Reign of terror: 30/12/78 - 9/2/83
Motive: This is unsure. It was possibly for sex, but some say it was for company.
Crimes:
|
Date |
Victim |
Age |
Crime |
Place |
| 30/12/78 | A nameless Irishman | about 18 | Murder | Melrose Avenue, London |
| 2/79 | A Hong Kong student | - | Attempted murder | Melrose Avenue, London |
| 3/12/79 | Kenneth Ockendon | 19 | Murder | Melrose Avenue, London |
| 5/80 | Martyn Duffey | 16 | Murder | Melrose Avenue, London |
| 5/80 | Billy Sutherland | 27 | Murder | Melrose Avenue, London |
| 10/11/80 | Douglas Stewart | - | Attempted murder | Melrose Avenue, London |
| 17/9/81 | Malcolm Barlow | 24 | Murder | Melrose Avenue, London |
| 11/81 | Paul Nobbs | 25 | Attempted murder | Cranley Gardens, Muswell Hill |
| - | Carl Stotter | - | Attempted murder | Cranley Gardens, Muswell Hill |
| 12/81 | John Howlett | - | Murder | Cranley Gardens, Muswell Hill |
| - | Graham Allen | - | Murder | Cranley Gardens, Muswell Hill |
| 26/1/82 | Steve Sinclair | 20 | Murder | Cranley Gardens, Muswell Hill |
Method: They were first strangled with either a tie,
a flex or his hands. If this didn't work, they were then drowned to make sure they were dead. They
were then given a bath and put to bed. The first twelve were disposed of under the floorboards. Every so
often, Nilsen would take them out of their hiding place and watch television with them, and sometimes he
would sleep with them.
The last three were strangled and drowned as usual, but there were no floorboards in his new house to hide them
under. So using skills he had learnt in the army, he chopped them up into small bits and flushed them down the toilet.
Some of the bones he threw out with the rubbish, and the rest of them he kept in a tea chest in his house, and other
recepticles. He boiled the heads.
Sentence: In 1983 he was charged with the murder of 6 of the 7 identified men and the attempted murder of Stewart and Nobbs. He received life with a recommendation of a minimum of 25 years.
Interesting facts: The reason that Nilsen was found out was that
the pieces of body he had flushed down the toilet had blocked the drains of the flats he lived in,
and a workman was called out to fix them. He found all the remains and became suspicious. But Nilsen had
removed them by the time the police arrived. However, he had missed a small bone with a bit of flesh
attached. When the police asked him about the drains, he at first pretended to not know anything about
it, but very quickly he gave in and told them everything.
Nilsen's memories of the events varied considerably. Some he remembered in minute detail. Others he
could only just remember that they had happened at all. He says that he attempted to kill 9 more men that are not listed above.
He also killed 7 more unidentified men in Melrose Avenue.