UK UK - STEPHEN PORT, Suspected SK of Male Victims, London

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Serial killer Stephen Port's first victim may have lain dead for more than a day before his prone body was discovered, an inquest has heard.

Anthony Walgate, 23, was found propped up against a wall outside Port's block of flats on Cooke Street, Barking, east London, on 19 June 2014.

Stephen Port: Killer's first victim 'dead for a day before being found'
 
The serial killer Stephen Port’s laptop was not submitted for forensic examination by police until 10 months after the death of his first victim, by which time he had killed two others, an inquest has heard.

The device showed that days before Port arranged to meet Anthony Walgate, 23, a fashion student from Hull, he had accessed material depicting unconscious male drug rape including the use of the date rape drug GHB, a jury was told.

Stephen Port laptop not inspected until he had killed three times, inquest told
 
Sak [Anthony Walgate's mother] described how the relationship with the police went downhill. She said of family liaison officer DC Paul Slaymaker: “It was as though he had written it off there and then – it was probably drugs. He just wouldn’t listen to anything.

“I said Anthony was murdered. I will never shut up and I will never go away. He said he wasn’t murdered, it was unexplained.”

In September 2014, she found out about the deaths of Port’s second and third victims, Daniel Whitworth, 21, and Gabriel Kovari, 22 and raised it with Slaymaker.

She told jurors: “I said how close they were and he just snapped at me. He said they are nothing to do with each other’”.

Sak said the deaths of Kovari and Whitworth could have been avoided if police had treated her son’s death differently. Referring to the inquests, she added: “I was having sleepless nights. Could I have done anything more?

"But as I have listened to all of this, no matter what I did, they would never have done anything."

‘Keystone Cops’ failed Stephen Port’s first victim, parents tell inquest
 
John Pape, who said he had a 'whirlwind friendship' with Slovakian Gabriel Kovari in summer 2014, said he provided the Metropolitan Police with information he thought might link the deaths in Barking, east London.

[...]

Mr Pape told the inquests: 'I think it's been said here that the police were underfunded and under emotional strain.

'But I think, when grieving families, boyfriend and friends are getting close to the truth and trying to raise the alarm 10 months before the Met are even willing to acknowledge the deaths are suspicious, it can't be a funding issue.

'What resources did the families and friends have? What emotional strain were we under at that time?

'The only thing that makes sense about how disturbingly incompetent this investigation was is prejudice.

'If the lives and deaths of young gay and bi men aren't treated with significance and respect, I think that amounts to institutional homophobia.'

He said he was told by police at the original inquests for Mr Kovari and Mr Whitworth that there was no evidence which suggested the two men knew each other, despite a 'suicide note' found on Mr Whitworth's body taking responsibility for killing Mr Kovari.

It was later established that the note was written by Port and planted on Mr Whitworth's body to mislead the police.

Mr Pape said he contacted gay charities, the gay press and campaigner Peter Tatchell to explain his concerns, adding: 'I didn't trust the police to link it properly.

'I was concerned about young, gay men in Barking.'

Mr Pape wept as he described hearing that Port had been arrested.

He said: 'I think I felt a mix of emotions, certainly a kind of anger because it felt like I had these concerns... that an older man might be preying on younger men... and I felt like I hadn't been listened to.

'I wish I could go back and tell myself to push it more.'

Peter Skelton QC, counsel for the Metropolitan Police, said officers involved in the case had apologised for the police response, but suggested to Mr Pape that 'incompetence does not always equate to prejudice'.

Mr Pape replied: 'I would agree that what happened here was incompetence... But behind that incompetence there has to be a reason why so many people were making such shocking mistakes.'

Scotland Yard accused of 'institutional homophobia' after police failed to link Stephen Port murders | Daily Mail Online

More at link.
 
Detective Inspector Tony Kirk told inquest jurors that borough officers were dealing with 'hundreds of crimes every day' so long-term investigations had to 'take a back seat'.

He denied that his colleagues had been 'lazy' in failing to link the deaths of four young, gay men in nearly identical circumstances, blaming the workload instead.

DI Kirk told inquest jurors at Barking Town Hall: “I’m not going to excuse what happened.

“But these were not officers who were lazy, they were working relentlessly in difficult conditions with very little reward.”

He continued: “It’s not a case that these are the only things going on for these officers.

“That’s why the links weren’t made.

Stephen Port investigation officers were overworked not 'lazy', claims detective


Giving evidence at the hearings, a senior police officer said the force was "deeply sorry" over its response.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Stuart Cundy told the inquests at Barking Town Hall: "It is a matter of personal disappointment to me that many of the things that should have been done weren't done.

"I am deeply sorry, personally and on behalf of the [Metropolitan Police Service], that we didn't conduct the initial investigations to the standards that you rightly expected."

Stephen Port: Met Police apologises to families of victims of serial killer
 
Police failings in the investigation into Stephen Port’s first victim “probably” contributed to the deaths of his three later victims, an inquest jury in east London has found.

The serial killer could have been caught earlier if the Metropolitan police had not missed opportunities, the jury found.

[...]

Jurors at the inquests into the deaths concluded that police failings “probably” contributed to the deaths of victims, all of whom were unlawfully killed.

In written conclusions, the jury acknowledged officers’ “heavy workload” but said there were failures that “cannot be overlooked”.

During weeks of hearings at Barking town hall, police admitted failing to carry out basic checks, send evidence to be scientifically examined and exercise professional curiosity during the 16 months of Port’s killings.

Families and friends claimed that prejudice, conscious or unconscious, coloured the mindset and motivation of some officers. Accusations of “institutional homophobia” have been levelled against the force, which are denied. The coroner, Sarah Munro QC, ruled that the jurors could not in law find whether homophobia, prejudice or discrimination was a factor.

Met failings probably a factor in deaths of Stephen Port victims, says inquest
 
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