Dennis Nilsen Part III

 Trial and sentence

Nilsen was brought to trial on 24 October 1983, charged with six counts of murder and two of attempted murder. He was tried at the Old Bailey before Mr. Justice Croom-Johnson and pleaded not guilty on all charges.

The primary dispute between the prosecuting and defense counsel was not whether Nilsen had killed the victims, but his state of mind before and during the killings. The prosecuting counsel, Allan Green QC, argued that Nilsen was sane, in full control of his actions, and had killed with premeditation. The defense counsel, Ivan Lawrence QC, argued that Nilsen suffered from diminished responsibility, rendering him incapable of forming the intention to commit murder, and should therefore be convicted only of manslaughter.

The prosecution counsel opened the case for the Crown by describing the events of February 1983 leading to the identification of human remains in the drains at Cranley Gardens and Nilsen's subsequent arrest, the discovery of three dismembered bodies in his property, his detailed confession, his leading investigators to the charred bone fragments of twelve further victims killed at Melrose Avenue, and the efforts he had taken to conceal his crimes. In a tactful reference to the primary dispute between opposing counsel at the trial, Green closed his opening speech with an answer Nilsen had given to police in response to a question as to whether he needed to kill: "At the precise moment of the act [of murder], I believe I am right in doing the act". To counteract this argument, Green added: "The Crown says that even if there was mental abnormality that was not sufficient to diminish substantially his responsibility for these killings".

The first witness to testify for the prosecution was Douglas Stewart, who testified that in November 1980, he had fallen asleep in a chair in Nilsen's flat only to wake to find his ankles bound to a chair and Nilsen strangling him with a tie as he pressed his knee to his (Stewart's) chest. Successfully overpowering Nilsen, Stewart testified that Nilsen had then shouted, "Take my money!" This, the prosecution attested, reflected Nilsen's rational, cool presence of mind in that he hoped to be overheard by other tenants. Upon leaving Nilsen's residence, Stewart had reported the attack to police, who in turn questioned Nilsen. Noting conflicting details in accounts given by both men, police had dismissed the incident as a lovers' quarrel. Upon cross-examination, the defence counsel sought to undermine Stewart's credibility, pointing to minor inconsistencies in the testimony, the fact he had consumed much alcohol on the night in question, and suggesting his memory had been selectively magnified as he had previously sold his story to the press.

On 25 October the court heard testimony from two further men who had survived attempts by Nilsen to strangle them. The first of these, Paul Nobbs, provided testimony which the prosecution asserted was evidence of Nilsen's self-control and ability to refrain from homicidal impulses. A university student, Nobbs testified that he accompanied Nilsen to Cranley Gardens for alcohol and sex and woke in the early hours of the morning with "a terrible headache". Upon washing his face in Nilsen's bathroom, as Nobbs noted his eyes were bloodshot and his face completely red, Nilsen had exclaimed, "God! You look bloody awful!" Nilsen then advised the youth to see a doctor. Nobbs had not reported the attack to police for fear of his sexuality being discovered. Contrary to the prosecution claims, the defence counsel asserted that Nobbs' testimony reflected Nilsen's rational self being unable to control his impulses. The fact Nilsen had selected a university student as a potential victim was at odds with the prosecution's claim that Nilsen intentionally selected rootless males whose disappearance was unlikely to be noted.

 

Immediately after the testimony of Nobbs had concluded, Carl Stottor took the stand to recount how, in May 1982, Nilsen had attempted to strangle and drown him, before bringing him "back to life". Stottor's voice frequently quavered with emotion as he recounted how Nilsen had repeatedly attempted to drown him in his bathtub as he pleaded in vain for his life to be spared, and how he later awoke to find Nilsen's mongrel dog licking his face; on several occasions, the judge had to allow Stottor time to regain his composure. (The evidence provided by Stottor was not included as part of the indictment against Nilsen as his whereabouts were not known until after the indictment had been completed.)

"When under pressure of work and extreme pain of social loneliness and utter misery, I am drawn compulsively to a means of temporary escape from reality. This is achieved by taking increased amounts of alcohol and plugging into stereo music which mentally removes me to a high plane of ecstasy, joy and tears. This is a totally emotional experience ... I relive experiences from childhood to present, taking out the bad bits. When I take alcohol, I see myself drawn along and moved out of my isolated, prison flat. I bring [with me] people who are not always allowed to leave because I want them to share my experiences and high feeling."

DCI Jay then recounted the circumstances of Nilsen's arrest and his "calm, matter-of-fact" confessions, before reading to the court several statements volunteered by Nilsen following his arrest. In one of these statements, Nilsen had said: "I have no tears for my victims; I have no tears for myself, or those bereaved by my actions". Jay admitted it was unusual for anyone accused of such horrific crimes to be so forthcoming in providing information, and conceded upon questioning by defense counsel that Nilsen not only provided most of the evidence against himself, but also encouraged the discovery of evidence which could contradict his own version of events. Following Jay's testimony, DS Chambers recited Nilsen's formal confession to the court. This testimony included graphic descriptions of the ritualistic and sexual acts Nilsen performed with his victims' bodies, his various methods of storage of bodies and body parts, dismemberment and disposal, and the problems decomposition — particularly regarding colonies of maggots — afforded him. Several jurors were visibly shaken throughout this testimony; others looked at Nilsen with incredulous expressions on their faces as Nilsen listened to the testimony with apparent indifference. This testimony lasted until the following morning, when the prosecution included several exhibits into evidence. This included the cooking pot in which Nilsen had boiled the heads of the three victims killed at Cranley Gardens, the cutting board he had used to dissect John Howlett, and several rusted catering knives which had formerly belonged to victim Martyn Duffey.

Two psychiatrists testified on behalf of the defence. The first of these, James MacKeith, began his testimony on 26 October. MacKeith testified as to how, through a lack of emotional development, Nilsen experienced difficulty expressing any emotion other than anger, and his tendency to treat other human beings as components of his fantasies. The psychiatrist also described Nilsen's association between unconscious bodies and sexual arousal; stating that Nilsen possessed narcissistic traits, an impaired sense of identity, and was able to depersonalize other people. He stated his conclusions that Nilsen displayed many signs of maladaptive behaviour, the combination of which, in one man, was lethal. These factors could be attributed to an unspecified personality disorder from which MacKeith believed Nilsen suffered. In response to prosecution contention that, in attributing an unspecified disorder to Nilsen, MacKeith was undecided in his conclusions, MacKeith contended that this unspecified personality disorder was severe enough to substantially reduce Nilsen's responsibility.

The second psychiatrist to testify for the defence, Patrick Gallwey, diagnosed Nilsen with a "borderline, false-self as if pseudo-normal, narcissistic personality disorder", with occasional outbreaks of schizoid disturbances that Nilsen managed most of the time to keep at bay; Gallwey stated that, in episodic breakdowns, Nilsen became predominantly schizoid—acting in an impulsive, violent and sudden manner. Gallwey further added that someone suffering from these episodic breakdowns is most likely to disintegrate under circumstances of social isolation. In effect, Nilsen was not guilty of "malice aforethought". Upon cross-examination, Green largely focused upon the degree of awareness shown by Nilsen and his ability to make decisions. Gallwey conceded that Nilsen was intellectually aware of his actions, but stressed that, due to his personality disorder, Nilsen did not appreciate the criminal nature of what he had done.

On 31 October, the prosecution called Paul Bowden to testify in rebuttal of the psychiatrists who had testified for the defense. Prior to Nilsen's trial, Bowden had interviewed the defendant on sixteen separate occasions in interviews totalling over fourteen hours. Over two days, Bowden testified that, although he found Nilsen to be abnormal in a colloquial sense, he had concluded Nilsen to be a manipulative person who had been capable of forming relationships, but had forced himself to objectify people. Refuting the testimony of MacKeith and Gallwey, Bowden further testified he had found no evidence of maladaptive behavior, and that Nilsen suffered from no disorder of the mind.

Following the closing arguments of both prosecution and defence, the jury retired to consider their verdict on 3 November 1983. The following day, the jury returned with a majority verdict of guilty upon six counts of murder and one of attempted murder, with a unanimous verdict of guilty in relation to the attempted murder of Nobbs. Croom-Johnson sentenced Nilsen to life imprisonment with a recommendation that he serve a minimum of 25 years' imprisonment.

Imprisonment

Following his conviction, Nilsen was transferred to HMP Wormwood Scrubs to begin his sentence. As a Category A prisoner, he was assigned his own cell and could mix freely with other inmates. Nilsen did not lodge an appeal, accepting that the Crown's case — that he had had the capacity to control his actions and that he had killed with premeditation — was essentially correct. He further elaborated on the day of his conviction that he took an enormous thrill from the "social seduction; the getting the 'friend' back; the decision to kill; the body and its disposal". Nilsen also claimed drunkenness was the sole reason at least two of his attempted murders were unsuccessful.

In December 1983, Nilsen was cut on the face and chest with a razor blade by an inmate named Albert Moffatt, resulting in injuries requiring eighty-nine stitches. Afterward, he was briefly transferred to HMP Parkhurst, before being transferred to HMP Wakefield, where he remained until 1990. In 1991, Nilsen was transferred to a vulnerable prisoner unit at HMP Full Sutton upon concerns for his safety. He remained there until 1993, when he was transferred to HMP Whitemoor, again as a Category A prisoner, and with increased segregation from other inmates.

The minimum term of 25 years' imprisonment to which Nilsen was sentenced in 1983 was replaced by a whole-life tariff by Home Secretary Michael Howard in December 1994. This ruling effectively ensured Nilsen would never be released from prison, a punishment he accepted and declined to appeal against.

In 2003, Nilsen was again transferred to HMP Full Sutton, where he remained incarcerated as a Category a prisoner. In the prison workshop, Nilsen translated books into braille. He spent much of his free time reading and writing, and was allowed to paint and compose music upon a keyboard. He also exchanged letters with numerous people who sought his correspondence. Nilsen remained at HMP Full Sutton until his death on 12 May 2018.

Aftermath

In September 1992, Central Television conducted an interview with Nilsen as part of the program Viewpoint 1993 – Murder in Mind, which focused upon offender profiling. A four-minute section of this interview, in which Nilsen frankly discussed his crimes, was initially scheduled to be broadcast on 19 January 1993; the Home Office sought to ban the interview from being broadcast on the grounds that they had not granted permission for Central to conduct interviews with Nilsen which were later broadcast to the public, and claimed ownership of copyrighted material. Central Television challenged the Home Office ruling in court, citing sections of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, and that full permission to conduct an interview with Nilsen had been granted in advance. On 26 January 1993 Judge William Aldous ruled in Central's favour, and the same day, three appeal court judges, Sir Thomas Bingham, Master of the Rolls; Lord Justice McCowan; and Lord Justice Hirst upheld his decision. The interview was screened in full that evening.

Nilsen repeatedly sought legal avenues to challenge real and perceived abuses of prison rules by prison officers — regularly petitioning the Home Office and, later, the European Court of Human Rights with complaints. As a result, he was an unpopular inmate with successive governors at the various prisons in which he was incarcerated. In October 2001, Nilsen brought a judicial review against the prison service, citing that the gay softcore pornography magazines Vulcan and Him, to which he subscribed regularly, had some images and articles of a more explicit nature removed before the magazine reached him. The legal case he brought against the prison service was dismissed because he could not establish that any breach of his human rights had occurred.

In the years following his incarceration, Nilsen composed an unpublished, 400-page autobiography, entitled The History of a Drowning Boy (the title being a reference to his concepts of the tranquility of death following his grandfather's death and his own near-fatal drowning in 1954). In his autobiography, Nilsen states that, beginning with his service in the army, he constantly lived two separate lives: his "real life" and his "fantasy life". He writes: "When I was with people, I was in the 'real' world, and in my private life, I snapped instantly into my fantasy life. I could oscillate between the two with instant ease." With reference to his murders, Nilsen claimed that his emotional state upon the dates of the murders, in conjunction with the amount of alcohol he had consumed, were both core factors in his decision to kill. He further emphasized that, when feeling low, seizing an opportunity to satisfy the sexual fantasies he had developed in which the victim is the young, attractive and passive partner, and he the older active partner, temporarily relieved him of a general feeling of inadequacy.

Nilsen's first murder victim was identified in 2006 as 14-year-old Stephen Holmes. Formal identification was confirmed via a combination of circumstantial evidence and by Nilsen identifying a photograph of the youth shown to him by police (all bone fragments found at Melrose Avenue had been destroyed). He was not charged with this murder as the Crown Prosecution Service decided that a prosecution would not be in the public interest, and would not contribute to his current sentence.

At least four victims killed between 1980 and 1981 at Melrose Avenue remain unidentified. A forensics expert testified at Nilsen's 1983 trial that "at least eight bodies" had been incinerated at Melrose Avenue, academically confirming he had murdered at least eleven victims. Several items confiscated from Nilsen's Cranley Gardens address — some of which had been introduced as evidence at Nilsen's trial — are on display at New Scotland Yard's Crime Museum. These exhibits include the stove upon which Nilsen had boiled the heads of his final three victims; the knives he had used to dissect several of his victims' bodies; the headphones Nilsen had used to strangle Ockenden; the ligature he had fashioned to strangle his last victim; and the bath from his Cranley Gardens address in which he had drowned Howlett and retained the body of Allen prior to dissection.

In January 2021, a former confidant of Nilsen's named Mark Austin revealed that an edited version of The History of a Drowning Boy was to be posthumously published by RedDoor Press. The autobiography, based upon the 6,000 pages of typewritten notes Nilsen authored while incarcerated, examines his life and crimes, and is edited by Austin, who became a pen pal of Nilsen's in the years prior to his death and who exchanged more than 800 letters with him. This autobiography was published on 21 January 2021.

Death

On 10 May 2018, Nilsen was taken from HMP Full Sutton to York Hospital after complaining of severe stomach pains. He was found to have a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm, which was repaired, although he subsequently suffered a blood clot as a complication of the surgery. Nilsen died on 12 May. A subsequent post-mortem examination revealed that the immediate cause of Nilsen's death was pulmonary embolism and retroperitoneal haemorrhage.

Nilsen's body was cremated in June 2018. This service was held with only five mourners present, including three prison officers and the individual with whom Nilsen had corresponded while in prison. No family members were present at the service. In line with Ministry of Justice policy, HMP Full Sutton paid £3,323 towards the cost of Nilsen's funeral. His ashes were later handed to his family.

Victims

Nilsen is known to have killed twelve young men and boys between 1978 and 1983; it is suspected that the true number of victims may be fifteen. At least nine victims had been killed at 195 Melrose Avenue, with his final three victims being killed at 23 Cranley Gardens. Of Nilsen's eight identified victims, only three — Stephen Holmes, Kenneth Ockenden and Graham Allen — had a permanent address at the time of their murder, with the remaining victims largely (though not exclusively) consisting of vagrants, runaways and male prostitutes.

In 1992, Nilsen claimed the true total of victims he killed was twelve, and that he had fabricated the three additional victims he initially confessed to having killed at Melrose Avenue, both in response to pressure as he was being interviewed as well as to simply "stick with the figure" of approximately fifteen victims he had provided investigators with as he was initially escorted to Hornsey police station. Nilsen said that three unidentified victims he had initially confessed to killing — an Irishman in September 1980; a "long-haired hippy" in November or December 1980, and an English skinhead in April 1981 — had been invented to simply "complement the continuity of evidence". DCI Jay later dismissed Nilsen's claims to have killed only twelve victims, stating that in the more than thirty hours of interviews police had conducted with Nilsen, when discussing the fifteen victims he had initially confessed to killing, he had never provided any inconsistencies in the physical characteristics, the date or place of encounter, the act of murder, or the ritual he observed with the body of any of the fifteen victims.

1978

30 December: Stephen Dean Holmes, 14. Last seen on his way home from a rock concert; Holmes encountered Nilsen in the Cricklewood Arms on the evening of 29 December before accepting an offer to drink alcohol with him at Melrose Avenue. The following morning, Nilsen strangled Holmes with a necktie until he was unconscious, before drowning him in a bucket of water. His body was to remain beneath Nilsen's floorboards for over seven months before being disposed of upon a bonfire and Holmes was the only victim not to have been dissected before disposal. Investigators announced his identification in November 2006.

1979

3 December: Kenneth James Ockenden, 23. A Canadian student on a tour of the UK; Ockenden encountered Nilsen in the Princess Louise pub in Holborn on 3 December 1979. He was escorted on a tour of London, before agreeing to accompany Nilsen to his flat for a meal and further drinks. One of the few murder victims who were widely reported as a missing person, Ockenden was strangled with the cord of Nilsen's headphones as he listened to a record.

1980

17 May: Martyn Brandon Duffey, 16. Duffey was a 16-year-old runaway from Birkenhead. On 17 May 1980, Nilsen encountered the youth at a London railway station as he himself returned from a union conference in Southport. Nilsen strangled Duffey and subsequently drowned him in the kitchen sink before bathing with the body. Two days later, Duffey's body was placed beneath the floorboards.

c. 20 August: William David Sutherland, 26. A 26-year-old father-of-one originally from Edinburgh, who occasionally worked as a male prostitute. Sutherland met Nilsen in a pub near Piccadilly Circus in August 1980. Nilsen could not recall precisely how he had murdered Sutherland, other than that he had strangled Sutherland as he himself stood or knelt in front of this victim and, in the morning, there was "another dead body".

September: Unidentified. All that Nilsen could remember about his fifth victim was that he was a tall Irish laborer with rough hands who wore an old suit, jacket and shoes. Nilsen estimated his height to be between 5 feet 9 inches (1.75 m) and 5 feet 10 inches (1.78 m) and his age to be between 27 and 30. He had met this victim in the Cricklewood Arms in late 1980. Nilsen later claimed to have fabricated this victim.

October: Unidentified. Nilsen's sixth victim was described by his murderer as a slender male prostitute, approximately 5 feet 10 inches (1.78 m) in height, who was aged between 20 and 30, and of either Filipino or Mexican descent. To Nilsen, this victim had gypsy-like features. Nilsen met this victim in the Salisbury Arms in October 1980.

November: Unidentified. This victim was described by Nilsen as being an English vagrant in his 20s, whom he encountered sleeping in a doorway at the top of Charing Cross Road. He was emaciated, with a pale complexion and had several missing teeth. Nilsen and the youth took a taxi to Melrose Avenue; that evening, the victim was strangled to death as he slept, with his legs moving in a cycling motion as he was strangled. Nilsen later stated he believed this victim's life had been "one of long suffering", and that the act of killing this victim had been "as easy as taking candy from a baby".

November–December: Unidentified. The last victim to be killed by Nilsen in 1980 was an English "long-haired hippy", aged between 25 and 30, whom he had met in the West End after the pubs had closed in November or December 1980. This victim's body was retained beneath the floorboards of the flat until Nilsen removed the corpse, cut it into three pieces, and then replaced the dissected remains beneath the floorboards. He burned the corpse one year later. Nilsen later claimed to have fabricated this victim.

1981

c. 4 January: Unidentified. The ninth victim was described by Nilsen as an "18-year-old, blue-eyed Scot" with blond hair and who wore a green tracksuit top and trainers. Nilsen met this victim in the Golden Lion pub in Soho in early January 1981. Killed after partaking in a drinking contest with Nilsen at Melrose Avenue, the body of this victim was dissected on 12 January.

February: Unidentified. Murdered sometime in February 1981. Nilsen recalled little about this victim, other than the fact he was originally from Belfast; was slim, dark haired, aged in his early 20s, and approximately 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) tall. He had encountered this victim somewhere in the West End after the pubs had closed. He was strangled with a necktie and his body subsequently placed beneath the floorboards.

April: Unidentified. Nilsen encountered his eleventh victim; a muscular young English skinhead aged approximately 20, at a food stall in Leicester Square in April 1981. He was lured to Nilsen's home with the promise of a meal and alcohol. Nilsen recalled this victim wore a black leather jacket and had a tattoo around his neck, simply reading "cut here", and that he had boasted about how tough he was and how he liked to fight. Nilsen hung this victim's naked torso in his bedroom for 24 hours, before placing the body beneath the floorboards. Nilsen later claimed to have fabricated this victim.

18 September: Malcolm Stanley Barlow, 23. The final victim to be murdered at Melrose Avenue, Barlow was an epileptic orphan, originally from Sheffield, who had spent much of his life in care homes. He was murdered after returning to Nilsen's home to thank him for having ensured he received medical attention the previous day. Prior to dissection, Barlow's body was stowed in a kitchen cupboard as Nilsen had no further room beneath his floorboards.

1982

March: John Peter Howlett, 23. Originally from High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, Howlett was known to Nilsen as "John the Guardsman". He was the first victim to be murdered at Cranley Gardens. Howlett was strangled as he slept in Nilsen's bed, with Nilsen shouting, "It's about time you went" as Howlett awoke to find himself being strangled. Eventually, Nilsen drowned Howlett by holding his head under water in a bathtub for five minutes. Nilsen subsequently dismembered Howlett's body, flushed portions of flesh and internal organs down the toilet, and placed various "large bones out with the rubbish".

September: Archibald Graham Allen, 27. Allen was a 27-year-old father-of-one, originally from Motherwell, North Lanarkshire, whom Nilsen encountered in Shaftesbury Avenue as Allen attempted to hail a taxi in September 1982. Allen was strangled with a ligature as he sat eating an omelet Nilsen had cooked for him. His body was identified from dental records and healed fractures to his jawbone. Dissected portions of flesh and small bones from the body of Allen subsequently blocked the drains at Cranley Gardens.

1983

26 January: Stephen Neil Sinclair, 20. Nilsen's final victim. Sinclair was originally from Perth; at the time he encountered Nilsen, he was a heroin addict who suffered from the habit of self-harming. Nilsen encountered Sinclair in Oxford Street, where he first bought the youth a hamburger before suggesting that Sinclair accompany him to Cranley Gardens. After Sinclair had consumed alcohol and injected heroin at Nilsen's flat, Nilsen strangled him to death with a ligature. The head, upper torso and arms of Sinclair were stowed in the tea chest in Nilsen's living room; Sinclair's lower torso and legs were stowed beneath Nilsen's bathtub.

Media

Film

Cold Light of Day (1989). Directed by Fhiona Louise, and starring Bob Flag as Nilsen. Awarded the UCCA Venticittà Award at the 1990 Venice Film Festival.

Television

The Black Museum (1988), commissioned by ITV.

Great Crimes and Trials of the 20th Century S02E15 "The Kindly Killer" (1993), commissioned by the BBC.

Real Crime S03E04 "A Mind to Murder" (2003), commissioned by ITV1.

Born to Kill? S03E05 "Dennis Nilsen" (2012), commissioned by Twofour Productions.

Countdown to Murder S01E02 "Dennis Nilsen's First Kill" (2013), commissioned by Channel 5.

Encounters with Evil S01E01 "Thrill Killers" (2016), commissioned by CBS Reality.

Des (2020), a dramatization commissioned by ITV, starring David Tennant as Nilsen.

Memories of a Murderer: The Nilsen Tapes (2021). An 85-minute documentary available on Netflix.

The Nilsen Files (2022): A BBC Two three-part series re-examining the Metropolitan Police investigation into Nilsen's murders and exploring whether prejudice created missed opportunities to apprehend Nilsen.

Podcast

"The Muswell Hill Murderer" (2020). Case 144 of Casefile True Crime Podcast series.