck
00:22:06
I suppose it must have been me the next day Nielson filled the bathtub with water and placed the Graham's body
00:22:18
inside it before going to work as usual he kept the body in the tub for three days
00:22:26
changing the bath water on occasion on the fourth day he dismembered Graham's body boiled several of the body parts
00:22:36
and then flushed the organs and some of the flesh down the toilet he placed the rest of the remains into black plastic
00:22:44
bags and stuff to them into the tea chests alongside the remains of John Hallett Graham's girlfriend to Leslie
00:22:54
was used to him disappearing for long periods of time but he always wrote her letters during his absence after she
00:23:03
failed to hear from him for several months Leslie continued to hope that Graham was
00:23:08
alive but feared that he had actually passed away from an overdose he was never reported missing
00:23:21
on Wednesday December 22 1982 Nielson was drinking in a Soho pub when he met 20 year-old Trevor Simpson who had just
00:23:32
been released from prison after serving a six-month sentence for carjacking the two began talking and after a few drinks
00:23:41
Neilson invited Trevor back to his flat Trevor accepted unto the two went to 23:00 cranly Gardens where Nielson told
00:23:51
Trevor he was welcome to sleep in one of the armchairs in his living room the next morning he extended the offer and
00:23:59
Trevor stayed for several more days although he was happy to have a place to stay over Christmas Trevor soon became
00:24:09
frustrated with Nelson who continuously bombarded him with left-wing political rhetoric he also noticed the nawfal odor
00:24:18
that seemed to emanate from the flat but wasn't inclined to search for the source
00:24:24
of the smell by Monday December 27 Trevor had stayed at the flat for five days Nielsen made them a stew to eat but
00:24:35
became irritated when Trevor made a rude remark about the taste later that night
00:24:42
Nielsen drunkenly muttered something about needing to consult with the professor about whether or not Trevor
00:24:49
could stay any longer Trevor went to bed shortly afterwards but awoke at 1:00 a.m. to find the living room filled with
00:24:59
smoke he ran to the kitchen where he found it Nielson calmly drinking a glass of water the smoke was determined to be
00:25:09
coming from a pair of jeans on the living room floor which Nielsen said was likely caused by Trevor dropping a lit
00:25:17
cigarette the fire was extinguished without further incident and Trevor stayed for one more night
00:25:24
before moving on with Nilsson saying he was welcome to return anytime a few days later and around a lunchtime
00:25:36
on Friday December 31 Nilsson visited a pub down the street from his flat he returned home at 8 p.m. and 2 knocked on
00:25:46
the door of his downstairs neighbors Vivienne mix day and Monique van Rooter to ask if they wanted to watch
00:25:53
television with him upstairs the women declined as they were in the middle of cooking dinner and could also
00:26:01
tell that Nilsson was very drunk he seemed annoyed by their refusal but invited them to join him at the local
00:26:10
pub later that night to celebrate the new year then went back upstairs at around 11 p.m.
00:26:20
Nielson walked to the nearby Green Man pub where he met a young Japanese chef named Tasha Mitsui ozawa the pub closed
00:26:30
just after midnight and the two decided to return to Nielsen's flat once they were inside Nilsson calmly approached
00:26:40
Tasha omitsu with the neck tire pulled tautly between his outstretched arms at first
00:26:47
Tasha misoo thought Nilsson was joking but when Nilsson repeated the action again Tasha omitsu realized Nilsson was
00:26:56
serious terrified Tasha mitsukete to Nelson in the groin and fled from the flat running down the
00:27:04
stairs and into the nine the downstairs neighbors Vivian and Monique heard arguing followed by banging in the sound
00:27:14
of someone sobbing they ventured outside to see what was going on only to find a highly
00:27:21
intoxicated Nilson on the stairs Tasha Mitsui reported the incident to police but felt it was too much trouble
00:27:30
to follow through with the complaint and subsequently with the druid less than four weeks later on Wednesday January 26
00:27:45
1983 Nielson was walking through London's West End when he started chatting with a 20 year old named
00:27:52
Stephen Sinclair Stephen who had been born in Scotland and was adopted had to lift a heart alive throughout his
00:28:02
childhood he struggled with severe personality problems was afflicted by regular bedwetting and often self harmed
00:28:12
at the age of 12 he was diagnosed with psychomotor epilepsy a disorder that impacts the brains temporal lobe and
00:28:21
impairs an individual's awareness to their surroundings Stephen was subsequently
00:28:28
institutionalized and placed into foster care and by the time he was 18 he was addicted to amphetamines and had
00:28:36
contracted hepatitis B he moved to London where he lived in hostels or squatted in derelict houses
00:28:44
and spent most of his time loitering around Leicester Square he was well known to social workers and police in
00:28:53
the area and had been imprisoned multiple times although he was generally regarded as a social outcast Stephen had
00:29:03
accumulated many friends on the streets of London and was known to have a sensitive and friendly side Nielson
00:29:13
sympathized with the troubled young man and offered to buy him a meal from McDonald's some of Stephens friends saw
00:29:20
them walk off together but didn't intervene in case Stephen was planning to rob Nielson which he was known to do
00:29:29
the to a then stopped at a liquor store before deciding to head to Nelson's flat
00:29:35
they caught the tube back to muzzle Hill arriving at 23:00 cranly Gardens at around 9 p.m.
00:29:44
the men drank chatted listened to music and to watch TV together at some point during the evening Stephen went to the
00:29:56
bathroom to inject himself with what Nelson assumed to be speed but by the early hours of the morning he had dozed
00:30:04
off in one of the armchairs Nilsson shook Stephen to see if he was awake and when there was no response he went into
00:30:13
the kitchen and cut up an old necktie which he tied with some string to fashion a ligature bleep followed him
00:30:22
back into the living room wagging her tail and to Nelson patted her before ordering her into the bedroom
00:30:29
he then proceeded to strangle Stephen who slipped into unconsciousness without a struggle when he stopped breathing
00:30:39
Nelson said Stephen that didn't hurt at all nothing can touch you now he later recalled I
00:30:52
remember wishing he could stay in peace like that forever I had a feeling of easing his burden
00:30:59
with my strength I felt relieved that his troubles were now over Nielson removed Stephens clothing and carried
00:31:12
him to the bathroom where he bathed him in the tub with lukewarm water and a lemon-scented dishwashing liquid
00:31:20
afterwards he dried him and carried him to the bedroom where he laid him down on
00:31:26
the bed and propped the one large mirror at the end of the bed and one by its side Nielson undressed until a naked
00:31:35
next to Stephens body covering both of them with talcum powder so that their skin was a similar color he later told
00:31:44
author Brian masters I spoke to him as if he was still alive I was telling him how lucky he was to be
00:31:53
out of it all I thought how beautiful he looked and how beautiful I looked he looked sexy but I had no erection he
00:32:04
just looked fabulous in another account he recalled I wanted to touch and Stroke
00:32:14
him but did not I lay naked beside him but only looked at the two bodies in the mirror I just the lay there and a great
00:32:24
peace came over me I felt that this was it the meaning of life death everything no fear no pain no guilt
00:32:36
I could only caress and fondle the image in the mirror I never looked at him no sex just the feeling of oneness the next
00:32:52
morning Nielson dressed Stephen in some of his own clean clothes placed his body
00:32:57
in the living room wardrobe and went to work one week later on Thursday February
00:33:09
three downstairs tenant Jamal Kok noticed that one of the toilets on the ground floor of twenty-three cranly
00:33:17
Gardens was blocked he attempted to unblock it using an acid solution and prodding sticks but to no avail
00:33:27
the next morning Jim's girlfriend Fiona bridges bumped into Dennis Nilsen and asked if he was having any trouble with
00:33:35
the toilet in his flat into Nielson replied that he wasn't Jim phoned to the building's estate agency Ellison Co to
00:33:46
notify them of the issue and to ask for the number of a plumber at 4:15 p.m. Fiona called the plumber but he wasn't
00:33:55
available so she left a message with the details Nielsen had spent the afternoon
00:34:02
of Friday February 4 drinking at the pub to prepare himself for the process of disposing of Stephen Sinclair's body in
00:34:12
the evening he returned to his flat blind to the bathroom floor with garbage bags and to retrieve Stephens body from
00:34:21
the Wardrobe using a carving knife he dismembered the body and removed the organs employing the same technique he
00:34:32
had used when disposing of John Hallett he boiled to various body parts to soften the tissue so that it would be
00:34:40
easier to flush down the toilet at this point it hadn't occurred to Nelson that the blocked toilets his downstairs
00:34:48
neighbors were experiencing could be caused by his actions halfway through the task he took a break
00:34:57
to walk bleep to a nearby supermarket where he purchased cigarettes and a bottle of rum upon returning home he
00:35:07
listened to classical music and drank heavily while the body parts simmered on the stove by midnight he was too drunk
00:35:16
to continue with the disposal so he went to bed with Stephens remains still in the living room and his head in a pot
00:35:26
the next day Saturday February 5 Nielson woke with a hangover and spent most of the morning in bed unbeknownst to him
00:35:38
plumber Mike Walsh arrived at around midday to inspect the drains from outside the property unable to clear the
00:35:46
blockage himself Mike determined it was a job of a specialist plumbing company Dino rod and a technician was booked for
00:35:55
the next available appointment on Monday later that afternoon Nielson was leaving
00:36:02
the house when he's downstairs neighbor Fiona informed him of the plumbing situation and recommended that he avoid
00:36:09
using the toilet in his flat until the Dino rod technicians visit in two days time only then did it dawn on him that
00:36:19
he's flushing of body parts down the toilet had likely caused the blockage he went to the supermarket to purchase
00:36:27
cleaning products and air fresheners and returned to the flat to finish disposing
00:36:33
of Stephens remains later that evening Nielsen's a longtime friend Martin hunter Craig paid him an unexpected
00:36:43
visit Nielson only held the door open a fraction and told Martin he couldn't come in because he was with another
00:36:51
visitor martin noticed that nelson seemed agitated and that his face was ghostly pale
00:36:59
there was also a strange or vomit like odor emanating from the flat at this point
00:37:07
bleep noticed that the door was partially open and ran outside and down the stairs Nilson instructed Martin to
00:37:16
hold the door but warned him not to go inside and - then chased after his dog he returned with bleep shortly after and
00:37:27
asked for reassurance that Martin hadn't entered his flat Martin assured in Ilsan that he hadn't
00:37:35
Martin assumed that Nilson had been drinking and didn't want him to go inside because there was someone there
00:37:42
whom he was having sex with so he left the property Nielson then spent the rest of Saturday night watching television
00:37:54
the following morning of Sunday February 6 Neilson divided Stephens dismembered body parts and organs into multiple
00:38:03
plastic bags and to then place two these into large garbage bags which he stored
00:38:09
in his wardrobe and under an upturned to draw in his bathroom he covered the bags
00:38:16
in his wardrobe with the newspapers stuffed several sticks of deodorant inside and then locked the Wardrobe
00:38:23
doors on monday february 7 nielsen went to work as usual but spent the day on edge knowing that the dino rod
00:38:36
technician was scheduled to visit and he would likely return home to find the police at his door
00:38:43
he was Curt and irritable with his colleagues and apologized to one phase behavior explaining that he was under
00:38:51
pressure when he arrived at home he was relieved to find that the Dino road technician had never shown up on Tuesday
00:39:03
February a Nielson went to work again that evening Dino road employee Mike Catrin attended the property at
00:39:13
approximately 6:15 p.m. by which time night had fallen Nielson joined two downstairs tenant Jamal Kok outside to
00:39:24
watch as Micah lowered himself into the manhole to inspect the drains Mike discovered the floating pieces of flesh
00:39:32
and porridge alike substance and determined the blockage must have been caused by animal remains he asked her
00:39:41
Nilson if he had been flushing dog food down the toilet - which Nielson responded no instead remarking that the
00:39:49
flesh looked like pieces of Kentucky Fried Chicken Mike concluded that something untoward was going on and
00:39:59
found his manager Gary wheeler the two men agreed to attend to the property the next day so they could conduct a clearer
00:40:08
inspection in daylight when Nilsson returned to his flat he wrote a letter to the building's management company
00:40:17
Ellis and Co to complain about the state of the drains he spent the rest of the evening drinking heavily and at around
00:40:25
midnight he ventured outside and headed down into the manhole he proceeded to clear as much of the
00:40:34
flesh from the drain as he could throwing the remains over the hedge into the back garden in order to disguise the
00:40:43
remainder of the drains contents he decided he would buy some Kentucky Fried Chicken in the morning and throw it into
00:40:50
the mix downstairs tenants Jim and Fiona were awake and heard footsteps on the stairs followed by the sounds of someone
00:41:00
walking in the back garden and to the manhole cover being removed they also heard that the repeated flushing of the
00:41:09
toilet located on the landing Jim armed himself with a pole and two went out to investigate
00:41:17
catching Nilson as he was returning to his flat his shirtsleeves rolled up and a torch in his hand when Jim asked his
00:41:28
neighbor what he was doing Nielson explained that he had gone outside to urinate the next morning of Wednesday
00:41:36
November 9 Nielson left for work at around 8:30 a.m. 45 minutes later dawn a rod technician Mike Catrin and
00:41:47
his boss Gary wheeler arrived at 23:00 cranly Gardens Mike climbed down into the manhole for the second time and was
00:41:57
surprised to see that most of the flesh like substance was gone Fiona Bridges who was the only tenant at
00:42:06
home told Mike and Gary about the noises she and Jim heard the night before and how they had caught Nilson sneaking
00:42:14
around outside in the early hours Mike continued to fish around in the drain until he pulled out what appeared to be
00:42:23
a human knuckle along with more pieces of flesh and bone horrified at the discovery Fiona
00:42:32
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ship happen at 11:00 a.m. a number of officers led by 26-year veteran of the police force
00:47:22
Detective Chief Inspector Peter Jay arrived at 23 cranly Gardens the police conducted a further search of the drain
00:47:31
and to retrieved several more pieces of flesh each approximately four inches long and one inch wide along with three
00:47:39
small bones with a knuckle at each end DCI RJ personally took the remains to Charing Cross Hospital for examination
00:47:49
but David Bowen a professor of forensic medicine at the University of London who
00:47:55
also worked as a consultant pathologist professor Bowen declared that the small bones and a knuckle had come from the
00:48:03
hand of a human male and that the flesh was human neck tissue the flesh also displayed a clear ligature mark leading
00:48:12
professor Bowen to conclude that the victim had been strangled as Nielsen's worked a drew to an end he
00:48:21
tried to behave normally but he knew an arrest was imminent and he would likely never return to the office again before
00:48:30
he left he wrote a note urging his colleagues not to believe any reports that might emerge claiming he had taken
00:48:36
his own life in jail he tucked the note inside a drawer tied at his desk and said a cheerful goodbye to his workmates
00:48:47
some noticed he was wearing a blue and white football scarf which was out of character as he typically wore drab dark
00:48:54
clothing it would later be revealed that the scarf had belonged to his last victim Stephen Sinclair
00:49:05
at 5:40 p.m. nielsen arrived home to find three detectives Detective Chief Inspector Peter J Detective Inspector
00:49:14
Stephen McCaskill and Detective Constable Geoffrey Butler waiting at the front door of the building
00:49:22
DCI j introduced himself and explained that they were there to investigate the items found in the block two drains
00:49:31
Neilson feigned surprise and asked if the other two detectives were health inspectors DCI j explained that they
00:49:40
were all police officers and wanted to ask him some questions nielsen led the three man upstairs to
00:49:47
his flat and once they were inside DCI j revealed that some of the objects in the train had been identified as
00:49:55
human remains he then asked Nielsen where's the rest of the body without hesitation nielsen calmly replied
00:50:09
in two plastic bags in the wardrobe next door I'll show you he led the officers into
00:50:17
the living room intended over the keys to unlock the Wardrobe saying he wanted to tell them everything
00:50:24
DCI Jay read in Neelsen his rights then placed him under arrest on suspicion of murder
00:50:31
although they still had no idea who the victim was they led Nielson to the police car and
00:50:38
as they drove towards horn Z police station one of the officers asked him Ilsan whether they were dealing with one
00:50:44
body or two he replied fifteen or sixteen since 1978 I'll tell you everything it's a relief to get it off my mind
00:51:02
Nielson initially declined to hire a lawyer and was held in custody while the police conducted a thorough search of
00:51:09
his flat recovering the remains of John Hallett and Graham Allen from the tea-chest and Steven Sinclair from the
00:51:16
drawer in the bathroom two days later at 10:45 a.m. on Friday February 11 the police conducted that first official
00:51:26
interview with Nielson he admitted to the murders of the three men whose remains were found at 23:00 cranly
00:51:34
Gardens and to a further 12 that his former residence on Melrose Avenue in Cricklewood police took Nielson to the
00:51:43
Melrose Avenue flat where he showed them the two locations in the rear garden and
00:51:48
surrounding waste plant where he had burnt the bodies of his other victims he also confessed to as many as seven
00:51:56
other attempted murders police had a difficult task ahead of trying to formally identify the victims Nielsen
00:52:08
remembered few of their names and couldn't recall enough specific details about each individual to provide an
00:52:15
immediate identification as it was 1983 DNA testing didn't yet exist and CCTV technology was still in its infancy
00:52:26
so the police had to rely on fingerprints dental records and the victims personal items this meant that
00:52:34
they also had no choice but to depend on the assistance of Dennis Nilsen himself
00:52:42
Steven Sinclair was the first to be identified at the time of his death the 20 year old was wanted by police for
00:52:50
some minor offenses and his fingerprints were already on file forensic investigators found fingerprints on
00:52:59
stephen's leather jacket they used the syringe and a tobacco tin all of which were found in Nelson's flat and tested
00:53:07
them against the prints on file to confirm the match at 5:45 p.m. on February 11 Nielsen was officially
00:53:17
charged with Stevens murder under further advise from law enforcement Nielsen retained the services of Ronald
00:53:27
Moss a middle-aged solicitor who had experience dealing with lower profile murder cases during their first meeting
00:53:36
Nielson took an immediate liking to Moss Moss found in Nielson to be calm and rational and agreed to accept him as a
00:53:45
client the tabloid press had already been tipped off about the grim discovery at
00:53:52
23 cranly Gardens by Dino Road plumber Mike Catrin and were circling for further information so they could run a
00:54:00
story within an hour of the formal charge being made reporters managed to locate Nelson's
00:54:08
mother Betty in Aberdeenshire Scotland and to requested photographs of her son Betty obliged on the basis they would be
00:54:17
returned to her but she later found out the photographs were sold for large sums
00:54:23
of money and she never got them back that evening Nielsen's friend Martin hunter Craig was
00:54:31
watching television when a news report revealed that body parts had been discovered in the drains of an apartment
00:54:37
building in Marble Hill the name of the killer was withheld but when the report showed an image of 23 cranly Gardens
00:54:46
Martin realized that Nilson must be responsible he was shocked to think that he had been at the property just days
00:54:55
earlier by Saturday February 12 the story was making headlines across England and overseas although the full
00:55:09
extent of the murders hadn't yet been revealed reporters had already ducked the muzzle Hill property the house of
00:55:16
horrors and were referring to the killer as the muzz well Hill murderer police were still working around the
00:55:25
clock to identify the remaining victims and had released the very minor details to the media but journalists were
00:55:33
working overtime in an attempt to get the best scoop members of the press surrounded the Hornsea police station
00:55:41
with some attempting to rig a microphone outside of DCI Jay's first-floor window
00:55:46
to obtain inside information a Japanese news crew even positioned themselves in a house opposite the station and used
00:55:56
highly sophisticated sound equipment to try to eavesdrop on police interviews with Nilsson at 10 a.m.
00:56:05
Nielsen made his first appearance in the magistrate's court where the judge ruled
00:56:10
that he be remanded in custody for three more days of questioning before further
00:56:14
legal proceedings afterwards when he was being escorted out of the courthouse and
00:56:20
back to the waiting police car nielsen elected to walk out in full view of the press he later explained that he didn't
00:56:28
want to hide away by covering his face like a common criminal Nielsen's mother participated in a
00:56:36
television interview in which she stated I just don't understand how this could go on and to nobody knowing anything I
00:56:45
mean I don't know anything about the last 10 years of his life and I can't see what was happening to him something
00:56:54
must have happened to him because it's not my dentist that's doing it not the boy I knew that's doing these
00:57:00
things he's always my son and so that's why I want him to know we're all concerned about him and I just hope
00:57:09
he'll get some help to cope with the situation he's in the police continued to question Nielson with detectives
00:57:19
consciously trying to maintain a relaxed atmosphere in order to keep him talking
00:57:25
although they were horrified and occasionally physically sick from the details he divulged they feared that he
00:57:32
would Clare MUP if he felt he was under attack Neilson was unusually cooperative
00:57:38
offering details about each murder descriptions of the techniques he used and helping to identify the victims as
00:57:47
the author Brian masters described in his book killing for company quote not only did Nelson make no hindrance but he
00:57:58
positively swamped the detectives with information faster than they could seek it he barely required questioning he
00:58:06
spoke in an almost unbroken autobiographical monologue as if to purge his conscience of a burden which
00:58:13
he could no longer bear alone yet there were no irrelevant details no digressions into personal life no pleas
00:58:22
for comfort or understanding he admitted that he was astonished he had no tears for the people who had died at his hands
00:58:33
it soon became clear to the detectives that the number of people who visited Nelson's flat with the odd incident far
00:58:42
outweighed those who came under attack or were killed Nielson rejected the suggestion that he intentionally sought
00:58:50
out victims claiming that he only ever went out in search of company and to the attacks were never planned quote when I
00:58:59
voluntarily go out to drink I do not have the intention at that time to do these things I seek company first and
00:59:08
hope everything will be alright [Music] nielsen claimed to be relieved that he'd
00:59:16
finally been caught as he would have kept killing otherwise and the detectives were convinced he never would
00:59:23
have given himself up of his own accord in a later interview for the television program Britain's most evil serial
00:59:32
killers DCI Jay recalled Nielson said if you hadn't have caught me now it wouldn't
00:59:40
have been 15 it would have been 150 and I think he might have been right when the formal
00:59:49
interviews were finally complete Nielsen's solicitor Ronald moss asked him why he had committed the crimes
00:59:57
Nielson responded quote I am hoping you will tell me that while the police and prosecution continued to gather evidence
01:00:12
for trial Nielson was housed at Brixton prison in the inner south of London upon
01:00:19
his arrival he was required to change into the standard prison-issued uniform of brown trousers and a blue striped
01:00:26
shirt and based on a psychiatrist's recommendation he was placed in the prison's hospital wing for his own
01:00:34
safety Nielsen was only allowed out of his cell to participate in supervised exercise for half an hour each day and
01:00:43
was forbidden from associating with other prisoners he was labeled a category a prisoner which meant he posed
01:00:51
the highest threat to police and to the public and was moved between souls every
01:00:57
couple of days Nielsen was also banned from attending the chapel which upset him even though he was an atheist
01:01:06
frustrated that the chaplains didn't stand up to the prison governor on his behalf he labeled them Christian
01:01:13
hypocrites who were worse than cockroaches with Nilsson incarcerated his beloved
01:01:22
dog bleep was taken in by an animal rescue shelter in southwest London to be rehomed but within a week of her arrival
01:01:30
she became ill and passed away her death left her Nielson heartbroken and he later explained to author Brian masters
01:01:40
I am ashamed that her last two days should be so painful she had always forgiven me everything and to nothing
01:01:50
but me could ever break her heart she never let me down but in the moment of her greatest crisis I was not there in
01:02:03
prison Nilsson soon became infatuated with a fellow inmate named David Martin a small
01:02:10
effeminate career criminal who had spent his whole life in and out of jail Martin
01:02:16
was serving time for a spray of burglaries which resulted in him shooting a police officer and later
01:02:22
escaping from the Magistrates Court using pins he stored in his long hair Nilsson and Martin barely spent any time
01:02:31
together and only saw each other occasionally in the exercise yard but Nelson became upset when Martin was
01:02:38
relocated to a different prison a few months later in an attempt to maintain a semblance of a connection with Martin
01:02:48
Nilsson contacted Martin's solicitor Ralph hyeme's to ask if he would consider representing
01:02:54
him as a client hi Ames had a reputation for successfully defending notorious clients
01:03:02
so Sanger also saw this as a tactical decision on Nelson's behalf he felt that his initial solicitor
01:03:10
Ronaldo Moss was failing to help him stand up against the prison regime that he believed was working to bully him and
01:03:17
he had dismissed and rehired must three times during those periods where Nelson had no legal representation
01:03:26
he had unsuccessfully attempted to represent himself hyeme's agreed to take in Nielson on as a client but they soon
01:03:36
butted heads Nielson accused hyeme's of working too closely with the press yet failing to use these opportunities to
01:03:45
tell the public how poorly Nielson was being treated in prison despite their disagreements hyeme's was
01:03:53
able to convince Nielson against pleading guilty to all charges as he believed he could use the defense of
01:04:00
diminished responsibility due to mental disorder to pass the time in prison Nielsen spent
01:04:12
most of his days of writing he started working on an autobiographical manuscript titled history of a drowning
01:04:19
boy and also established a professional relationship with Brian masters an author best known for his histories of
01:04:27
the British aristocracy masters had developed an interest in the extremities of human behavior and wrote a letter to
01:04:36
Neilson asking if he would be open to cooperating on a book project on March 30 1983 Nielson wrote to accept two
01:04:46
masters invitation opening the letter by saying quote I passed the burden of my past actions onto your shoulders the two
01:04:59
began exchanging letters with masters also visiting Brixton prison twice a week to speak with his subject Neilson
01:05:08
didn't hold back providing a comprehensive and in-depth account of his childhood his time in the Army
01:05:15
career problems sexual fantasies relationship history and each of the murders in an early letter to masters
01:05:25
Nelson wrote I have led a strange life so far schoolboy soldier chef projectionists
01:05:36
policeman clerical officer executive officer drunk sexualized male and female murderer animal lover independent Trades
01:05:48
Union officer debater champion of social causes do-gooder dissector of murder victims Grand Vizier and probably life
01:05:59
are if there is a God he must have a weird and jumbled sense of priorities job finder peace campaigner amateur
01:06:10
filmmaker mine of the useless information administrator pen pusher detained prisoner solitary Reaper killer
01:06:20
of the innocent unremorseful reformed character enigma now rapidly becoming a national receptacle into which all the
01:06:31
nation will urinate walk - monster madman ungodly cold and alone nielsen told masters about one incident
01:06:46
in particular that had a profound impact on his life in 1967 when he was stationed at our mansoureh detention
01:06:54
center in yemen he had been drinking heavily in town and tailed a taxi to take him back to the base during the
01:07:03
drive he dozed off in the backseat and later woke with a sharp pain in the back of his head he realized he was naked and
01:07:12
had been struck over the head and placed into the boot of the car Nielson attempted to break free from the vehicle
01:07:20
which was still being driven but was unable to open the boot after a short drive the car stopped and de Nielson
01:07:30
decided that his best chance to escape would be to play dead the taxi driver got out open to the boot and started
01:07:39
touching Nilsson who tried to look as limp and lifeless as possible the driver attempted to lift Nilsson out at which
01:07:48
point Nielsen's hand touched metal and he realized there was a carjack handle close to him he grabbed hold of it and
01:07:56
delivered a hard blow to the taxi drivers head immediately knocking him unconscious
01:08:03
Nielsen climbed out of the boot and struck the driver twice more in the skull he saw that the car was parked in
01:08:12
an isolated spot amidst the cluster of old buildings so he wiped the jack handle clean and put it back in the boot
01:08:19
along with the driver then he quickly put his clothes on and walked to the detention center through the darkness
01:08:29
he was reprimanded for being delinquent but never said a word to anyone about his ordeal Nielsen told masters that the
01:08:38
next morning he was filled with horror over the incident and started having nightmares about being tortured raped
01:08:45
murdered and mutilated a psychologist too later determined that Nielson had fabricated this entire event if that was
01:08:58
the case masters believed that further proved just how powerful Nelson's fantasies were however if the incident
01:09:07
was true Masters has pointed out that it demonstrated how successfully Nilson was
01:09:13
able to compartmentalize a horrific memory while outwardly appearing unaffected investigators continued at
01:09:24
the difficult task of identifying Nelson's victims other than the human remains found that the muzzle he'll flat
01:09:32
there was little physical evidence to go on so they had to rely on Nelson's recollections into missing person
01:09:39
reports to join the dots an operation room was set up and decked out with bulletin boards into black boards as
01:09:47
well as poster sized pieces of paper dedicated to each victim on each poster investigators listed as many details
01:09:57
about the individual as possible including their physical description last-known whereabouts the date they
01:10:04
were last seen and - the date Nelson claimed they were murdered in addition to Stephen Sinclair police were
01:10:13
eventually able to identify a total of seven other victims the 28 year old who Nelson knew only as John the Guardsman
01:10:21
was identified during a painstaking process in which police located every man with the name of John in the local
01:10:29
area using a strip of muscle retrieved from Nielsen's flat they determined at the victim's blood type and he used this
01:10:38
to narrow down the list of unaccounted for John's that matched description Nielsen provided finally
01:10:46
identifying him as John Hallett Martin Duffy the 16 year old catering student who Nielsen murdered in his Melrose
01:10:55
Avenue flat was identified using the chef's knives that Nielsen had kept which had Martin's name engraved on them
01:11:04
Kenneth Ockendon the 23 year old tourist who Nielsen had killed just days before
01:11:10
his expected return to Canada was identified when Nielsen was shown a photograph and recognized the young man
01:11:19
Kenneth's blundin strict directory was found amongst Nelson's belongings and forensic investigators were able to
01:11:26
locate a partial fingerprint and match it against prints recovered from the belongings Kenneth had left behind in
01:11:33
his hotel room the family of 26 year-old Billy Sutherland who had reported him missing in 1980 contacted police after
01:11:44
seeing news about the murders and wondering whether Billy could have been a victim Nielsen was
01:11:51
shown a photograph of Billy and recognized him as one of the men he had killed in his Melrose Avenue flat human
01:12:00
remains were found under the floorboards in Nelson's old flat and forensic investigators were able to confirm
01:12:08
billy's identity from false teeth and a piece of skin with one of his tattoos on
01:12:13
it also identified was 24-year old Malcolm Barlow who Nielsen strangled in his Melrose Avenue flat the day after
01:12:23
Malcolm was discharged from hospital Paul nobs the 19 year old University student who Neilson attempted to
01:12:33
strangle in his sleep soon after moving into the cranly Gardens flat was identified as the survivor as was 26
01:12:42
year old Scotsman Douglas Stewart who had fought off an attack at Melrose Avenue on November 10 1980
01:12:50
on May 26 1983 Nelson's committal hearing commenced in the Old Bailey the Central Criminal Court of England and
01:13:00
Wales the judge determined the prosecution had enough evidence to put Nelson to trial for the murders of
01:13:08
Stephen Sinclair John Hallett Billy Sutherland Martin Duffy Kenneth Ockendon and Malcolm Barlow and for the attempted
01:13:17
murders of Paul nobs and Douglas Stewart the trial was scheduled to commence in October 1983 from the beginning of
01:13:29
Nelson's time in custody he was required to wear the standard issue prison uniform this enraged him as he hadn't
01:13:37
yet been convicted of a crime he protested against it by walking around his cell naked in response the guards
01:13:46
restricted him from leaving his cell entirely which meant he was unable to empty his toilet bucket on August 1
01:13:55
when Nelson's bucket was full to the brim he yelled stand clear and proceeded to throw its contents through the bars
01:14:03
of his cell and onto the landing several guards were hit with the mess and dnielsen81 and given 56 days in solitary
01:14:14
confinement as Nielsen's time on remand went by he began to express regret for committing
01:14:24
the crimes in a letter he sent two detectives thanking them for their professionalism when unraveling the case
01:14:32
Nielson wrote my remorse is of a deep and personal kind which will lead away inside me for the rest of my life I am a
01:14:43
tragically private person not given to public tears the enormity of these acts has left me in permanent shock the evil
01:14:54
was short-lived and it cannot live or breathe for long inside the conscience I have slain my own dragon as surely as
01:15:03
the press and the letter of the law will slay me to be continued next week [Music]
01:15:34
you