Casefile True Crime - Case 144: The Muswell Hill Murderer (Part 2)

Episode Date: May 16, 2020

[Part 2 of 3] By the time Dennis Nilsen moved out of his flat at 195 Melrose Avenue in Cricklewood, he had already taken the lives of twelve victims. Eager to start afresh, he set himself up on the top floor at 23 Cranley Gardens in Muswell Hill and focused on putting the past behind him. --- Episode narrated by the Anonymous Host Episode researched by Holly Boyd Episode written by Elsha McGill  Creative Director: Milly Raso For all credits and sources please visit casefilepodcast.com/case-144-the-muswell-hill-murderer-part-2

Our episodes deal with serious and often distressing incidents. If you feel at any time you need support, please contact your local crisis centre. For suggested phone numbers for confidential support, please see the show notes for this episode on your app or on our website. When Dennis Nielsen moved out of his flat at 195 Melrose Avenue in Cricklewood, he had already taken the lives of 12 victims. By Monday, November 23, 1981, he had been living in his new flat at 23 Cranley Gardens in Muswell Hill for seven weeks and was eager to put the pass behind him and start afresh. It was his 36th birthday and to celebrate,

he took the day off work and headed out to the pub. As his new home was only five miles from his old address, he continued to frequent many of his usual drinking horns. At 1.30pm, Nielsen was drinking in the Golden Lion pub on Dean Street in Soho when he struck up a conversation with Paul Nobs, a 19-year-old undergrad who was studying Slavonic and Eastern European studies at the University of London. Paul was supposed to be attending a lecture, but had decided to take the afternoon off to buy some books. Nielsen was impressed by Paul's intelligence and the two chatted for an hour until Paul announced that he needed to go to the bookstore. Nielsen accompanied him there and invited Paul back to his flat for dinner afterwards.

Paul accepted the invitation and they stopped at a nearby supermarket to purchase some chops and liquor, arriving back at 23 Cranley Gardens at around 5.45pm. The three-story residence was once a single family home, but had since been split into a multi-tenant building. Its owner didn't live on site, instead hiring the services of local real estate agency Ellison Co. to manage the property and its tenants. In addition to Dennis Nielsen, there were four other tenants living in the building. The ground floor was divided into two flats, one of which was occupied by a builder named Jim Alcock and his bartender girlfriend Fiona Bridges. The other was leased to two young women, a dental nurse from New Zealand named Vivian McStay and a youth worker from Holland named

Manig Venruta. The first floor was unoccupied. Nielsen lived on the top floor in a small squalid attic space that was accessed via two flights of stairs. Its front door opened to a small grimy hallway that served as a kitchen with a small cupboard, gastove and sink to the left, as well as a door that led directly to a grubby bathroom. To the right of the hallway were two doors, one that opened onto a living room containing wardrobes, two armchairs and a tea chest and another that led to Nielsen's disorganized bedroom. A double bed sat in the middle of the room with a small sofa to its right, along with a television, stereo, several pot plants and other rods and ends. Each room had sloping ceilings and dull brown carpets that were simply laid on

top of the floor instead of fitted into place. When Nielsen and Paul Nobbs arrived at the flat, Nielsen cooked them dinner and the two sat down to drink and watch television. Paul called his mother to let her know he'd be home shortly, but he then started feeling sick from all the alcohol and phoned her back to say he would be spending the night at a friend's place. The two men eventually undressed, hopped into Nielsen's bed and started kissing, but they were both tired and soon fell asleep. At 2 a.m. Paul woke up feeling nauseated with a throbbing headache. He went to the kitchen, poured himself a glass of water and sat on the couch for a while. Nielsen got up to check on him

and 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 sink. Upon catching a glimpse of his reflection, Paul realized that his face was red and bruised and his eyes were bloodshot. His hands were shaking uncontrollably, his throat hurt and there was a deep red mark across his neck. When Nielsen saw Paul, he remarked, God, you look awful, and suggested that he see a doctor. He then wrote down his address and told Paul that he hoped they would see one another again. Paul staggered away from Nielsen's flat and made his way to the University of London for

his scheduled classes. One of his tutors noticed that he looked incredibly unwell and immediately booked him an appointment at the University College Hospital around the corner from the campus. At the clinic, Paul's hands shook so badly that he knocked over a cup of coffee and was unable to light a cigarette. The doctor gave him a tranquilizer to calm his nerves and after conducting a checkup, deemed that Paul's symptoms were consistent with having pain strangled. Although Paul Knobbs realized that Dennis Nielsen must have attacked him in his sleep and then acted as though nothing had ever happened, he decided not to report the incident to the

police. To explain the mark that remained visible across his neck for the next three months, he told others that he had been attacked during a mugging. Paul spotted Nielsen at the Golden Lion about a year after the incident but avoided speaking to him. In March 1982, four months after the attack on Paul Knobbs, Nielsen was drinking at the Salisbury on St Martin's Lane, London's pre-eminent gay bar, when he ran into 28-year-old John Howlett, whom Nielsen knew as John the Guardsman. The two had met at another pub a couple of months earlier, where John had boasted of being an ex-Grenadier Guardsman and they had chatted over drinks for a couple of hours. John had lived a troubled life. At the age of 13, he was kicked out of his family

home and spent his adolescence living in group residences, where he was constantly in trouble with the police. As an adult, John had served time in prison for theft and made ends meet by working in travelling fairgrounds. At the Salisbury, John recognised Nielsen and joined him for a drink at the bar. The service was slow, which frustrated Nielsen and he suggested they go to his flat to drink instead. John agreed and the pair walked to a liquor store to stock up on alcohol before catching the tube back to 23 Cranley Gardens. There, Nielsen cooked dinner and the two settled in to drink and watch television in the living room. As midnight approached, John asked if he could rest his head for a while. Nielsen agreed and continued watching TV while John left to lie

down in the bedroom. At around 1am, Nielsen went to the bedroom and found John lying 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 were moving in. Nielsen offered to call John a taxi, but John said he didn't feel like getting up. This frustrated Nielsen as he didn't find John attractive and no longer wanted him in his flat. He poured himself another glass of rum and sat on the edge of the bed, contemplating what to do next. Eventually, Nielsen retrieved a strap of material from underneath an armchair, straddled John's body, and tied the material around his neck, remarking, it's about time you went. A furious struggle ensued, during which Nielsen struck John's head

against the edge of the headrest, drawing blood. John continued to fight back, but soon fell off the bed and lost consciousness. Nielsen tightened the material around John's neck until he was sure he was dead. Nielsen's dog, Bleep, was barking frantically in the next room, so he went to comfort her. When he returned to the bedroom a few minutes later, he discovered that John was still breathing. Nielsen strangled him again, then dragged him into the bathroom, filled the tub with water, and held John's head down until he was no longer breathing. Nielsen left him there as he changed the sheets on his bed, and then went to sleep with Bleep, curled up by his feet. The following morning, Nielsen hid John's body in his wardrobe. Three days later,

he covered his bathroom floor with garbage bags, retrieved the body, and began dismembering it. To dispose of the organs, he cut them into pieces and flushed them down the toilet. This proved to be a time-consuming process, so he attempted to speed things up by boiling the flesh and organs into a soup-like consistency that was easier to flush. Once the bones of the hands, feet, and ribs were free of flesh, he broke them apart and placed them in his regular rubbish bin to be tossed out with the rest of his household waste. Nielsen packed the bigger bones, including the skull, arms, legs, and pelvis, into several garbage bags along with salt and padding, and stored them in the tea chest in the corner of his living room. Two months later, in May 1982, Nielsen was

drinking at a gay bar in Camden called the Black Cap when he noticed a young blond man drinking alone. The man had several red marks on his face, and Nielsen approached to ask about his injuries. The man introduced himself as 21-year-old Carl Stodder and explained that he had just escaped from an abusive boyfriend. His facial wounds were carpet burns from the most recent attack, and he was drinking to distract himself. Nielsen smiled and reassured Carl that he was still attractive despite his injuries. Carl was struck by Nielsen's kindness, and the two began chatting, bonding over the shared alienation they felt from their families. When the Black Cap closed, Nielsen invited Carl back to his flat. He accepted, and they caught a cab, holding hands throughout

the ride. Nielsen didn't approve of the route the driver chose to take them home, and became unusually angry, retaliating by paying with the smallest change possible. Once they arrived at 23 Cranley Gardens, the two men drank heavily while listening to music. At one point, Nielsen insisted Carl listen to his favorite song using headphones, and stood behind him as he did so, watching intently. They became affectionate, but Carl told Nielsen he didn't feel like having sex. Carl eventually had too much to drink and felt ill, so they decided to go to bed. Nielsen pointed out that the sleeping 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 woke up suddenly when he felt a sharp

pain and sense of tightness around his neck. Nielsen was behind him, pulling on the sleeping bag, warning Carl to stay still. Thinking he was caught in the zipper and that Nielsen was trying to help him out, Carl struggled to set himself free, but soon lost consciousness. When he came to, he could hear water running, and felt incredibly cold. Quote, I knew I was in the water, and he was trying to drown me. 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 again. I just thought I was dying. I thought this man was killing me, and I was dying. I thought, you were drowning, this is what it feels like to die.

I felt very relaxed, and I passed out. I couldn't fight anymore. Assuming that Carl was now dead, Nielsen carried him out of the bath and placed him on the living room floor. His dog, Bleep, then started licking Carl's face, which alerted Nielsen to the fact that he was still alive. Seemingly changing his mind about murdering Carl, he spent the next few hours attempting to revive him and warming him up. Carl eventually regained consciousness, but was dazed and disorientated, and had trouble remembering what had happened. He saw his reflection, and realized there was a deep red mark around his neck, and broken blood vessels all over his face and in his eyes.

Nielsen explained that Carl had been caught in a sleeping bag zipper and lost consciousness, and that he had splashed water onto Carl's face to wake him up. In a state of shock, Carl believed Nielsen, who spent the morning comforting him. When Carl started to feel slightly better, Nielsen walked him to a nearby tube station and gave him his name and address in case he wanted to remain in contact. Carl made his way to the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead, roughly three miles from Nielsen's flat, and told a doctor there that he'd been caught in a zipper. The doctor was adamant that Carl's injuries were consistent with having been strangled, and concluded that someone may have tried to kill him.

But Carl, still in a state of shock, was uncertain what to believe. Around the time of the attack on Carl's daughter, Nielsen applied for another promotion at the Job Center, but was once again denied. He wrote a letter to his personnel manager, saying that he felt victimized and asked what was preventing him from moving up the ladder. Nielsen was subsequently invited to appeal the decision and succeeded. After eight years of service, he was finally promoted to the role of executive officer. On June 28, 1982, Nielsen was reassigned to the Kentish Town Job Center branch, located approximately three and a half miles from his flat in Muswell Hill.

His manager was a woman named Janet Lehman, and the two formed a close professional relationship that was the happiest of Nielsen's working career. Despite these positive changes, he continued to drink heavily, and within a couple of months, he resumed his old patterns. One September evening, Nielsen returned to his flat with 27-year-old Graham Allen. Graham was a Scottish-born heroin addict with a troubled past, who had moved to London in 1971 under the false lure of easy employment. Since then, he had spent years squatting in abandoned buildings, funding his drug addiction through a mix of government unemployment benefits, panhandling, and petty theft. Throughout the late 1970s and early 80s,

he spent time in both rehab and prison, and when released, he escalated to robbing pharmacies. Graham was engaged in a long-running affair with a woman named Leslie, who was the girlfriend of a well-known local criminal, and the two had a young son together. One night in September 1982, Graham and Leslie had a frenzied argument. Graham was drunk and demanded that Leslie give him money to buy heroin. When she refused, he proceeded to punch himself in the face. Fearful of his increasingly violent behaviour, Leslie locked Graham out of her house, telling him to go away and never come back.

It's unclear where Graham and Nielsen met, or how Graham ended up at Nielsen's flat, but once they were there, Graham requested something to eat. Nielsen didn't have much food in the house except for a carton of eggs, so he made Graham a large omelet. When Graham was about three-quarters of the way through eating it, he suddenly fell asleep or passed out with a large piece of the omelet hanging out of his mouth. Nielsen couldn't tell whether Graham was still breathing or not, but he leaned forward and proceeded to strangle him. He later recalled, If the omelet killed him, I don't know, but anyway, in going forward, I intended to kill him.

An omelet doesn't leave red marks on a neck. I suppose it must have been me. The next day, Nielsen filled the bathtub with water and placed Graham's body inside it, before going to work as usual. He kept the body in the tub for three days, changing the bathwater on occasion. On the fourth day, he dismembered Graham's body, boiled several of the body parts, and then flushed the organs and some of the flesh down the toilet. He placed the rest of the remains into black plastic bags and stuffed them into the tea chest alongside the remains of John Howlett. Graham's girlfriend, Leslie, was used to him disappearing for long periods of time,

but he always wrote her letters during his absence. After she failed to hear from him for several months, Leslie continued to hope that Graham was alive, but feared that he had actually passed away from an overdose. He was never reported missing. On Wednesday, December 22, 1982, Nielsen was drinking in a Soho pub when he met 20-year-old Trevor Simpson, who had just been released from prison after serving a six-month sentence for carjacking. The two began talking, and after a few drinks, Nielsen invited Trevor back to his flat. Trevor accepted, and the two went to 23 Cranley Gardens, where Nielsen told Trevor he was welcome to sleep in one of the armchairs in his living room. The next morning, he extended the offer,

and Trevor stayed for several more days. Although he was happy to have a place to stay over Christmas, Trevor soon became frustrated with Nielsen, who continuously bombarded him with left-wing political rhetoric. He also noticed an awful odor that seemed to emanate from the flat, but wasn't inclined to search for the source of the smell. By Monday, December 27, Trevor had stayed at the flat for five days. Nielsen made them a stew to eat, but became irritated when Trevor made a rude remark about the taste. Later that night, Nielsen drunkenly muttered something about needing to consult with the professor about whether or not Trevor could stay any longer. Trevor went to bed shortly afterwards,

but awoke at 1am to find the living room filled with smoke. He ran to the kitchen, where he found Nielsen calmly drinking a glass of water. The smoke was determined to be coming from a pair of jeans on the living room floor, which Nielsen said was likely caused by Trevor dropping a lit cigarette. The fire was extinguished without further incident, and Trevor stayed for one more night before moving on, with Nielsen saying he was welcome to return any time. A few days later, at around lunchtime on Friday, December 31, Nielsen visited a pub down the street from his flat. He returned home at 8pm and knocked on the door of his downstairs neighbors,

Vivienne McStay and Monique Van Rutter, to ask if they wanted to watch television with him upstairs. The women declined as they were in the middle of cooking dinner, and could also tell that Nielsen was very drunk. He seemed annoyed by their refusal, but invited them to join him at the local pub later that night to celebrate the new year, then went back upstairs. At around 11pm, Nielsen walked to the nearby Greenman pub, where he met a young Japanese chef named Toshimitsu Ozawa. The pub closed just after midnight, and the two decided to return to Nielsen's flat. Once they were inside, Nielsen calmly approached Toshimitsu with a necktie pulled totally between his outstretched arms.

At first, Toshimitsu thought Nielsen was joking, but when Nielsen repeated the action again, Toshimitsu realized Nielsen was serious. Terrified, Toshimitsu kicked Nielsen in the groin and fled from the flat, running down the stairs and into the night. The downstairs neighbors, Vivienne and Monique, heard arguing, followed by banging and the sound of someone sobbing. They ventured outside to see what was going on, only to find a highly intoxicated Nielsen on the stairs. Toshimitsu reported the incident to police, but felt it was too much trouble to follow through with the complaint, and subsequently withdrew it.

Less than four weeks later, on Wednesday, January 26, 1983, Nielsen was walking through London's West End when he started chatting with a 20-year-old named Stephen Sinclair. Stephen, who had been born in Scotland and was adopted, had lived a hard life. Throughout his childhood, he struggled with severe personality problems, was afflicted by regular bedwetting, and often self-harmed. At the age of 12, he was diagnosed with psychomotor epilepsy, a disorder that impacts the brain's temporal lobe and impairs an individual's awareness to their surroundings. Stephen was subsequently institutionalized and placed into foster care, and by the time he was

18, he was addicted to amphetamines and had contracted hepatitis B. He moved to London, where he lived in hostels or squatted in derelict houses, and spent most of his time loitering around Leicester Square. He was well known to social workers and police in the area, and had been imprisoned multiple times. Although he was generally regarded as a social outcast, Stephen had accumulated many friends on the streets of London, and was known to have a sensitive and friendly side. Nielsen sympathized with the troubled young man, and offered to buy him a meal from McDonald's. Some of Stephen's friends saw them walk off together, but didn't intervene in case Stephen was planning to rob Nielsen, which he was known to do.

The two ate, then stopped at a liquor store before deciding to head to Nielsen's flat. They caught the tube back to Muswell Hill, arriving at 23 Cranley Gardens at around 9 pm. The men drank, chatted, listened to music, and watched TV together. At some point during the evening, Stephen went to the bathroom to inject himself with what Nielsen assumed to be speed, but by the early hours of the morning, he had dozed off in one of the armchairs. Nielsen shook Stephen to see if he was awake, and when there was no response, he went into the kitchen and cut up an old necktie, which he tied with some string to fashion a ligature.

Bleep followed him back into the living room wagging her tail, and Nielsen padded her before ordering her into the bedroom. He then proceeded to strangle Stephen, who slipped into unconsciousness without a struggle. When he stopped breathing, Nielsen said, Stephen, that didn't hurt at all. Nothing can touch you now. He later recalled, I remember wishing he could stay in peace like that forever. I had a feeling of easing his burden with my strength. I felt relieved that his troubles were now over. Nielsen removed Stephen's clothing and carried him to the bathroom,

where he bathed him in the tub with lukewarm water and lemon-centred dishwashing liquid. Afterwards, he dried him and carried him to the bedroom, where he laid him down on the bed and propped one large mirror at the end of the bed and one by its side. Nielsen undressed and lay naked next to Stephen's body, covering both of them with talcum powder, so that their skin was a similar colour. He later told author Brian Masters, I spoke to him as if he was still alive. I was telling him how lucky he was to be out of it all. I thought how beautiful he looked and how beautiful I looked. He looked sexy, but I had no erection. He just looked fabulous. In another account, he recalled,

I wanted to touch and stroke him, but did not. I lay naked beside him, but only looked at the two bodies in the mirror. I just lay there and a great peace came over me. I felt that this was it, the meaning of life, death, everything. No fear, no pain, no guilt. I could only caress and fondle the image in the mirror. I never looked at him, no sex, just a feeling of oneness. The next morning, Nielsen dressed Stephen in some of his own clean clothes, placed his body in the living room wardrobe and went to work. One week later, on Thursday, February 3, downstairs tenant Jim Allcock noticed that one of the toilets on the ground floor of 23 Cranley Gardens was blocked. He attempted to unblock it

using an acid solution and prodding sticks, but to no avail. The next morning, Jim's girlfriend Fiona Bridges bumped into Dennis Nielsen and asked if he was having any trouble with the toilet in his flat, and Nielsen replied that he wasn't. Jim phoned the building's estate agency, Ellison Co., to notify them of the issue and to ask for the number of a plumber. At 4.15pm, Fiona called the plumber, but he wasn't available, so she left a message with the details. Nielsen had spent the afternoon of Friday, February 4 drinking at the pub to prepare himself for the process of disposing of Stephen Sinclair's body. In the evening, he returned to his flat,

lined the bathroom floor with garbage bags, and retrieved Stephen's body from the wardrobe. Using a carving knife, he dismembered the body and removed the organs. Employing the same technique he had used when disposing of John Howlett, he boiled various body parts to soften the tissue so that it would be easier to flush down the toilet. At this point, it hadn't occurred to Nielsen that the blocked toilets his downstairs neighbors were experiencing could be caused by his actions. Halfway through the task, he took a break to walk bleep to a nearby supermarket, where he purchased cigarettes and a bottle of rum. Upon returning home, he listened to classical music and drank heavily,

while the body parts simmered on the stove. By midnight, he was too drunk to continue with the disposal, so he went to bed with Stephen's remains still in the living room and his head in a pot. The next day, Saturday, February 5, Nielsen woke with a hangover and spent most of the morning in bed. Unbeknownst to him, plumber Mike Welch arrived at around midday to inspect the drains from outside the property. Unable to clear the blockage himself, Mike determined it was a job for specialist plumbing company Dino Rod and a technician was booked for the next available appointment on Monday. Later that afternoon, Nielsen was leaving the house when his downstairs neighbor Fiona informed him of the plumbing situation and recommended that he avoid using

the toilet in his flat until the Dino Rod technician's visit in two days' time. Only then did it dawn on him that his flushing of body parts down the toilet had likely caused the blockage. He went to the supermarket to purchase cleaning products and air fresheners and returned to the flat to finish disposing of Stephen's remains. Later that evening, Nielsen's longtime friend Martin Hunter Craig paid him an unexpected visit. Nielsen only held the door open a fraction and told Martin he couldn't come in because he was with another visitor. Martin noticed that Nielsen seemed agitated and that his face was ghostly pale. There was also a strange vomit-like odor emanating from the flat.

At this point, Bleep noticed the door was partially open and ran outside and down the stairs. Nielsen instructed Martin to hold the door but warned him not to go inside and then chased after his dog. He returned with Bleep shortly after and asked for reassurance that Martin hadn't entered his flat. Martin assured Nielsen that he hadn't. Martin assumed that Nielsen had been drinking and didn't want him to go inside because there was someone there whom he was having sex with, so he left the property. Nielsen then spent the rest of Saturday night watching television. The following morning of Sunday, February 6, Nielsen divided Stephen's dismembered body parts and organs into multiple plastic bags and then placed these in two large garbage bags which

he stored in his wardrobe and under an upturned drawer in his bathroom. He covered the bags in his wardrobe with newspapers, stuffed several sticks of deodorant inside, and then locked the wardrobe doors. On Monday, February 7, Nielsen went to work as usual but spent the day on edge, knowing that the Dino Rod Technician was scheduled to visit and he would likely return home to find the police at his door. He was curt and irritable with his colleagues and apologised to one for his behaviour, explaining that he was under pressure. When he arrived at home, he was relieved to find that the Dino Rod Technician had never shown up. On Tuesday, February 8, Nielsen went to work again. That evening, Dino Rod Employee Mike

Katrin attended the property at approximately 6.15pm by which time night had fallen. Nielsen joined downstairs tenant Jim Allcock outside to watch as Mike lowered himself into the manhole to inspect the drains. Mike discovered the floating pieces of flesh and porridge-like substance and determined the blockage must have been caused by animal remains. He asked Nielsen if he had been flushing dog food down the toilet, to which Nielsen responded no, instead remarking that the flesh looked like pieces of Kentucky Fried Chicken. Mike concluded that something untoward was going on and phoned his manager, Gary Wheeler. The two men agreed to attend the property the next day so they could conduct a clearer inspection

in daylight. When Nielsen returned to his flat, he wrote a letter to the building's management company, Ellison Co., to complain about the state of the drains. He spent the rest of the evening drinking heavily and that around midnight, he ventured outside and headed down into the manhole. He proceeded to clear as much of the flesh from the drain as he could, throwing the remains over the hedge into the back garden. In order to disguise the remainder of the drains' contents, he decided he would buy some Kentucky Fried Chicken in the morning and throw it into the mix. Downstairs tenants Jim and Fiona were awake and heard footsteps on the stairs,

followed by the sounds of someone walking in the back garden and the manhole cover being removed. They also heard the repeated flushing of the toilet located on the landing. Jim armed himself with a pole and went out to investigate. Catching Nielsen as he was returning to his flat, his shirt slaves rolled up and a torch in his hand. When Jim asked his neighbor what he was doing, Nielsen explained that he had gone outside to urinate. The next morning of Wednesday, November 9, Nielsen left for work at around 8.30am. 45 minutes later, Dono Rod technician Mike Katrin and his boss Gary Wheeler arrived at 23 Cranley Gardens. Mike climbed down into the manhole for the second time and was surprised to see that

most of the flesh-like substance was gone. Fiona Bridges, who was the only tenant at home, told Mike and Gary about the noises she and Jim heard the night before and how they had caught Nielsen sneaking around outside in the early hours. Mike continued to fish around in the drain until he pulled out what appeared to be a human knuckle along with more pieces of flesh and bone. Horrified at the discovery, Fiona immediately called the police. At 11am, a number of officers, led by 26-year veteran of the police force, Detective Chief Inspector Peter Jay, arrived at 23 Cranley Gardens. The police conducted a further search of the drain and retrieved several more pieces of flesh, each approximately four inches long and one inch wide,

along with three small bones with a knuckle at each end. DCIJ personally took the remains to chairing Cross Hospital for examination by David Bowen, a professor of forensic medicine at the University of London, who also worked as a consultant pathologist. Professor Bowen declared that the small bones and knuckle had come from the hand of a human male and that the flesh was human neck tissue. The flesh also displayed a clear ligature mark, leading Professor Bowen to conclude that the victim had been strangled. As Nielsen's work day drew to an end, he tried to behave normally, but he knew an arrest was imminent and he would likely never return to the office again. Before he left, he wrote a note urging his colleagues not to believe any reports that

might emerge claiming he had taken his own life in jail. He tucked the note inside a draw, tidied his desk, and said a cheerful goodbye to his workmates. Some noticed he was wearing a blue and white football scarf, which was out of character as he typically wore drab, dark clothing. It would later be revealed that the scarf had belonged to his last victim, Stephen Sinclair. At 5.40pm, Nielsen arrived home to find three detectives, Detective Chief Inspector Peter J, Detective Inspector Stephen McCaskar and Detective Constable Jeffrey Butler waiting at the front door of the building. DCIJ introduced himself and explained that they were there to investigate

the items found in the blocked drains. Nielsen feigned surprise and asked if the other two detectives were health inspectors. DCIJ explained that they were all police officers and wanted to ask him some questions. Nielsen led the three men upstairs to his flat, and once they were inside, DCIJ revealed that some of the objects in the drain had been identified as human remains. He then asked Nielsen, where's the rest of the body? Without hesitation, Nielsen calmly replied. In two plastic bags in the wardrobe next door, I'll show you. He led the officers into the living room and handed over the keys to unlock the wardrobe,

saying he wanted to tell them everything. DCIJ read Nielsen his rights, then placed him under arrest on suspicion of murder, although they still had no idea who the victim was. They led Nielsen to the police car, and as they drove towards Hornsey police station, one of the officers asked Nielsen whether they were dealing with one body or two. He replied, 15 or 16 since 1978, I'll tell you everything, it's a relief to get it off my mind. Nielsen initially declined to hire a lawyer and was held in custody while the police conducted a thorough search of his flat, recovering the remains of John Howlett and Graham Allen from the tea chest and Stephen Sinclair from the drawer in the bathroom. Two days later, at 10.45 am on Friday,

February 11, the police conducted their first official interview with Nielsen. He admitted to the murders of the three men whose remains were found at 23 Cranley Gardens, and to a further 12 at his former residence on Melrose Avenue in Cricklewood. Police took Nielsen to the Melrose Avenue flat, where he showed them the two locations in the rear garden and surrounding wasteland where he had burned the bodies of his other victims. He also confessed to as many as seven other attempted murders. Police had a difficult task ahead of trying to formally identify the victims. Nielsen remembered few of their names and couldn't recall enough specific details

about each individual to provide an immediate identification. As it was 1983, DNA testing didn't yet exist and CCTV technology was still in its infancy, so the police had to rely on fingerprints, dental records, and the victim's personal items. This meant that they also had no choice but to depend on the assistance of Dennis Nielsen himself. Stephen Sinclair was the first to be identified. At the time of his death, the 20-year-old was wanted by police for some minor offenses, and his fingerprints were already on file. Forensic investigators found fingerprints on Stephen's leather jacket, a used syringe, and a tobacco tin, all of which were found in Nielsen's flat, and tested them against

the prints on file to confirm a match. At 5.45pm on February 11, Nielsen was officially charged with Stephen's murder. Under further advice from law enforcement, Nielsen retained the services of Ronald Moss, a middle-aged solicitor who had experienced dealing with lower-profile murder cases. During their first meeting, Nielsen took an immediate liking to Moss. Moss found Nielsen to be calm and rational and agreed to accept him as a client. The tabloid press had already been tipped off about the grim discovery at 23 Cranley Gardens by dyno-rod plumber Mike Catron, and were circling for further information so they could run a story. Within an hour of the formal charge being made, reporters managed to locate Nielsen's mother

Betty in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, and requested photographs of her son. Betty obliged on the basis they would be returned to her, but she later found out the photographs were sold for large sums of money, and she never got them back. That evening, Nielsen's friend, Martin Hunter Craig, was watching television when a news report revealed that body parts had been discovered in the drains of an apartment building in Muswell Hill. The name of the killer was withheld, but when the report showed an image of 23 Cranley Gardens, Martin realised that Nielsen must be responsible. He was shocked to think that he had been at the property just days earlier. By Saturday, February 12, the story was making

headlines across England and overseas. Although the full extent of the murders hadn't yet been revealed, reporters had already dubbed the Muswell Hill property the House of Horrors, and were referring to the killer as the Muswell Hill murderer. Police were still working around the clock to identify the remaining victims, and had released very minor details to the media, but journalists were working overtime in an attempt to get the best scoop. Members of the press surrounded the Hornsey police station, with some attempting to rig a microphone outside of DCIJ's first floor window to obtain inside information. A Japanese news crew even positioned themselves in a house opposite the station and used highly

sophisticated sound equipment to try to eavesdrop on police interviews with Nielsen. At 10am, Nielsen made his first appearance in the magistrates court, where the judge ruled that he be remanded in custody for three more days of questioning before further legal proceedings. Afterwards, when he was being escorted out of the courthouse and back to the waiting police car, Nielsen elected to walk out in full view of the press. He later explained that he didn't want to hide away by covering his face like a common criminal. Nielsen's mother participated in a television interview in which she stated, I just don't understand how this could go on, and nobody knowing anything. I 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 must have happened to him, because it's not my dentist that's doing it, not the boy I knew that's doing these things. He's always my son, and that's why I want him to know we're all concerned about him. And I just hope he'll get some help to cope with the situation he's in. The police continued to question Nielsen, with detectives consciously trying to maintain a relaxed atmosphere in order to keep him talking. Although they were horrified and occasionally physically sick from the details he divulged, they feared that he would clam up if he felt he was under attack. Nielsen was unusually cooperative, offering details about each murder,

descriptions of the techniques he used, and helping to identify the victims. As author Brian Masters described in his book, Killing for Company, quote, Not only did Nielsen make no hindrance, but he positively swamped the detectives with information faster than they could seek it. He barely required questioning. He spoke in an almost unbroken autobiographical monologue as if to purge his conscience of a burden which he could no longer bear alone. Yet there were no irrelevant details, no digressions into personal life, no pleas for comfort or understanding. He admitted that he was astonished he had no tears for the people who had died at his hands. It soon became clear to the detectives that the

number of people who visited Nielsen's flat without incident far outweighed those who came under attack or were killed. Nielsen rejected the suggestion that he intentionally sought out victims, claiming that he only ever went out in search of company and the attacks were never planned, quote. When I voluntarily go out to drink, I do not have the intention at that time to do these things. I seek company first and hope everything will be all right. Nielsen claimed to be relieved that he'd finally been caught, as he would have kept killing otherwise, and the detectives were convinced he never would have given himself up of his own accord. In a later interview for the television program

Britain's most evil serial killers, DCIJ recalled, Nielsen said if you hadn't have caught me now, it wouldn't have been 15, it would have been 150, and I think he might have been right. When the formal interviews were finally complete, Nielsen's solicitor Ronald Moss asked him why he had committed the crimes. Nielsen responded, quote. I am hoping you will tell me that. While the police and prosecution continued to gather evidence for trial, Nielsen was housed at Brixton Prison in the inner south of London. Upon his arrival, he was required to change into the standard prison-issued uniform of brown trousers and a blue striped shirt. And based on a psychiatrist's recommendation, he was placed in the prison's hospital wing for his own safety.

Nielsen was only allowed out of his cell to participate in supervised exercise for half an hour each day and was forbidden from associating with other prisoners. He was labelled a category A prisoner, which meant he posed the highest threat to police and the public, and was moved between souls every couple of days. Nielsen was also banned from attending the chapel, which upset him even though he was an atheist. Frustrated that the chaplains didn't stand up to the prison governor on his behalf, he labelled them Christian hypocrites, who were worse than cockroaches. With Nielsen incarcerated, his beloved dog Bleep was taken in by an animal rescue shelter in

southwest London to be rehomed. But within a week of her arrival, she became ill and passed away. Her death left Nielsen heartbroken, and he later explained to author Brian Masters, I am ashamed that her last days should be so painful. She had always forgiven me everything, and nothing but me could ever break her heart. She'd never let me down, but in the moment of her greatest crisis, I was not there. In prison, Nielsen soon became infatuated with a fellow inmate named David Martin, a small, effeminate career criminal who had spent his whole life in and out of jail. Martin was serving time for a spray of burglaries which resulted in him shooting a police officer, and later escaping from the magistrates court using pins he stored in his

long hair. Nielsen and Martin barely spent any time together, and only saw each other occasionally in the exercise yard. But Nielsen became upset when Martin was relocated to a different prison a few months later. In an attempt to maintain a semblance of a connection with Martin, Nielsen contacted Martin's solicitor Ralph Hyames to ask if he would consider representing him as a client. Hyames had a reputation for successfully defending notorious clients, so some also saw this as a tactical decision on Nielsen's behalf. He felt that his initial solicitor, Ronald Moss, was failing to help him stand up against the prison regime that he believed was working to bully him, and he had dismissed and rehired Moss three

times. During those periods where Nielsen had no legal representation, he had unsuccessfully attempted to represent himself. Hyames agreed to take Nielsen on as a client, but they soon butted heads. Nielsen accused Hyames of working too closely with the press, yet failing to use these opportunities to tell the public how poorly Nielsen was being treated in prison. Despite their disagreements, Hyames was able to convince Nielsen against pleading guilty to all charges, as he believed he could use the defense of diminished responsibility due to mental disorder. To pass the time in prison, Nielsen spent most of his days writing. He started working on an autobiographical manuscript titled History of a Drowning Boy, and also established a professional

relationship with Brian Masters, an author best known for his histories of the British aristocracy. Masters had developed an interest in the extremities of human behavior, and wrote a letter to Nielsen, asking if he would be open to cooperating on a book project. On March 30, 1983, Nielsen wrote to accept Master's invitation, opening the letter by saying, I passed the burden of my past actions onto your shoulders. The two began exchanging letters, with Masters also visiting Brixton Prison twice a week to speak with his subject. Nielsen didn't hold back, providing a comprehensive and in-depth account of his childhood, his time in the army, career problems, sexual fantasies, relationship

history, and each of the murders. In an early letter to Masters, Nielsen wrote, I have led a strange life so far. Schoolboy, soldier, chef, projectionist, policemen, clerical officer, executive officer, drunk, sexualist, male and female, murderer, animal lover, independent trades union officer, debater, champion of social causes, do-gooder, disector of murder victims, grand vizier, and probably lifer. If there is a God, he must have a weird and jumbled sense of priorities. Job finder, peace campaigner, amateur filmmaker, mime of useless information, administrator, pen pusher, detained prisoner, solitary reaper, killer of the innocent, unremorseful, reformed character, enigma,

now rapidly becoming a national receptacle into which all the nation will urinate, warp to monster, madman, ungodly, cold and alone. Nielsen told Masters about one incident in particular that had a profound impact on his life. In 1967, when he was stationed at Al-Mansura Detention Center in Yemen, he had been drinking heavily in town and hailed a taxi to take him back to the base. During the drive, he dozed off in the back seat and later woke with a sharp pain in the back of his head. He realized he was naked and had been struck over the head and placed into the boot of the car. Nielsen attempted to break free from the vehicle, which was still being driven,

but was unable to open the boot. After a short drive, the car stopped and Nielsen decided that his best chance to escape would be to play dead. The taxi driver got out, opened the boot, and started touching Nielsen, who tried to look as limp and lifeless as possible. The driver attempted to lift Nielsen out, at which point Nielsen's hand touched metal, and he realized there was a car jack handle close to him. He grabbed hold of it and delivered a hard blow to the taxi driver's head, immediately knocking him unconscious. Nielsen climbed out of the boot and struck the driver twice more in the skull. He saw that the car was parked in an isolated spot amidst the cluster of old buildings,

so he wiped the jack handle clean and put it back in the boot, along with the driver. Then he quickly put his clothes on and walked to the detention center through the darkness. He was reprimanded for being delinquent but never said a word to anyone about his ordeal. Nielsen told Masters that the next morning he was filled with horror over the incident and started having nightmares about being tortured, raped, murdered, and mutilated. A psychologist later determined that Nielsen had fabricated this entire event. If that was the case, Masters believed that further proved just how powerful Nielsen's fantasies were. However, if the incident was true, Masters has pointed out that it demonstrated

how successfully Nielsen was able to compartmentalize a horrific memory while outwardly appearing unaffected. Investigators continued the difficult task of identifying Nielsen's victims. Other than the human remains found at the Muswell Hill Flat, there was little physical evidence to go on, so they had to rely on Nielsen's recollections and missing person reports to join the dots. An operation room was set up and decked out with bulletin boards and blackboards, as well as poster-sized pieces of paper dedicated to each victim. On each poster, investigators listed as many details about the individual as possible, including their physical description, last known whereabouts, the date they were last seen,

and the date Nielsen claimed they were murdered. In addition to Steven Sinclair, police were eventually able to identify a total of seven other victims. The 28-year-old, who Nielsen knew only as John the Guardsman, was identified during a painstaking process in which police located every man with the name of John in the local area. Using a strip of muscle retrieved from Nielsen's flat, they determined the victim's blood type and used this to narrow down the list of unaccounted four Johns that matched the description Nielsen provided, finally identifying him as John Howlett. Martin Duffy, the 16-year-old catering student who Nielsen murdered in his Melrose Avenue flat, was identified using the chef's knives that Nielsen

had kept, which had Martin's name engraved on them. Kenneth Ockenden, the 23-year-old tourist who Nielsen had killed just days before his expected return to Canada, was identified when Nielsen was shown a photograph and recognised the young man. Kenneth's London Strict Directory was found amongst Nielsen's belongings, and forensic investigators were able to locate a partial fingerprint and match it against prints recovered from the belongings Kenneth had left behind in his hotel room. The family of 26-year-old Billy Sutherland, who had reported him missing in 1980, contacted police after seeing news about the murders and wondering whether Billy could have been a victim.

Nielsen was shown a photograph of Billy and recognised him as one of the men he had killed in his Melrose Avenue flat. Human remains were found under the floorboards in Nielsen's old flat, and forensic investigators were able to confirm Billy's identity from false teeth and a piece of skin with one of his tattoos on it. Also identified was 24-year-old Malcolm Barlow, who Nielsen strangled in his Melrose Avenue flat the day after Malcolm was discharged from hospital. Paul Nobs, the 19-year-old university student who Nielsen attempted to strangle in his sleep soon after moving into the Cranley Gardens flat, was identified as a survivor, as was 26-year-old Scotsman Douglas Stewart, who had fought off an attack at Melrose Avenue on November 10, 1980.

On May 26, 1983, Nielsen's committal hearing commenced in the Old Bailey, the Central Criminal Court of England and Wales. The judge determined the prosecution had enough evidence to put Nielsen to trial for the murders of Stephen Sinclair, John Howlett, Billy Sutherland, Martin Duffy, Kenneth Ockenden and Malcolm Barlow, and for the attempted murders of Paul Nobs and Douglas Stewart. The trial was scheduled to commence in October, 1983. From the beginning of Nielsen's time in custody, he was required to wear the standard-issue prison uniform. This enraged him as he hadn't yet been convicted of a crime. He protested against it by walking around his cell naked. In response, the guards restricted him from leaving his cell entirely,

which meant he was unable to empty his toilet bucket. On August 1, when Nielsen's bucket was full to the brim, he yelled, stand clear, and proceeded to throw its contents through the bars of his cell and onto the landing. Several guards were hit with the mass, and Nielsen was beaten in retaliation and given 56 days in solitary confinement. As Nielsen's time on remand went by, he began to express regret for committing the crimes. In a letter he sent to detectives thanking them for their professionalism when unravelling the case, Nielsen wrote, My remorse is of a deep and personal kind, which will lead a way inside me for the rest of my life.

I am a tragically private person, not given to public tears. The enormity of these acts has left me in permanent shock. The evil was short-lived, and it cannot live or breathe for long inside the conscience. I have slain my own dragon, as surely as the press and the letter of the law will slay me. To be continued next week