British Serial Killers

[Mike Covell]

Yesterday Local News went into a frenzy after what was believed to be Human remains were found on Saddleworth Moor.

Early suggestions of it being a Moors Murder victim were soon quashed and this morning it was finally revealed to be nothing more than the remains of a sheep!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/bradford/7531284.stm

[coral]

I have just watch a Channel 5 doc about Hindley.

Cant believe that somone who was on a life sentance could a OU degree.

I applied last year and could not afford it. Maybe I should have committed murder & hidden the remains.

[Fisherman]

Mike discloses:

"Early suggestions of it being a Moors Murder victim were soon quashed and this morning it was finally revealed to be nothing more than the remains of a sheep!"

Sheep thrills?

The best, Mike!

Fisherman

[sdreid]

Scotland Yard has really gone downhill.

[Ms. Fade]

Here is a new one in Britain,
His official victim count is 2 murders, 1 attempted but Police investigating the case suspect a lot more.
He is also the prime suspect in the murder of Milli Dowler, a 13 year old who vanished in 2002.
He is due to be sentanced today

mike

Right on my doorstep... This guy is one scary s.o.b. - all these attacks happened in my area (in fact, the Kate Sheedy attack, where she was repeatedly run over by this nutcase, happened literally five minutes away from my flat), frightening a lot of women locally, unsurprisingly. Although I'm too old and not blonde enough to have been of interest to Bellfield, even I was apprehensive about walking alone after dark when he was on the loose.

It's all very well to be theoretically interested in the psychology of serial killers like Bellfield, but when there's one active in your neighbourhood, it becomes a different matter...

Ms.F

[DarkPassenger]

Well the recession will bring out the crazies, so to speak. We've had huge peaks in the numbers of active serial killers in Britain during economic turbulence. The early 1990s saw a massive number - I count ten active in 1993 alone. The 1970s also, especially the mid-1970s, with possibly as many as 12 or 13 in 1973-4. It's been a bit since I checked my numbers but that's about accurate.

[truebluedub]

Hi Dark,

Thames Torso - Jack's contemporary - Elizabeth Jackson etc.

RoI was technically British until 1948 or whatever; still part of the British Isles. They'll have to lobby the geographers if they want that changed.

In that case add Alice Kyteler

I know this thread is fairly old but I'd question the inclusion of Alice Kyteler as a British serial killer and not on the grounds she was from Ireland rather than the mainland.

She was accused of poisoning her four husbands. In his biography of Erzsébet Báthory Tony Thorne suggests on the basis of her last husband, John le Poer, suffering the loss of his hair and nails which may be symptoms of slow poisoning. Under this way of thinking she may have been a serial killer.

The only other evidence of this, as far as I can see, is the contemporary account of the trial and a reference to an earlier accusation in the patent rolls of Edward 1 (1303) which says that accusation was malicious and based on the fact that she was a money lender, also accused was her second husband Alan Le Blund. The account of the trial was written by her enemies so it would obviously be biased against her. The claim that she poisoned her three husbands made in the account of the Bishop's campaign against her appears to originate from the families of her alleged victims who were disinherited in favour of her son William Outlawe who was her co-accused.

There was also the political dimension. The Bishop prosecuting Kyteler was involved in a feud with the Le Poer family, among whom was Kyteler's fourth husband, going to the extent of instigating the attack on their stronghold Moytobir. A member of this family, Arnold Le Poer, was among Bishop Richard Ledrede's chief enemies during the affair, as Seneschal of Kilkenny he even got to arrest him.

Given these circumstances it would be wrong to suggest she was a serial killer.

[sdreid]

Hi Chris,

Newton's The Encyclopedia of Serial Killers has her down for "More than four", mentioning an accusation of "human sacrifice" as well. After nearly 700 years, there's no doubt that accounts could be wrong or embellished. At any rate, she was apparently not ever captured so she never suffered punishment whether guilty or innocent.

[AdamWalsh]

Recieved a Christmas card and short letter from Ian Brady this morning dated 6th December.....presumably held up with the snow and christmas post.

(I began a correspondence with him in 2004 after reading his fascinating book "The Gates Of Janus").

[Triplesod]

Recieved a Christmas card and short letter from Ian Brady this morning dated 6th December.....presumably held up with the snow and christmas post.

(I began a correspondence with him in 2004 after reading his fascinating book "The Gates Of Janus").

That card seems to be in pretty poor taste, to me.

[AdamWalsh]

That card seems to be in pretty poor taste, to me.

Indeed, whether its his black humour or just plain indifference to others feelings Im not sure.

[DarkPassenger]

I'm back guys. I've been gone a while and I see I have two unread PMs - sorry to the senders!

I'm constructing a website listing all British serial killers at long last, so I'll let you know when I'm done!