Dennis Nilsen The Dangerous Stranger195 Melrose Avenue Dennis Nilsen, 33, met the young man in the pub, late in 1978, and invited him home, to 195 Melrose Avenue in London. They continued to drink and eventually crawled into bed together to sleep. Nilsen woke up at dawn and realized that his new friend was now going to leave. He ran his hand over his bedmate's body, becoming aroused. His heart pounded and he began to sweat. He watched the young man sleep and looked over at the pile of clothing they had both discarded. He spotted his tie, so he got out of bed to retrieve it. "I raised myself and slipped it on under his neck," Nilsen wrote four years later. "I quickly straddled him and pulled tight for all I was worth. His body came alive immediately. We struggled off the bed onto the floor." Nilsen tightened his grip, not about to let go and lose this battle to the death. His victim pushed himself with his feet, with Nilsen on top of him, along the carpet. When he came up against the wall, he lay there and grew limp, giving up. Nilsen relaxed, but realized the man was not yet dead, only unconscious. He ran into the kitchen and filled a plastic bucket full of water in order to drown the man. Nilsen lifted him onto some chairs, draping his head back, and pushed it into the bucket. The man did not struggle, although water splashed all over the carpet. "After a few minutes," Nilsen recalled, "the bubbles stopped coming. I lifted him up and sat him on the armchair. The water was dripping from his short, brown curly hair." He had just killed a man and did not even recall his name. Nilsen sat there shaking, barely cognizant of what he had done and what he now faced as a result. He made himself a cup of coffee and smoked several cigarettes, trying to think what to do. His black-and-white dog, Bleep, came in from the garden and sniffed at the corpse in the chair. He ran the dog off and then sat down in shock. He removed the tie from the dead man's neck and just stared at him. Then he got up, put a towel over the window, and hoisted the corpse onto his shoulders to carry it into the bathroom. Gently, Nilsen put him into the tub, ran water, and washed the man's hair. "He was very limp and floppy." He struggled to get him out of the tub and dry him off. Then he took him back into the other room and put him in the bed. His new friend was not going to leave him now. "The Beginning of the End" Dennis Nilsen He ran his hand over the still-warm flesh, noticing the slight discoloration of his lips and face. He pulled the bedclothes over him and sat on the bed, trying to think. He used a curtain to cover it." Rather than being appalled by the sight of a corpse. so Nilsen laid him down and worked on his limbs to loosen them. but he could not bring himself to cut the body up this way. so he pulled the body off the bed and laid it on the floor. Then Nilsen washed himself in the same water. Martyn Duffey. made dinner and watched television with the body still lying there on the floor not far away. he thought it quite beautiful." Nilsen wrote. a young Chinese student. It would happen fourteen more times. He pried loose some floorboards and tried to shove the body into the space. and Malcolm Barlow. The corpse was dirty. He was wrong. Only four were identified: Kenneth Ockendon. He covered the corpse with boards. and a few were male prostitutes. he opened some new underwear and dressed the body. He got into the bed and fell asleep. Nilsen was astonished that he was able to get away with this and believed it would never happen again. so Nilsen carried it back into the bathroom to wash it. Then Nilsen took a bath. He raked the ashes into the ground. Rather than stuff him beneath the floor again. He stood the body against the wall. nearly a year after the first murder. he was so aroused that he knelt down and masturbated into the corpse's stomach. Later he got up. but rigor mortis had set in. It remained there for seven and a half months. Eventually it went back under the floorboards. he trussed him up by the ankles. Now he had someone to spend it with. Many of them may have been unemployed or homeless young men looking for a way to make money. He added rubber to the fire to mask the smell of burning flesh. Nilsen was disinclined. actually freed the men rather than complete the act. the next day. However. He just had not wanted him to leave. but no charges were brought. deciding to wait until the stiffness passed. Nilsen's sketch of Ockendon in the wardrobe ."It was the beginning of the end of my life as I had known it." and on seven occasions. but put a tie around his neck and told him he was playing a dangerous game. The second victim was Kenneth Ockendon. Some were homosexual. "I had started down the avenue of death and possession of a new kind of flat-mate. Andrew Ho. Nilsen had killed twelve men in that apartment. Finally he was able to get him into his grave under the floor. went home with Nilsen. He got into bed. because he was able to snap out of it. By 1981. Billy Sutherland. That's when he decided to try to have sex with the corpse. but could not sustain the arousal he had felt moments earlier. a Canadian tourist. When he carried the body back to the living room. He did not really know why he had killed the young man. Later that day he went to a hardware store to buy an electric knife and a large pot. After a week. A Taste for Death In October 1979. preventing him from maneuvering. until Nilsen took it out and burned the remains in a bonfire. Nilsen claimed he went into a "killing trance. Ho left and informed the police. Instead. so he lifted the carpet and opened up the floor once again. he was still standing there against the wall. The young man wanted to try some bondage play. He had spent Christmas alone and did not want to do the same for New Year's. Nilsen grew curious. Finally he knew he needed to do something. The young man was never identified. Billy Sutherland. Nilsen's Garden Nilsen's garden held remains of 12 men . the body rigidified in a doubled up position. Some of them Nilsen had kept in bed with him for sexual purposes for as long as a week. on top of him. The next one. Nilsen invited him in and they drank together before Barlow fell into a deep sleep. and then was placed under the floorboards. he stuffed Barlow in the cabinet under the kitchen sink. "I talked to him and mentioned that his body was the youngest looking I had ever seen. Duffrey went into the cupboard for two full weeks. After two beers. so he strangled him. Once finished. he took the young man into his bed and positioned it. Nilsen found his presence a nuisance. he went to bed. 27. put him to "bed" and tell him good night." Nilsen brought him back to bed and kissed him all over. spreadeagled. He sat in the flat with a half dozen other bodies awaiting disposal. Nilsen relegated Ockendon to the space beneath the floorboards. Then he removed the clothing and took him into the bathroom to clean him up. Nilsen stuffed the body in a cupboard. 16. They drank together for several hours. complaining of weakness from epilepsy. He was homeless and he accepted Nilsen's invitation to spend the night. On May 13th. Five months went by before it happened again. 1979. Nilsen found Barlow loitering outside his home. and strangled him. Nilsen did not even want to take him home. Then he dressed the corpse and sat him in a chair. He spoke to Ockendon as if he could hear. Nilsen took him out a day later and cleaned him up again. turned up missing. and then sat down to listen to several pieces of music while the body lay there on the floor. caressing it frequently. When Barlow was released. 1980. Malcolm Barlow. Nilsen barely recalls strangling him and finding a body in his home the next morning. took a tour of London. was an orphan with mental problems. Then he crossed his legs together and had sex between his thighs. and the more Nilsen enjoyed Ockendon's company. In the morning. He was also a pathological liar. He took him back out several times so they could sit together and watch television. dragged him across the floor. During the day. taking photos of it in various positions. Finally. but he followed Nilsen after they went bar-hopping one night. He strangled Ockendon with an electrical cord from some headphones. and went to work. Having control over these men thrilled him and the mystery of a dead body that would not respond fascinated him. Then he took him to the bathroom and got into the tub with him. slept with men for money. Martyn Duffey. and ended up in Nilsen's flat. The next day. Nilsen's floorboards concealed victims "I thought that his body and skin were very beautiful.He met Nilsen at lunch at a pub on December 3rd. It was his feeling that he appreciated them more deeply than they had ever been appreciated before. Then he would dress him in something fresh. the more desperate he felt at the thought that the Canadian was flying home the following day. trapping his arms under the covers. he came back and sat on Nilsen's doorstep to await his return from work. he placed the corpse in bed and slept with it the rest of the night." Nilsen said later. They got along very well. then sat on his stomach and masturbated. but was still alive. When he was finished with that. Nilsen climbed on top. tossed out the clothing. so Nilsen carried him into the kitchen and drowned him by pushing his head into a sink full of water. and he took him home and called an ambulance. He went limp. 24. Another tenant mentioned the pervasive odor. he had detectives investigate and they remained completely unaware that they stood over the remains of two men. He took care of that final detail and then drove away. A few severed torsos he stuffed into suitcases. Then he raked the remains of six men into the earth. their remains consumed in a third bonfire. Sixteen months later. hoping to put this part of his life behind him. he checked around and nearly forgot that he had placed the hands and arms of Martyn Barlow near a bush. He also put pieces into the garden shed or down a hole near a bush outside. Bleep. so he knew how best to cut up a body. When he could. Once he contemplated suicide. He had learned how to butcher. It always amazed him that no one queried him about his activities or tried to stop him. Sometimes he would boil flesh off the head in the pot he had bought for the first victim. strip down to his underwear. (In fact. three more murders took place. Five more were still to die in that apartment. he dragged the bags and suitcases out to the yard and burned the bodies a few feet from the garden fence. He was sure this would be a deterrent for his compulsive homicides. he would put his dog and cat in the garden. The house where he moved had been divided into six apartments and his flat at 23 Cranley Gardens was an attic. However. when his apartment was vandalized. and he placed the organs in a plastic bag. there were two entire bodies beneath the boards and one dismembered. and Nilsen warned them to keep some distance from it. . wagging her tail. after he was arrested. which burned all day. and he decided against it. When he prepared to move to a new place. but Nilsen assured her it was the decay of the building. he spotted a skull in the center and crushed it into ash. As the fire burned down. Then he would replace the whole package under the floor until the next step. but his dog came in. Instead he spat on his image in the mirror. The Attic Inside of the tea chest that contained human remains Nilsen had lost the use of a garden and even of a space underneath floorboards. and cut them up on the stone kitchen floor with a kitchen knife. police officers found over one thousand bone fragments in his former garden.) Children came from the neighborhood to watch the blazing fire. Nilsen's dog At one point.Nilsen sprayed his rooms twice a day to be rid of flies that were hatched. To get rid of the corpses. Internal organs he put into a gap between the double fencing in his yard. and his quarters presented a complicated problem regarding disposal. hands. Growing Up Alone Nilsen believes his troubles can be pinpointed to the traumatizing sight of his grandfather's corpse. thinking to himself. so they just stayed where they were. Nilsen turned the young man's head toward him and kissed it. Then he put the body in a closet as he contemplated how to get rid of it. She and Dennis. When the flushing process took longer than expected. The third and last victim was Steven Sinclair." Since an omelet does not leave red marks on someone's neck. 1945 the only child of Betty and Olav Nilsen. He struggled slightly and then went unconscious. Nilsen then found a length of loose upholstery strap on an armchair and used it to strangle the man. John got into Nilsen's bed. Then Nilsen was drinking alone one day when John walked in and recognized him. "I noticed he was sitting there and suddenly he appeared to be asleep or unconscious with a large piece of omelet hanging out of his mouth. Nilsen kept the strap on him until he was sure he was dead. Nilsen supposed that he was the one responsible. Nilsen then bathed him and put him into the bed. and feet. It was an unhappy marriage." Then he removed bandages on Stephen's arms and discovered that he recently had tried to commit suicide with a razor. He covered that with a red curtain. Then he sat and contemplated all the pain in Stephen's life and decided to stop it for him. He placed two mirrors by the bed and removed his clothes so that he could look at the two of them naked together. "If the omelet killed him. He experienced a feeling of oneness and thought that this surely was the meaning of life and death. He lopped the strap around his neck again and held it for two or three minutes. The dog jumped into bed with them and sniffed at Stephen. but does not recall. They chatted and then decided to go to Nilsen's place. They had met once in a pub and had engaged in a long conversation. Stage Set for Betrayal The second man was Archibald Graham Allan. age 20." At that point he thought he strangled him." The string was too short so he attached it to a tie. Nilsen tried to get him to leave. but he refused to go. He placed Allan into a bath and left him there for three days. He went over. whom Nilsen called John the Guardsman. At one point he feared he would be overpowered. so Nilsen dragged him into the bathroom to drown him. Nilsen went into the kitchen and found some thick string. along with the head. Then the bones were separated and put into the trash. so he tightened his grip as John fought for control. Fraserburgh birthplace of Dennis Nilsen .The first victim was John Howlett. and then used the string-and-tie ligature to strangle him. He thought the man might have choked on the egg dish. full of conflict from Olav's drunkenness and long absences. while Sinclair shot up and then fell asleep in a chair. He soon became aware the John was still alive. and what he recalled of this death was rather odd. "Nothing can hurt you now. John's heart was still beating. They went to Nilsen's home where Nilsen sat and listened to music. He talked with Stephen as if he were still alive. made sure he was deep asleep. Some larger bones he hurled over the back garden fence into a waste area. and placed others into a bag sprinkled inside with salt and stored those in a tea chest. 1983. were already living in the home of her parents. Then he struck his head and soon went limp. then dissected him as he had with John the Guardsman. since her husband had never provided otherwise. He was born in Fraserburgh. "Here we go again. leaving him there the rest of the night. He had no idea that this corpse would betray him and finally be the cause of his undoing. where after drinking awhile. He had to hurry as he had a friend coming to visit. some of his acquaintances saw him go off with strange man. However. On January 23rd. Scotland. Nilsen told him. who took drugs and loitered about the Leicester Square. I don't know. Wedding photo of Olav and Betty Whyte Nilsen The marriage lasted seven years until Betty divorced Olav. and then went shakily into the other room. he boiled some of the flesh in his kitchen. along with his two siblings. He draped the ligature over the sleeping man's knees and poured himself a drink. on November 23. He decided to dissect it into small pieces and flush it down a toilet. Nilsen made him an omelet. Andrew died. he nearly drowned in the sea. He was ready to commit. One of the experiences he recalled was seeing autopsied bodies in a morgue. Nilsen was a butcher in Army Catering Corps Fantasies in the Mirror He began to rely on alcohol to stave off loneliness. . Nilsen awoke to find a sticky white substance on his stomach. he met a man whom Brian Masters. Without telling Dennis what had happened. He even used make-up to achieve a better effect. Painter crawled into bed and fell asleep. but having experienced attraction to other boys. He never exhibited rage. exploring his naked anatomy. He says in retrospect that it caused a sort of emotional death inside him. The "other body" aroused him and he would masturbate as he contemplated it. which triggered a terrible awareness of devastating loss. but was troubled with how transient and superficial they were. Then his mother remarried two years later and he withdrew and became a loner. He sought something more enduring. Nevertheless. It was during these years. Sometimes it worried him to be so in love with his own dead body. He felt oddly distant. In 1961. for he removed his clothes and apparently masturbated onto him. although he kept his distance from others. Nilsen was questioned by the police and released. called "Terry Finch. She had four more children and little time for Dennis. He awoke to find Nilsen taking pictures of him. and he created such a row that he hurt himself and had to be taken to a hospital. Once he had looked at his brother's sleeping form. In fact. he was horrified by cruelties that he witnessed by others. this job was not for him and after a year. During the last few months of service. whose death and permanent departure he had been unable to comprehend. Their parting was a source of great pain for Nilsen. The body reminded Nilsen of his grandfather. Once he helped to search for a man who had turned up missing. who was not gay." and they developed a close friendship. Andrew Whyte. or any type of aggressiveness typically associated with conduct-disordered boys who become killers later in life. he enlisted in the army and became a cook. to pretend to be dead while he took home movies. that he would lay down in front of a mirror in such a way as not to see his head and pretend to be unconscious. David Painter. When he was eight. and was rescued by an older boy who was playing on the beach. He destroyed the films he had made and gave the projector to Terry. Having had no sexual encounters as an adolescent. but when Dennis was only six. Now he thought of the "other" body as being dead-a state he perceived as emotional and physical perfection. The boy must have been aroused by Nilsen's prostrate body. he trained to become a policeman. in the definitive book on Nilsen. and he and a friend found the man's corpse on the banks of a river. Nilsen remained fairly innocent. The man had wandered out in the night and had drowned. cruelty to animals or other children. He met a young man there. He imagined someone coming in to take him and bury him. who was looking for a job. when he finally got a private room. His fantasies in the mirror developed more bizarre qualities. including mixing up some fake blood to make it appear that he had been murdered. but that had been quickly aborted. if only someone would commit to him. Nilsen later encountered him in the street and they went together to Nilsen's flat.Young Dennis especially loved his grandfather. He found himself fascinated. He fell into a life of casual pick-ups. Nilsen was clearly in love and he got the young man. which is how he learned butchery. He got employment as a job interviewer and remained with that until his arrest. In 1972. his mother took him in to see the corpse. he resigned. and then added a cat. Michael Cattran. Two years later." he wrote. but Nilsen denied that he was having any problems. which they named Bleep. to no avail. He called in a specialist. he moved into 195 Melrose Place in north London-a ground floor flat with a garden—with a man named David Gallichan. Nilsen's sketch of Sinclair's lower half Nilsen may also have dumped some large pieces. A plumber arrived to investigate. He tried to clear the blockage with acid. so he stuffed the rest of Sinclair's body into plastic bags. the technician.In 1975. but his tools did not work. along with the partially boiled head. Nilsen's Mistake The last body Nilsen dissected-that of Stephen Sinclair—got the same treatment as the two preceding it. and watched a lot of television. Some of the flesh and organs were flushed down the toilet. Two days later. and feet. He boiled the head. He locked the remains into the closet. Nilsen ordered Gallichan to leave. He threw himself into his work. but none of them knew Nilsen very well. and placed the rest in plastic bags. who denied that their friendship was homosexual. There were five other tenants at 23 Cranley Gardens. He put one part in a cubbyhole in the bathroom and others went into the tea chest. a company called Dyno-Rod arrived to examine the blockage. Afterward. Other toilets seemed to be functioning as poorly. Deciding it was underground. went into a manhole by the side of the house. During the first week of February. It was never tied to Nilsen. with their diverse personalities causing considerable distress to both. became increasingly more political. drank more. he felt very afraid that he would end up alone. however. The killings began a year and a half after Gallichan left. some distance away from Nilsen's. hands. Manhole where flesh was discovered . He stopped flushing the toilet. one of them noticed that the downstairs toilet was not flushing properly. in the evening. which contained what looked like a rib cage and a spinal column. Nilsen feared that his own activities might be at the heart of the problems downstairs. They bought a puppy. "Loneliness is a long unbearable pain. He did not report it and it disappeared within a few days. because a man found a bag ripped apart near his garden. He admitted that there were seven others whom he had tried to kill and had failed. However. Nilsen told them to look in the tea chest and under a drawer in the bathroom. Nilsen said. his company would do a better analysis by daylight. But Nilsen sensed something coming. "If I'm not in tomorrow. The tenants gathered around him as he phoned. however. and then asked. He knew his rights and admitted that he wanted to talk. Cattran was convinced it was from something dead. From deep inside the sewer. including Nilsen. He spotted sludge about eight inches thick on the floor of the sewer and found that it was composed of thirty to forty pieces of flesh. he saw three men waiting for him. A search of Nilsen's closet uncovered several bags of male remains in various stages of decomposition. he pulled out one piece of foul-smelling meat and called the police. He thought about replacing them with pieces of chicken from the store. surrounded by the body parts of three men. Instead he sat alone in his flat and drank. When Cattran returned and found the sewer cleaned out. as he unburdened himself in sickening detail. "The victim is the dirty platter after the feast and the washing up is an ordinary clinical task. I'll either be ill. When he stepped into the dark hallway to go to his flat. might have stopped the killing spree much sooner. He reported his find to his superiors. First.He noticed a peculiar smell. Closet held bags containing victims These were taken to a mortuary for examination. the more the police realized that they had been given clues over the past four years and had they acted differently. Nilsen returned at midnight to remove the particles of flesh and dumped them over the fence. Nilsen exclaimed in dismay. He told Nilsen that human remains blocked them. Nilsen told a co-worker. Nilsen gave up and said he would come to the station. The more he talked. Detective Chief Inspector Jay told him they had come about his drains. dead. At work on the day of February 9." Bathroom where victims dissected ." They both laughed. It had come from the pipe leading from the house. and he mentioned that they might have to call the police. and talk he did. He also pointed them toward his former apartment where he had killed "twelve or thirteen" men. In the police station. "Where did it come from?" They pointed out that it could only have come from his own flat. the downstairs tenants had noticed his movements. the tenants told him their suspicions. and asked about the rest of the body. or in jail. 1983. He then took Nilsen and one of the other tenants back outside with him to see the pile of rotting flesh. and then pondered suicide. "I seek company first. He also exhibited no remorse. Nilsen responded. When one police officer insisted that Nilsen was a predator. Nilsen claims that he made seven attempts in which he was either fought off or later changed his mind. but he would not make a written statement or agree to attend court as a witness. Nilsen talked about his techniques and helped the police to identify parts of the victims. They figured it to be a homosexual encounter. 1980. and some of those had made police reports.. He told them what they would need for conviction. who listened with the police to Nilsen's detailed confession. They made a report.m. A more thorough investigation may have saved some lives. and hope everything will be all right." After the confession. Perhaps Ho did not want to admit to his own solicitation of Nilsen. "come to an extraordinary and overwhelming conclusion. A lawyer was now appointed to Nilsen named Ronald T. Douglas Stewart said that Nilsen had attacked him. He was troubled by the reaction of the press that immediately followed his arrest. "No one wants to believe ever that I am just an ordinary man. who turned Nilsen's ramblings into a book. 1979. Nilsen also accompanied police to 195 Melrose Avenue and pointed out where he had buried things and made bonfires. with both sides hiding some of the truth. and Nilsen told him to leave. waking to find his feet tied and Nilsen putting a tie around his neck. despite being cautioned. but three of them testified against him at trial. they were able to charge Nilsen and hold him pending further investigation. In October. He claimed later that his professional training allowed him to feign calmness so the officials could take down the information. around 4:00 a. He was satisfied that Nilsen understood what was happening. He did not really require much prompting. As Master's says. Moss. with malicious intent. Andrew Ho made a complaint. He recalls the names of only four.Nilsen's Confession Nilsen began to spill out the details of his murders at once. spread throughout the week. The information flooded out. as if to purge his conscience and get rid of every possible memory. He called the police to 195 Melrose Place on August 11. Nilsen was removed to Brixton Prison to await his trial." he mused. His lower half was in a bag in the bathroom. His formal questioning began on February 11th. They knocked at the door and Nilsen seemed surprised by what they said. Privately." The Ones Who Lived Many young men-and even a woman-came home with Nilsen and left unharmed. along with the rest. With a definite identity. . but Stewart failed to follow-up as required. but nothing personal. He said Nilsen had attacked him. so there was no follow-up. Brian Masters. he was afraid and deeply disturbed by what he had done. knocking Nilsen over. "Nilsen is the first murderer to present an exhaustive archive measuring his own introspection. Nilsen after his arrest Thanks to Nilsen. Almost a year later. but they noticed that he had been drinking. From there they could figure out which torso was his. but a few just barely managed to escape. He made no digressions and did not plead for compassion. He had fallen asleep in the armchair. it was possible to find the various pieces of bodies and assemble them into a person. It lasted over thirty hours." Later he wrote his gruesome memoir for a young writer. as they did with Stephen Sinclair. His prison journals are therefore a unique document in the history of criminal homicide. He fought back. he saw a deep red mark across his throat. Nearing the trial date. which disturbed them. . That man was Toshimitsu Ozawa. He woke again at six and went into the kitchen. For New Year's Eve that year. he fired him and hired Ralph Haeems. but they had plans. citing a mental abnormality in Nilsen. Bleep jumped up and began to lick Stotter's face. Nilsen decided to dispense with his legal aid. He declined to report the incident. The victim right after him was John Howlett. He attempted to strangle Stotter. Then they heard a commotion upstairs. He also did not go to the police. neighbors of Nilsen's were invited to his flat. He nearly killed several more. Stotter attributed the experience to a bad nightmare. and also drew a series of "Sad Sketches" showing what he had done to some of his victims. Nilsen thought he was dead and carried him to the couch. who woke up. He actually agreed to meet Nilsen again. Nilsen commented that he looked awful and advised him to see a doctor. In April. who did not escape." Nilsen was charged with six counts of murder and two charges of attempted murder. but killed three men. he wrote. That day. Nobbs visited the university infirmary and learned that bruises on his throat indicated that someone had tried to strangle him. Nilsen examined the crime scene photos and felt ill over his atrocious acts against others. One of Nilsen's "Sad Sketches" On the eve of his trial. despite getting a check-up and learning that his condition was consistent with severe strangulation. submerging him several times until Stotter begged for him to stop. and ran out the front door. He had approached Ozawa with a tie stretched between his hands. Pre-Trial Preparations While awaiting his trial. He maintained that Nilsen had killed in full awareness of what he was doing and should be found guilty of murder. "I have judged myself more harshly than any court ever could. On November 23rd. Someone came running down the steps. aware that he was still alive. There was no follow-up investigation. Stotter then went under and stopped struggling. Nilsen then took him to bed and wrapped himself around the young man until he regained consciousness. Alan Green was the prosecutor. His principal evidence was from Nilsen's lengthy statement to the police. Nilsen carried him into the bathroom and placed him in a tub of water. They drank together and went to bed. asking for a charge of manslaughter. Nilsen entertained a drag artist named Carl Stotter. but did not keep the appointment. 21. unable to breathe. His defense counsel was Ivan Lawrence. Haeems decided to go for a "diminished responsibility" defense. while the defense relied on psychiatric analysis. He told police that he thought Nilsen had intended to kill him. the lawyer of a prisoner with whom he was in love. Then they went to bed and Nobbs woke up at 2:30 in the morning with a terrible headache. he appeared drunk. David Martin. but that was not the case. but then reinstated him. 1981-Nilsen's 36th birthday—he took a nineteen-year-old gay student named Paul Nobbs back home with him and they sat drinking together. Besides. He wondered if the victims' families could ever forgive him. They heard him leave the house and return home with someone. He wrote over fifty notebooks of his memories to assist the prosecution. 1982. sobbing. Ronald Moss. In the mirror there. The white of his eyes were bloodshot and his face looked bruised.Nilsen lived in his Cranley Gardens flat less than a year and a half. He thought Nilsen was trying to help him. Nilsen told Stotter that he had gotten his throat caught in the zipper of the sleeping bag that had covered him. his chilling account had a damaging effect on the defense. and a set of knives that had belonged to Martyn Duffey. with embellishments. with the added hindrance of blackouts from excessive drinking. Carl Stotter leaving courthouse Nilsen's interviews with the police were read verbatim. also said that Nilsen had been solicitous and friendly. His maladaptive behaviors had been in place since childhood. but did not force the jury to look at photos of the grisly remains. Dr. and he always fled from relationships that had gone wrong.Trial & Sentencing Dennis Nilsen The trial began on October 24. He said that Stewart had stayed for another drink after the alleged attack. The evidence presented in court included the cooking pot. Green described the events of the morning of Nilsen's arrest. Nevertheless. Stotter. discussed the various aspects of unspecified personality disorder from which he believed Nilsen suffered. The psychiatrist also described Nilsen's association between unconscious bodies and sexual arousal. He then described how Nilsen had always had trouble expressing his feelings. the cutting board used to dissect one victim. Nilsen attempted to undermine their credibility by helping his lawyer to point out problems with some of their statements. The defense witness. but these had been determined too late to include in the original indictment. He had an impaired sense of identity and was able to depersonalize others to the point where he did not feel much about what he was doing to them. 1983. Those who testified against Nilsen were Paul Nobbs. He also mentioned that there was another count of murder and of attempted murder. . Nobbs admitted to a sexual encounter with Nilsen and said that he had appeared to be quite friendly throughout the evening. taking four hours. and Carl Stotter. and the defense counsel managed to get him to admit that he had sold his story to the media. James MacKeith. which implied diminished responsibility for what he was doing. Douglas Stewart. shy and quite terrified by the proceedings. The charges were read and Nilsen pleaded "Not Guilty" to each one. He was also narcissistic and grandiose. He had the ability to separate his mental and behavioral functions to an extraordinary degree. which Stewart could not explain. Also like Nilsen." He settled for a False Self Syndrome. based in part on Jeffrey Dahmer. murder is an art. the judge said that he would accept a majority count. (Nilsen himself said that had he not been arrested. Brite's Exquisite Corpse. MacKeith was forced to retract his judgment about diminished responsibility in all of the cases. not eligible for parole for 25 years. November 3rd. and after he was incarcerated. The second psychiatrist.) Like Nilsen. Brite was clearly (and admittedly) inspired by Nilsen's long and detailed account of his techniques. Dr. Together they pick out the perfect victim." Even the judge questioned Gallwey's obtuse medical jargon and his testimony had the effect of being over the jury's heads. In effect. and Andrew Compton from London. This story is filled with graphic descriptions of the dismemberment and decomposition of bodies. His explanation of the difference was not very clear. diagnosed Nilsen with a "Borderline False Self As If Pseudo-Normal Narcissistic Personality Disorder. Such a person is most likely to disintegrate under circumstances of social isolation. and he did not mind the odor of death. he enjoyed the act of murder ('though he chose the knife)." he says. he drank alcohol. his victims were transients. which meant that Nilsen had occasional outbreaks of schizoid disturbances that he managed most of the time to keep at bay. who had spent fourteen hours with Nilsen-much more than those doctors for the defense. Since he was thirteen. Although Compton is much more of a predator than Nilsen. Nilsen was not guilty of "malice aforethought. just like Nilsen. where he meets Byrne. Dr. He said that was for the court to decide. they delivered a verdict: Guilty on all counts. and thought that Nilsen was manipulative. but he did not much care for the necessary dismemberment afterward. The jury retired on Thursday. As he cut them up. killed twenty-three boys and young men between 1977 and 1988. except the attempted murder of Nobbs. "A corpse could never walk away. Paul Bowden. he would have continued what he was doing and might have left thousands of corpses. The following day. with a mental abnormality but not a mental disorder. In that novel. He then goes to the United States. influenced many fiction writers to some degree. he filled numerous notebooks with his introspection and recollections. The judge sentenced Dennis Andrew Nilsen to life in prison. At 4:25. in which the case was reduced to its basic elements. since there were two dissenters on every issue. at 11:25 a. He uses this talent to feign his own death so he can escape from prison. Her own killer. He did see Nilsen as a unique case. he would imagine himself dead. He found no evidence for much of the testimony put forth by the other psychiatrists. To Compton. no doubt. He kept them in his flat for as long as a week. she draws together two serial killers-Jay Byne. thereby dispensing with all of the psychiatric jargon. but one of the most sustained portrayals of a killer based on him is in Poppy Z. Patrick Gallwey. A rebuttal psychiatrist was called. During the summing up. the judge instructed the jury that a mind can be evil without being abnormal. Nilsen was almost 38. and he would take care of them in such a way as to make them pliable. age 33. . his psychology owes its inspiration to his real life counterpart. He wanted them with him so he would not feel alone.On strenuous cross-examination.. A Featured Character Dennis Nilsen Nilsen. using make-up to enhance the effect.m. who lives in her hometown of New Orleans. Detectives showed it to Nilsen and he made the identification: Stephen was his first homicide victim. Although Stephen's mother died four years ago without learning what had happened to him. Stephen fought but finally passed out and Nilsen drowned him in a bucket. he placed it beneath the floorboards of his flat. While the Crown may charge Nilsen with this homicide. his father is still alive. That was in 1978. Heterosexual and popular. he'd gone into the pub.Nilsen's First Victim Only a Boy Dennis Nilsen In recent years. While in carefully printed prose he discussed the recent development. he had disappeared on his way home from a concert. he had not known who the boy was.000-page memoir. but he'd been unable to say whether the boy pictured was the one he'd killed. In 1990. it's unlikely to go to trial." His name was Stephen Dean Holmes and. It will depend on whether the Prosecutor's Office believes they have sufficient evidence and that a trial will serve the public's interest. Then in January 2006. he'd invited Stephen back to his house for a beer. twenty-eight years ago. Numerous papers covered this event. Yet the police had not given up. despite his youth. born in Hampstead to Irish parents. Papers From a Prisoner. possibly to warm up. He has said he'll assist in the identification of all of his victims. When Nilsen woke up. and the letter was posted online. Nilsen was not charged with this murder when tried for six others. The Timesonline offered a few details about Stephen. In fact. Faced with the difficulty of disposing of the corpse. They drank together throughout the night and Stephen stayed over. Now 60 and incarcerated since 1983. British authorities have thwarted Dennis Nilsen's attempt to publish his five-volume. Over the course of eight months. Instead. Nilsen claims that at one point he urged the police to use these items to help identify Stephen but had learned that they'd been disposed of. so he used a tie to strangle him. the police estimate that he actually killed at least 15. Stephen's family provided a better photo. he enjoyed football and rock and roll. Using what would become his usual MO. but seven remain unidentified. they had taken a blurred photograph of Stephen Homes to show Nilsen. 4. In it. had "changed my life as I knew it. he sent a three-page letter from Full Sutton Prison to an editor of The Evening Standard. Nilsen told police the details of his first murder. . Apparently. he once had stated. Nilsen described his encounter with the fourteen-year-old boy whose death. Nilsen apparently met him in the Cricklewood Arms pub. He'd been on a drunken binge during their encounter and later could not find identification papers on the body. since he's already in prison for life. especially London-based media such as the Times. apparently called "A History of a Drowning Boy. before catching a bus home. Stephen was once in this group. he met Nilsen. While Nilsen wrote that Stephen was the first of twelve victims. he examined it out of curiosity and finally burned the remains in the back garden until nothing was left but teeth and bone fragments. and on November 4. 2006. because at the time of Nilsen's arrest. out of "consideration for the victim's family" he declined to provide the most graphic details. Thus. he panicked that Stephen would now leave him." Yet he's found a new means of getting some press — a letter to an editor. by Brian Masters. 1996. New York: Contemporary Books. 1998 The A-Z Encyclopedia of Serial Killers. . by Harold Schecter and David Everitt. New York: Warner. 1993. The Encyclopedia of Serial Killers. 1995. New York: Berkley. New York: Pocket. 1992. (Originally published in Britain in a different form in 1985. New York: Dell. Human Monsters.Bibliography Killing for Company. 1993. London: Andre Deutsch. The Killers Among Us. by Colin Wilson. by Brian Lane and Wilfred Gregg. by David Everitt.) Murder by Numbers: British Serial Sex Killers since 1950 by Anna Gekoski.