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

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Victim F

Victim F gave a very similar account. He met the defendant after exchanges on Grindr in August 2015; he had made very clear in their exchanges that he did not himself take drugs. The defendant also applied the applicator to his anus on the pretence that he was supplying lubrication, but he immediately felt a pain ‘like a bite’, he said. His mind then went completely blank; he was shocked and felt dizzy and whilst in this state the defendant penetrated him. He said that his brain was not functioning properly; he eventually fell unconscious. He repeatedly said that he had not consented to the administration of the drugs and neither had he consented to being penetrated whilst unconscious.

This gives rise to the allegations of assault by penetration as charged in count 18, administering a substance with intent as charged in count 19 and rape as charged in count 20.
 
Victim G

Victim G knew the defendant before. Contact was re‐established in September 2015 after they encountered each other on Grindr. G was insistent that he did not do drugs and indeed had spelt that out in their exchanges, which were exhibited.

Again under the pretence of applying lubrication, the defendant inserted the applicator into G’s anus and administered drugs, thereby causing him an intense pain after which he became dizzy, as if he was drunk, but fortunately he did not fall unconscious and was able to leave.

This gives rise to allegations was assault by penetration in count 21 and administering a substance with intent in count 22; because the defendant did not proceed to the full offence, there is no charge of rape.

I have read G’s victim statement, in which he says that he feels somewhat responsible for the deaths of these young men and that he could and should have done something to stop it; there is nothing more that he could have done; I pay tribute to his courage in coming forward to speak up now, as he did.
 
Jack Taylor

I come then to Jack Taylor, aged just 25 lived with his parents in Dagenham working as a forklift truck driver.

There is evidence that he had accessed gay dating websites before, but he was not ‘out’; there were strong indications that he did not voluntarily take drugs.

After an evening of modest social drinking at a local club, he went home and accessed Grindr. He contacted the defendant and they agreed to meet at Barking railway station, which they did at about a quarter past three on the morning of 13 September. He then went back with the defendant to his flat.

Again as to what happened there the defendant is now the only living witness.

Just before 7:30 that morning the defendant blocked Jack Taylor’s account on Grindr, thereby deleting the string of messages that had passed between them. The inevitable inference was that by that time Jack Taylor was already dead.

Later that morning the defendant deleted his own Grindr account.

The defendant sent a series of messages discouraging his flatmate from returning to the flat that morning, plainly he did not want him to return to find Jack Taylor’s dead body, which must have remained in the flat all that day (the 13th); later that night he took the body to the churchyard; he positioned the body so as to appear as if he was sitting down, just over the wall from where he had left the bodies of Gabriel Kovari and Daniel Whitworth.

He had planted a bottle of GHB in his pocket, he also planted a tourniquet and some medical wipes so as to give some credence to the story which he eventually told. As he had done with the others, he removed and disposed of his phone.

The toxicologist found GHB at fatal levels; because Jack Taylor had been drinking at the club, and because drink and GHB can have a cumulative effect, the pathologist certified the cause of death as being a mixed drug and alcohol overdose.

It is not to me to say whether the seeming bizarre co‐incidence of these three gay young men being found dead so close together might have given rise to suspicions that these deaths were not the result of ordinary self‐administered drug overdoses but that is how their deaths, including Jack Taylor’s death, was treated at the time; the competence and adequacy of the investigation will later be examined by others, as I have said.

Accordingly, his body was released and was in due course he was buried. His family then had the distress – the devastation they called it ‐ of exhumation and a further post mortem to review the cause of death.

When the defendant was first asked about Jack Taylor he said he did not recognise his name. He did not recognise his photographs. He had not been in contact with him on Grindr. Jack Taylor had never been to his flat; he had never had sexual intercourse with him. He had no involvement in his death.

Indeed he even said that Jack Taylor was not the sort of person he would go for, since he said he tended to go for younger boys, whereas Jack Taylor looked older.

When he gave evidence at the trial; he had changed his story. He said that Jack Taylor and indeed to his flat, that they had then moved into the churchyard to have sex. Jack Taylor administered drugs to himself, when he the defendant left him, he was alive and well and must therefore have died of his overdose afterwards.

Inevitably, as it seems to me, the jury dismissed this as a further pack of lies.

I have read the joint tribute that Jack Taylor’s whole family have written in which they say he was an inspiration to them all: the life and soul of the family.

His murder is charged as count 23; administering a substance is charged in count 25.
 
Victim H

I come then to victim H, who was then aged 24. He had had a sexual relationship with the defendant some years before. In October 2015, he was in crisis: another relationship had broken down; he was homeless; he had, he said, lost everything. He had taken to drink to blot out his many problems and turned to Stephen Port, the only friend he had in the world, for help. Mr Rees QC for the prosecution accurately described him as being acutely vulnerable.

That month (October 2015), he went to stay with the defendant for two weekends. The described how during the first weekend, the defendant badgered him to take a line of drugs which he did; since this was with his consent, the taking of this drug does not form a count in the indictment.

Following which the defendant did penetrate him, as he had done before. The witness said that he was too weak to argue with him. The jury, quite understandably as it seems to me, felt unable to be sure that this amounted to the offence of rape and acquitted on that charge as alleged in count 26.

I come then to the second weekend, after voluntarily having snorted a line of drugs, the defendant using the applicator under the pretence that he was administering lubrication, injected into his anus; this was without his knowledge or consent and forms the subject of assault by penetration as charged in count 27 and administering a substance with intent as charged in count 28. The drugs caused him to feel drowsy, he had palpitations and lost consciousness during which time the defendant penetrated him, which was without his consent; this gave rise to the charge of rape in count 29.
 
The murders

Having set out the facts. I seek to draw together the conclusions. I accept the submissions made by the prosecution that the following features are present in the cases of murder.

(i) First, there is the obvious fact that he murdered four young men and committed other serious offences upon them and upon others;

(ii) The murders were committed as part of a persistent course of conduct of the defendant surreptitiously drugging these young men so that he could penetrate them while they were unconscious;

(iii) A significant degree of planning went into obtaining the drugs in advance and in luring the victims to his flat;

(iv) Having killed them by administering an overdose, he dragged them out into the street in one case, or took them to the churchyard in the other cases, and abandoned their bodies in a manner which robbed them of their dignity, and thereby greatly increased the distress of their loving families;

(v) the defendant removed and disposed of their mobile telephones and planted drugs, drug paraphernalia and even the purported suicide note, in an attempt to divert suspicion.

(vi) the murders of Gabriel Kovari and Daniel Whitworth were committed while the defendant was on bail for the offence of perverting the course of justice into the investigation of the death of Anthony Walgate.​

As to mitigation, I accept that his intention was only to cause really serious harm rather than to cause death, but he must have known and foreseen that there was a high risk of death, the more so after the death of Anthony Wallgate, the first victim and the loss and bereavement felt by the victims is none the less because he intended only to cause them some really serious harm.

I also accept that he has no previous convictions for violence, but that counts for little when set against the length and scale of his offending.

The defendant has been convicted of the murders of four young men. Each murder was committed in the course of satisfying his lust for penetrating young man whom he had rendered unconscious by the surreptitious administration of drugs. Having regard to paragraph 4 of schedule 21 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003, I have no doubt that the seriousness of the offending is so exceptionally high that the whole life order is justified; indeed it is required.

The sentence therefore upon the counts of murder is a sentence of life imprisonment; I decline to set a minimum term; the result is a whole life sentence and the defendant will die in prison.
 
The rapes and other sexual offences

I substantially accept the submission by the prosecution that the rapes and other serious sexual offences exhibit the following aggravating features:

(i) First, they extended over a period of fully 3½ years; the defendant committed four rapes on four different victims, and other very serious sexual offences upon other victims, including the four young men who died.

(ii) the rapes were committed as part of a persistent course of conduct involving the defendant surreptitiously drugging young men so that he could penetrate them while they were unconscious;

(iii) the surreptitious use of drugs, whether by way of spiking their drinks or by anal insertion, intended to render the victims unconscious was inherently dangerous, as the defendant was aware;

(iv) there was a significant degree of planning;

(v) the rape of D was recorded;

(vi) the rape of H, who was vulnerable and who turned to him for help, involved an abuse of trust;​

I am unable to identify any mitigating features beyond the fact that the defendant has no previous convictions, which accounts for little when set against the scale of his offending, as I have already said.

Self‐evidently, the defendant is highly dangerous; the offences of rape and assault by penetration are punishable with discretionary life imprisonment under section 225 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003. I pass such a sentence on these counts, which in my judgement it is the only appropriate sentence to mark the gravity and depravity of these offences.

The relevant sentencing Guideline indicates sentences of 20 years and more may be appropriate for campaigns of rape, such as this was. It is, in my opinion, appropriate to sentence each offence within the overall criminality, which requires condign punishment. The appropriate determinate sentence on each count of rape and assault by penetration would be 22 years; resulting in a life sentence on those counts with a minimum term on these counts of 11 years, less the time that he has spent in custody for those offences, which can be worked out administratively, and altered if it later appears that some mistake has been made..

The maximum sentence for administering a substance with intent is 10 years; this is one of those rare cases where the maximum sentence is justified, therefore on those counts I pass a sentence of 10 years imprisonment.

I direct that a transcript of these remarked is sent to the Life Imprisonment Unit at the Home Office. I am required to say that the statutory surcharge applies.

‐ends

https://www.judiciary.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/sentencing-remarks-r-v-stephen-port.pdf
 
Unbelievable that the police who messed this up aren't cooperating with the investigation:

Grindr Killer: Police refuse to answer questions

Sixteen of them - as they are entitled to - provided "no comment" interviews and instead submitted prepared statements.

One officer, who was interviewed under a misconduct notice, has since resigned from the force, meaning that even if found to have breached standards of behaviour there is no system of delivering a sanction to them.

Family of serial killer 's victims speak out ahead of inquest

Calls have now been made for the full inquest into the deaths to be heard at the High Court or the Old Bailey, due to the complexity of the case.

Last month, the IOPC said its investigation was nearing completion but it had yet to make recommendations on whether to take action against any of the 16 serving officers involved.

Damning’ report into Stephen Port murder investigation expected to find multiple flaw

The victims’ families have demanded to know why he was not stopped sooner and have jointly instructed specialist lawyers Hudgell Solicitors.

In a meeting with the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), they were told its report into the Metropolitan Police initial response will be damning and identify multiple failures and missed opportunities, according to their spokeswoman.
 
Grindr serial killer who raped and killed 4 men plots appeal

"English Grindr killer Stephen Port has sparked outrage by launching an appeal claiming his victims caused their own deaths.

Port, 43, was given a life sentence in 2016 after he was convicted of drugging, raping and killing four men and is being probed in 58 more suspicious fatalities.

But sources close to his family have revealed the monster — dubbed “The Grindr Killer” after luring victims on the gay dating site — has shown no remorse.

And he is now seeking legal advice to launch an appeal claiming his murder and rape convictions are unsafe and he was guilty of lesser manslaughter charges...."

https://nypost.com/2018/08/23/grindr-serial-killer-who-raped-and-killed-4-men-plots-appeal/
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I'm not going to lose sleep over a possible appeal. There's some really muddled thinking here.
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“Stephen’s conviction for murder was way too high and untrue.

“If anything it should have been manslaughter as these deaths were a series of self inflicted accidental drug overdoses.

“It was proven in court that they had other drugs, medication and alcohol in their systems before they met up with Stephen.

“All of these can be lethal if taken alongside GHB.

“Stephen did not poison them.

“The rape charges will be dropped once the case is downgraded to manslaughter. Stephen didn’t murder anyone.”

The source added: “He still expects to serve time but to say this was murder is crazy.

“Stephen should have been more mature and assertive with these guys when taking GHB with them.

“He’s young in the head but he’s no murderer.”

Grindr killer plots appeal claiming his 4 victims caused own deaths

BBM.

There's a clear pattern of SP administering GHB to victims without their knowledge, and in what way would a reduction to manslaughter make the rape convictions be quashed?
 
Judge will be appointed for 'Grindr killer' Stephen Port's victims when new inquests are heard

26 October 2018

"The families of Stephen Port's murder victims have been "reassured" as their "long fight for justice continues" after it was confirmed their inquests will be overseen by a judge.

The chief coroner has confirmed a judge will be appointed to conduct the inquests into the deaths of the victims, including a man from Gravesend.

Hudgell Solicitors, which have been instructed by the four families of Port’s victims including Daniel Whitworth's relatives, asked the current coroner for the area, Dr Shirley Radcliffe, to allow the inquests to be held in a different area or to step aside in favour of a judge.

Dr Radcliffe requested permission from the chief coroner to appoint a judge citing the potential complexity of the case, volume of material to be reviewed and the considerable public interest.

A judge will now be appointed by the local authority, Waltham Forest, and a pre-inquest review planned to be held at Walthamstow Coroners Court in November has been postponed.

An inquest date has yet to be set...."

Judge to oversee Grindr serial killer's victims' inquests


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(Anthony Walgate [L] and Gabriel Kovari [R] were Port's first victims)

_92627667_mediaitem92627666.jpg


(Daniel Whitworth [L] and Jack Taylor [R])
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How serial sex predator and murderer Stephen Port who killed four men then dumped their bodies in a graveyard gave himself away in police interview with SIX signs of anxiety

"Stephen Port showed signs of anxiety when he is interviewed by detectives

Tell tale signs he was lying included itching his nose and lowering voice volume

He answered 'no' a total of 40 times out of the 47 responses he gave to police

Documentary sheds light on how body language was the key to revealing crimes...

Now a documentary will shed light on how body language was the key to revealing the crimes he committed...."

The moment serial sex predator and murderer Stephen Port gives himself away | Daily Mail Online
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Police interview of serial killer Stephen Port

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THE GRINDR KILLER: EX-PAL RECALLS PSYCHOPATH’S DATING OBSESSION BEFORE MURDERS (with clip)

DECEMBER 21, 2018

"What began as an obsessive dating habit became a medium for murder for the crazed Grindr killer, Stephen Port. Between 2014 and 2015, the 41-year-old London chef drugged, raped and murdered four gay men after meeting them online and luring them to his house of horrors.

Now, REELZ’s new docuseries takes a look back at the psychopath’s troubled life, dating app obsession and sick murder spree. Including interviews with the killer’s former friend, World’s Most Evil Killers: The Grindr Killer reveals all the red flags Port displayed before taking his love interests’ lives....

World’s Most Evil Killers: The Grindr Killer airs Friday, December 28 at 8 ET/PT on REELZ."

The Grindr Killer: Ex-Pal Recalls Psychopath’s Dating Obsession Before Murders
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Families of Stephen Port’s victims hope BBC drama 'will show failures by the Met'

"The families of four young men who were murdered by Stephen Port hope a new BBC drama about the serial killer will shine a light on police failings over the killings.

Jack Taylor, 25, Anthony Walgate, 23, Daniel Whitworth, 21, and Gabriel Kovari, 22, were found dead near Port’s flat in Barking from June 2014 to September 2015....

The BBC has now announced a major new drama, The Barking Murders, starring Stephen Merchant as Port, Sheridan Smith as Sarah Sak, the mother of Mr Walgate, and Jaime Winstone as Donna Taylor, one of Mr Taylor’s sisters. It aims to tell the story from the families’ perspective as they try to uncover the truth. ...

Filming for The Barking Murders will begin in the spring"

BBC to film new drama about 'Grindr killer' Stephen Port
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The Barking Murders air date, cast, trailer, plot: When does it start?

"THE BARKING MURDERS is the brand new BBC drama coming soon but when does it start? Here’s everything you need to know including release date, cast, trailer, plot and more...."

The Barking Murders air date, cast, trailer, plot: When does it start?
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Sheridan Smith transforms into victim's mother in first look at harrowing serial killer drama The Barking Murders

27 February 2019

"She will play the mother of a murder victim in a new BBC drama based on the crimes of Stephen Port, known as the Grindr serial killer.

And Sheridan Smith looked focused as filming commenced on The Barking Murders in Manchester on Wednesday.

The Cilla actress, 38, plays Sarah Sak, the mother of Port's first victim Anthony Walgate, in the drama told from the point of view of the families of the victims amidst a now widely-criticised police investigation. ..."

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowb...ictims-mother-look-drama-Barking-Murders.html
 
Mum of serial killer victim Anthony Walgate speaks of 'exhaustion' five years after tragic death

17 JUN 2019

"The mum of a Hull victim of serial killer Stephen Port has spoken of her ‘exhaustion’ as she continues to fight for justice five years on.

Anthony Walgate, 23, a fashion student from Hull, was Port’s first victim when he was killed in 2014. His body was found outside Port’s flat on June 19....

Although Port has since been jailed for life, the families of his victims have called on the police to be held accountable and for lessons to be learnt from the way the case was handled.

It is now five years since he died and his mum Sarah Sak, who lives off Holderness Road in east Hull, admits the fight for justice has taken its toll...."

Mum of serial killer victim speaks of pain five years on


0_anthony-walgate.jpg

(Anthony Walgate )
 
Judge appointed to lead inquest into deaths of Barking serial killer's victims

19 June 2019

"Her Honour Judge Sarah Munro QC, assistant coroner for east London, will take charge of the inquest into the deaths of Jack Taylor, Gabriel Kovari, Daniel Whitworth and Anthony Walgate.

The four men were murdered by Port, of Cooke Street, between August 2014 and September 2015.

Their families have previously said they hope the new inquest will expose the catalogue of failings by Scotland Yard that allowed the 44-year-old to keep killing.

A pre-inquest review - adjourned from November last year - has been set for Friday, July 5 at the Old Bailey.

It will examine, among other things, the scope of the inquest, the witnesses to be called, whether a jury will be appointed and the location of the inquest...."

Judge appointed to lead inquest into deaths of Barking serial killer's victims

image.jpg

(Clockwise from top left: Gabriel Kovari, Daniel Whitworth, Jack Taylor and Anthony Walgate. Picture Met Police.)
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New inquest for Grindr serial killer Stephen Port's victim Daniel Whitworth

19 June 2019

Judge appointed for new inquest of Grindr killer victims
 
Possible police failings during the investigation into the serial killer Stephen Port will be the main focus of new inquests into the deaths of his four victims.

At a pre-inquest review at the Old Bailey, the judge, Sarah Munro QC, sitting as an assistant coroner, promised bereaved relatives and partners a “full, fair and fearless” inquiry.

Andrew O’Connor QC, counsel for the coroner, told the court: “The main focus of these inquests should be the adequacy of the police investigation into Mr Port.”

[...]

It is yet to be decided if the inquests, which are likely to be held in early 2020, will be heard before a jury. Another pre-inquest review will be held in November.

Andrew Petherbridge of Hudgell Solicitors, acting for the victims’ families, said: “It’s clear from today’s hearing that there remains a long process ahead for the families. However, they remain committed to unearthing the truth and are grateful to the coroner for the careful consideration she is giving all matters.”

Stephen Port victim inquests to focus on potential police failings
 
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