The Misery Machine - The Case of UK Necrophile David Fuller & the Bedsit Murders

Episode Date: September 15, 2025

This week, Drewby and Yergy head back over across the pond to discuss the case of David Fuller, a British man who committed a serious of heinous crimes in the 1980's known as the Bedsit Murders. But it wasn't until recently that the full scope of David's crimes would come to light... In addition to the murders, David had defiled the corpses of over 100 victims ranging in ages from 9 to 100 years old, and videotaped his deprived acts. Support Our Patreon: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/themiserymachine⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠PayPal: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.paypal.me/themiserymachine⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join Our Facebook Group: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://t.co/DeSZIIMgXs?amp=1⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram: miserymachinepodcastTwitter: misery_podcastDiscord: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://discord.gg/kCCzjZM⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠#themiserymachine #podcast #truecrimeSource Materials:https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/mortuary-sex-corpse-murder-fuller-b1951834.html#:~:text=On%2023%20June%201987%2C%20the,sexually%20assaulted%2C%20beaten%20and%20strangledhttps://news.sky.com/story/david-fuller-what-were-his-crimes-and-how-did-he-evade-justice-for-so-long-13018147#:~:text=Five%20months%20after%20killing%20Ms,restaurant%2C%20which%20he%20had%20visitedhttps://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/oct/08/david-fuller-1987-killings-of-two-women-in-tunbridge-wells#:~:text=A%2067,UK%E2%80%99s%20longest%20unsolved%20homicide%20caseshttps://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/dec/15/david-fuller-jailed-for-of-two-women-and-abuse-of-over-100-corpses#:~:text=Handing%20down%20a%20whole,Fuller%20would%20die%20in%20jailhttps://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/david-fuller-sentence-trial-family-kent-morgue-b971925.html#:~:text=Fuller%20had%20met%20Ms%20Knell,his%20photographs%20to%20be%20developedhttps://people.com/david-fuller-case-british-hospital-necrophiliac-murderer-8729224#:~:text=Knell%2C%2025%2C%20was%20found%20naked,But%20there%20was%20no%20suspecthttps://www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/R-v-David-Fuller-sentencing-remarks-071222.pdf#:~:text=Sentencing%20Remarks%201,and%20well%20publicised%20investigation%2C%20youhttps://deanwilson.co.uk/nhs-trust-agrees-compensation-protocol-for-families-of-david-fullers-mortuary-victims#:~:text=On%208th%20November%202021%2C%20The,to%20report%20in%20early%202023https://www.nusghani.org.uk/campaigns/leading-action-extending-sentencing-necrophilia#:~:text=The%20Independent%20inquiry%20announced%20and,%E2%80%9Dhttps://www.portsmouth.co.uk/news/crime/mortuary-abuser-killer-david-fuller-who-sexually-abused-the-bodies-of-more-than-100-women-and-girls-is-jailed-for-longer-3945940#:~:text=Fuller%20is%20originally%20from%20Portsmouth,Crown%20Court%20in%20the%201970shttps://www.kentonline.co.uk/tunbridge-wells/news/man-on-trial-for-1987-bedsit-murders-256651/#:~:text=Mr%20Atkinson%20said%3A%20,addresses%20where%20victims%20were%20residenthttps://www.lbc.co.uk/news/david-fuller-wife-bedsit-killer-david/#:~:text=The%2067,know%20the%20names%20of%2078https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-58250043https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-kent-59134272

David Fuller was born in England in 1954 and grew up in Portsmouth's North End. While in school, he found himself getting into trouble with the police for stealing bikes, setting fires, and damaging properties. In his late teens and- Own it all. Pay off your home, travel for life, drive a Ferrari. In celebration of the world premiere of the Monopoly Big Board Buckslot Machine by Aristocrat Gaming, Yamava Resort and Casino at San Manuel is giving one person a $1.6 million dream package. the biggest prize in Yamava's history. Club Serrano members can earn daily instant prizes

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gentle on the skin. It's a powerful clean you can feel good about. So go on. Pick up a bottle of All Free Clear for your next laundry day. Early 20s, he was found guilty of burglary twice. Later in life, he admitted to a series of break-ins through windows in Portsmouth, but he didn't go to jail for any of these crimes. This pattern of behavior involving windows will become important as our story progresses. David completed a four-year electrical apprenticeship at Portsmouth Dockyard from 1972 to 1976. In the late 1970s, David moved from Portsmouth to Kent to work in his trade and held several electronics and maintenance jobs in West Kent. By the early 1980s, he had married a woman named Sally and had started a family. Now, David was married

three times during his life, and Sally was his second wife. He had a young. He had married. He had married. He had four children from his marriages and other relationships, none of whom have been named publicly. David enjoyed birdwatching, cycling, and photography. In 1985, he joined Sally on tour as an unpaid photographer for the band Cutting Crew. During this time in the mid-1980s, David was working as an electrician and living in Kent in a staff house on Spelled Hearst Road with Sally. It was noticed that he frequently brought film to Supersnaps, a Photoshop in Tunbridge Well, and were a woman named Wendy Nell worked. Wendy was born in the early 1960s to Pam and Bill Nell and grew up in Kent.

Family remembered Wendy as beautiful, kind, generous, caring, and funny. Her neighbors remembered her as someone who had a smile and a kind word for everybody. Friends described her as a woman who was full of potential and well-liked in the community. Wendy attended local schools in Tumbridge Wells, and among her peers, she was known for being energetic and popular. At the age of 25, Wendy had moved into an apartment on Guildford Road after her marriage ended. Her friend Julie Monk said that her divorce had hit her hard. Wendy was independent, but she had really wanted children in a home of her own. By 1987, she had worked her way up to become the manager of Supisnaps, a shop on Camden Road that specialized in photo processing.

Wendy's boyfriend, Ian Plas, often went with her on errands and social outings. The relationship was becoming serious and they had even talked about marriage. Friends said that her main priorities were Ian and her group of friends. People spoke positively about her relationship and overall she seemed to have a great social life. On the evening of June 2nd, 1987, Wendy and Ian spent time together at Ian's mother's house. They had dinner and Ian drove her back to her apartment late that night on his motorcycle. They kissed good night and she stood on her porch waving as he drove away. That would be the very last time that Ian would see her alive.

The next day, Wendy did not arrive at work. Her coworkers were worried and tried to call her, but the phone had been disconnected. Her mother called Ian, who left work right away and went straight to her place. He didn't have a key, so he started ringing the bell, knocking her in the door, and calling her name. But there was no response. Ian walked around the backside and found a way in. He was able to climb up onto a small roof just below her winter. which was unlocked. When Ian went through the window, he said that he just stood.

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Task performance does not guarantee future results. There, I could see Wendy's head sticking out from under the duvet, walked over and gently stroked her hair, then pulled the blanket down past her shoulders, lifted her arm and opened her eyelids. Wendy was gone. She was only 25 years old. Wendy had been attacked in her own home,

and her bedroom showed signs of a violent struggle. She was found lying naked and bloodied on her bed. She had been badly beaten and then strangled. She had also been essayed, but it was unclear if the attack had occurred around the time of death or shortly after. Detectives found no clear sign of forced entry. They believed the killer got in through an unlocked back window or tricked his way in after Ian had left the night prior. Investigators found a muddy shoe print on a blouse at the scene. Some of Wendy's personal items were missing, suggesting the killer had taken trophies.

This included a diary and a unique key ring. Trace DNA was recovered at the scene, but at the time, forensic science was very new. Wendy's body was taken to the morgue, and the coroner's report confirmed she had died from strangulation and blunt force trauma to the head. Even though the police searched hard in 1987 and there was media coverage, no suspect was found in the case went cold. Police had saved evidence including DNA, the shoe print, and photos, but without modern DNA systems in the 1980s, they couldn't find a match. Wendy's killing became known as part of the bed sit murders. For those outside of the UK, a bed sit is like a studio apartment here in the U.S. Wendy was the first victim, and then the second victim was Caroline Pierce.

Caroline was born around 1967 in the Tumbridge Wells area of Kent. She was described by people who knew her as cheerful and friendly. Like Wendy, she lived on her own. Friends said that Caroline was a lovely young woman who was liked by everyone she worked with and was somebody who just wanted to build a normal life. She was also noted as someone who was very humble and modest. Caroline had typical interest for someone in their late teens during the 1980s. She liked going out with friends on the weekends, playing records,

and dancing to pop music. Apparently, living on her own was an adjustment at first, but at the time of the events and the story, her friends said she had just started to enjoy living by herself, or they're saying that she was thoughtful and fun to be around. By the age of 18, she had a part-time job waiting tables at Buster Browns, a popular restaurant located just outside of Tumbridge Wells. She worked there through all of 1987.

She was known for being reliable at her job. She showed up on time for her shifts and was kind to customers. At the time, Caroline was saving up to move out of her small apartment and take secretarial courses. Her home was about a mile away from Wendy's. She was single at the time and had a large group of friends. She often went out to clubs with friends on the weekends. There's no record of her being in a bad relationship, having any family problems, or having any enemies of any kind. She was close to her parents who lived in another part of Kent, and she spoke with them frequently.

On the evening of November 24th, Caroline took a taxi home after a night out with friends. It was around midnight when the driver dropped her off. That same evening, Caroline was attacked. A neighbor heard a woman crying out no over and over again for about 30 seconds. And then, silence. Some look out their windows but saw no one didn't know where it was coming from. Later, Caroline Pierce was murdered inside her own apartment. On December 15th, a farmer found her body in a roadside drainage ditch near Romney Marsh,

about 40 miles away from Tunbridge Wells. Caroline's body had been dumped in the water, but only in a pair of tights. She was not wearing her underwear, which suggested to the investigators she might have been haphazardly redressed by her killer. At autopsy, Caroline's body displayed signs of strangulation, blunt force trauma to the head, in SA. The doctor said she had both internal and external. bleeding and had likely died from strangulation. Like in Wendy's case, the crime scene offered

few clues. Caroline's apartment had no signs of force entry, so police thought she might have opened the door to someone. Ryan Reynolds here for Mint Mobile. I don't know if you knew this, but anyone can get the same premium wireless for $15 a month plan that I've been enjoying. It's not just for celebrities, so do like I did and have one of your assistance assistants switch you to MintMobile today. I'm told it's super easy to do at mintmobile.com slash switch. Up front payment of $45 for three-month plan, equivalent to $15 per month required. Intro rate first three months only, then full price plan options available, taxes and fees extra,

default terms at mintmobile.com. When she knew, or maybe the attacker climbed through a window. Unlike Wendy's case, a boot print was found inside of Caroline's home, but it was too unclear to study. Caroline's murder stayed a mystery for decades waiting for a break. Even early on, police suspected that her case was connected to Wendy's murder. They noticed some common features and shared sketches of a possible suspect. They didn't have proof that the two cases were linked. Like Wendy's case, Caroline's murder soon became cold.

Meanwhile, David Fuller continued to live his life normally. In 1989, he started working at Kent and Sussex Hospital, where he had access to all parts of the facility, including the mortuary. People who worked with him said he was quiet, but hardworking. Nobody suspected him of hiding anything. However, he had a two-year affair with a nurse he worked with while he was married. She later said he often carried tools so he could say he was just fixing things if anyone questioned him. We don't know if the affair was the reason for this, but his marriage with Sally did eventually end. In 1999, David married his third wife, Mala, who was from Trinidad. A couple lived in a quiet neighborhood in Heathfield.

East Sussex. In 2002, David got promoted to maintenance department supervisor. Starting around 2005, David began a shocking series of crimes. He uses key card to enter the hospital mortuary at night where he violated the bodies of dead female patients. In May of 2011, when the new Tumbridge Wells Hospital in Pembury opened under a private contractor, David moved there. At the new hospital, the refrigeration units that were used to hold the bodies had doors on both sides. One side was covered by security cameras, but the other side, where post-mortemate examinations took place, had no cameras. David seemed to know this because no surveillance footage ever captured his movements. But the turning point came in 2019 when a nationwide review of old DNA evidence began.

Detectives did have some physical evidence, such as a bloody fingerprint left on a shopping bag, a footprint on the cuff of a white blouse found in Wendy's apartment. but in 1999, when they ran DNA samples against the new database, it didn't match anyone. By 2019, new forensic methods had been developed to extract DNA from damaged samples like the ones found on Caroline's tights. Investigators also use familial DNA, a method that lets scientists figure out if the person who left the DNA is related to someone already in the database. Former Metropolitan Police Detective Noel McHugh helped advise the case said this method was key.

Without it, the DNA from the crime scenes would likely still be unlinked, unless the killer had been arrested for something else and had their profile entered into the system. With familial DNA, they were able to narrow the pool of 6.5 million profiles to a list they could actually work with. From there, officers focused on people from the list who had lived near the crime scenes and who matched the likely age range. According to Detective Superintendent Ivan Beasley, they ended up with a long list. ranked by who was most likely to be a close relative of the suspect. The strongest partial match came from one of David's siblings. That led police to trace their family tree and eventually to David himself. When David was identified as the person behind Wendy's murder,

police reopened Caroline's case right away. He was 66 years old and living with his third wife and teenage son in East Sussex when he was arrested at his home on December 3, 2020. His DNA and fingerprints matched evidence, collected from two murder scenes in Tumbridge Wells dating back more than three decades. Please. That's what I'm going to say. And we're investigating the murders of Wendy.

All right, David, you're under arrest and suspicion of the murders of Wendy Nell and Caroline Pierce in 1987. Do you understand? You do not have to say anything, but it may harm your defence. If you do not mention when questioned, something which are later on in court, anything you do say may be given an evidence. You are being arrested. So secure and preserve evidence by means of questioning, so we can conduct searches, so forensic samples can be attained,

and to prevent your disappearance. Do you understand? When police questioned David, he insisted he didn't know much about Tumbridge Wells. He claimed he had never visited. As the Krispy Chicken Sandwich from 7-Eleven, people always call me loud. And I'm like, yeah, I know.

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David was somewhat of a pack rat. He had hoarded electronics dating all the way back to the 1980s, such as computer towers, hard drives, floppy disks, and phones. He also had around 34,000 printed photographs. He had documented nearly everything, including job invoices from his work as an electrician and pictures from his cycling club rides. He even had diary entries about what he did on his evenings out. Lees noticed these invoices pointed directly to locations around Tumbridge Wells. His diaries mentioned visits to Buster Browns as well. Members of his cycling group looked back and recalled routes they had taken, including

ones through Romney March, the same place where Caroline's body was later found. It also came to light that back in the 1970s and 80s, David had lived on the same street that Wendy had moved to. One photograph from the 1980s showed him lying on his stomach in the sun. His feet were kicked up behind him. The souls of his Clark's brand shoes were clearly visible in the shot. An investigator studied the pattern on those shoes, and it matched the footprint found on Wendy's blouse. His fingerprint was also a partial match the bloody print left on a shopping bag in her apartment.

Then came the final piece. DNA sample taken from David matched the sample collected decades earlier from Caroline's tides. After 33 years, police had finally found their man. That wasn't the end of it. Remember that pile of electronics he had? Well, from it, they recovered hundreds, literally hundreds, of hundred. hard drives, memory cards, SIM cards, as well as 30 mobile phones and over 2,000 outdated storage disks. They found on the back of a cabinet screwed into place was a hidden pocket holding four more hard drives.

And on those hard drives were videos. David had filmed himself inside the hospital. As detectives reviewed the footage, they uncovered exactly what he was doing inside the facility. Noel McHugh still remembers the moment he read the report describing what he had found. he couldn't believe it. Now families were about to learn that their loved ones who should have been safe and treated with dignity and death had been violated decades ago by David. In several videos, investigators could make out patient wristbands.

They paused the footage, read the names, and compared the data to hospital records. The timestamps in the videos lined up exactly with the days those patients had been in the mortuary. He had even kept a black notebook. Inside were the names of his victims. According to the prosecutor Libby Clark, he wouldn't leave them alone. He went back to them again and again. This is the most disturbing case I've ever worked on. Police later counted around 100 victims, ranging in age from 9 to 100 years old.

David also held one of the largest known collections of child essay material images ever found by UK police. All right, everyone. Welcome to ARCO rewards orientation. I'm Hannah. Whoa. Is everything okay? That's a code green. Someone just earned at least five cents a gallon in rewards. Wow. Another one? Well, that one's a code gold. The customer just redeemed savings of up to a dollar a gallon. Impressive. What does that one mean? Oh, that's just piggy. He gets excited when we talk about rewards.

Savings of up to $1 per gallon redeemable with $20 rewards dollars in your loyalty account. At participating locations, terms and conditions apply. Forensic psychiatrist Dr. Richard Badcock, also reviewed David's actions. He described his behavior as shaped by sadomasochistic tendencies, pointing out that his crimes followed a clear and chilling pattern. His disgusting activities inside of the morgue carried a lighter sentence than murder, a maximum of only two years. That sparked calls to reconsider how such crimes are punished. David pled guilty to 51 offenses related to the violation of a corpse. These included 44 charges involving 78 known victims between 2008 and 2020.

He also admitted to creating and storing illegal images. He entered these pleas in court before the murder trial, and although he showed a little emotion, families of the victims said it brought a measure of relief to hear him say the words. When charged with Wendy and Caroline's murders, David initially pled not guilty. He spoke very little during questioning and denied being met. mentally ill, but described himself as having two personalities. In his words, one that appeared normal and another that committed crimes. But then during his trial in November of 2021 at Maidstone Crown Court, he changed his plea and admitted to the killing. In December 15th, 2021, Justice

Chima Grubb sentenced him to two life sentences to be served concurrently with a whole life order. There would be no parole, no possibility of release. The judge stated that, David would die behind bars, having taken the lives of two young women and gone on to commit unspeakable acts against the dead. Wendy's death devastated her loved ones and the community. After David's guilty plea, her family released a statement expressing both sorrow and relief. After 34 years of not knowing who is responsible, they could finally begin to grief properly. Her mother, Pam, who had waited decades for justice, spoke but the pain of how long it had taken for the truth to come out. Friends later laid flowers outside Wendy's former home on Guildford Road.

She was buried in Kent. Caroline's family was also heartbroken when she had disappeared. It expected her home for Christmas, and she never made it. Caroline's family didn't release a lengthy public statement, but held a quiet memorial at her grave after the conviction. There they left flowers and a photo of her. Some of her friends also started a small scholarship in her name at a local youth center. It helps young people study nursing or nursing.

cooking, two things that Caroline had been interested in. These gestures, though small, served as personal memorials to a life lost far too soon. Justice Chima Grubbs spoke of both Wendy and Caroline as vibrant young women who had their futures stolen. In court, the prosecutor emphasized that Caroline's age, only 20, need the crime especially horrifying. The details of David's crimes ignited public outrage and forced the government to take action. In January, January of 2022, the health secretary announced a public investigation into how David had gone undetected for so long within hospital systems. By the end of that year, lawmakers began pushing for stricter punishments for violating a corpse, which at the time carried a maximum

sentence of just two years. Families affected by the more crimes were offered financial support by the National Health Service. On November 8th, 2021, a public inquiry led by Sir John Jonathan Michael began. It aimed to uncover the flaws in hospital security, staffing, and record keeping that had allowed David to move freely in and out of the morgues. Parliament later passed a new rule increasing the maximum sentence for violating a corpse, and hospitals around the UK reevaluated their access policies. Then, in October of 2022, new evidence emerged. David was charged with 16 additional charges related to violating a corpse. In November, of 2022, he once again pled guilty. On December 7th, 2022, he was sentenced to an additional four years in

prison, though, this time it would be served alongside his existing life sentence. During that hearing, families of more victims addressed the court. One woman said her nine-year-old daughter had been violated by David. As before, he remained silent and showed no visible reaction as he was led away. David is now incarcerated at HMP Franklin and County Durham. Prison staff describe him as quiet and mostly keeping to himself. He has given no interviews since his arrest and no public statements have been made on his behalf. Since then, both the hospitals he worked at, Kent and Sussex Hospital, as well as later Tumbridge Wells Hospital, have revised their policies on mortuary access. New security protocols were introduced to prevent anyone from gaining unauthorized entry.

Across the UK, hospital administrators were told to review how records are kept and who has access to the most sensitive areas of patient care. In the end, it's those who are left behind who continue to suffer. Back in 2007, Wendy's father, Bill, had told the BBC, one day someone's going to ring that doorbell and say, we've caught him, and there will be a celebration. By God, there will be, especially if he goes down for a very, very long time. That day did eventually come, but Bill, who passed away in 2017, never lived to see it. Ian, Wendy's boyfriend, never stopped blaming himself for her death. He said, not a day goes by when I don't feel guilty about her death.

If I'd stayed the night, she'd be alive today.