If you love true-crime podcasts, subscribe to the Murder Mile true-crime podcast on iTunes, Soundcloud, Podbean, Pocketcast, Stitcher, Acast, Tune-In, Otto Radio or Libsyn
A lot is known about many of the world's most notorious serial killers, but often we overlook the people who knew these murderers on a day-to-day basis and understood them on a level which none of us could ever understand, they are their lovers. Whether a wife, husband, girl/boyfriend or ex', these people give an invaluable insight into the mind of a serial killer.
So, who were these people who dated, got engaged to, married and (hopefully) divorced from some of the world's most infamous serial killers? Which killers were single? And, who were these twisted people who actually married a known serial killer... AFTER they were arrested for murder? As always, this is not a comprehensive list and it will be updated over time. Please note: as gay married has only recently been legalised in the UK/USA, any gay serial killers (who weren't a marriage prior to this change in the law, I've had to put in the single category, as this blog is about being "married" to a serial killer. Don't blame me! Blame politicians and their inability to realise that the times have changed.
Married (before/during) Murders:
Married (after) Murders/Crimes
Killers Couples
Single / Dated Only: (or unmarried owing to a lack of equal rights for gay couples)
If you "enjoyed" this blog post, why not take a peek at; Serial Killers & Murderers Who Were Never Caught, London's Deadliest & Often Forgotten Disasters, Are More Serial KIllers Born During a Full Moon, Killer's Birthdays / Star Signs, Serial Killers Who Were On TV, Celebrities Who Have Killed, London's Railway of Death, Serial Killers as Kids and the World's Weirdest Death Rituals
Michael J Buchanan-Dunne is a writer, crime historian and tour-guide who runs Murder Mile Walks, a guided tour of Soho’s most notorious murder cases, hailed as “one of the top ten quirky & unusual things to do in London” and featuring 12 murderers, including 3 serial killers, across 15 locations, totalling 75 deaths, over just a one mile walk.
0 Comments
Following previous profiles of infamous murderers and serial killer, such as Dennis Nilsen, John Wayne Gacy, Dr Harold Shipman and Ian Brady, this week's case is Brady's girlfriend and partner-in-crime during the Moor's Murders - Myra Hindley. As before, the intention of these profiles is not to rake over the same old gory details, but by asking a series of set questions about each serial killer or murderer, the aim is to try to understand who they were as a person and why they did what they did, without absolving them of their heinous crimes.
Profile #6 - Myra Hindley: Dubbed the "Moors Murderers", Hindley & Brady murdered five young children and teens, who were raped, tortured and buried in shallow graves on Saddleworth Moor in an attempt to pull-off the "perfect murder". Hindley was labelled by the press as "the most evil woman in Britain" and by their trial judge as "two sadistic killers of the utmost depravity". As with my profile on Ian Brady, I've focused on facts, rather than myths or misinformation as perpetuated by the tabloid press or people who claim to have known them.
PERSONAL DETAILS
FAMILY HISTORY
WORK
SOCIAL
MURDER CAREER
ARREST/SENTENCE
If you "enjoyed" this blog post, why not take a peek at; Serial Killers & Murderers Who Were Never Caught, London's Deadliest & Often Forgotten Disasters, Are More Serial KIllers Born During a Full Moon, Killer's Birthdays / Star Signs, Serial Killers Who Were On TV, Celebrities Who Have Killed, London's Railway of Death, Serial Killers as Kids and the World's Weirdest Death Rituals. Or use the category folders on the right.
Michael J Buchanan-Dunne is a writer, true-crime podcaster, crime historian and tour-guide who runs Murder Mile Walks, a guided tour of Soho’s most notorious murder cases, hailed as “one of the top ten quirky & unusual things to do in London” and featuring 12 murderers, including 3 serial killers, across 15 locations, totalling 75 deaths, over just a one mile walk.
If you love true-crime podcasts, subscribe to the Murder Mile true-crime podcast on iTunes, Podcast Addict, Podbean, Pocketcast, Stitcher, Acast, Tune-In, Otto Radio or Libsyn
Ever wondered what weight many of the world's most infamous serial killers and murderers were? Probably not. It's certainly not the first fact you'd want to jump to when you think about serial killers. You'd probably expect them to be larger than average so they can overpower their victims, but - having compiled a (non- exhaustive) list below - it appears that very few serial killers are of an abnormally large frame, with many actually being of average/under weight, which helps them to blend in with everyday people and not appear frightening to their next potential victims. This also helps explain why many serial killers chose victims of a stature smaller to themselves, who were also vulnerable, weak and - often - incapacitated by a head-trauma, terror, drink or drugs first.
Obviously, it's very difficult to accurately calculate a person's weight, as their body mass fluctuates across their lifetime, so the majority of these weight measurements were taken from prison medicals, executioner's notes, arrest records, police descriptions and other reliable sources, with a few based on their height and then compared to reliable data given about their frame size, age, diet and era. As always, this is not a comprehensive list, and will be updated as-and-when new information comes to light and I can confirm a person's accurate weight.
Serial Killers by Weight (lightest to heaviest, rounded up/down)
If you "enjoyed" this blog post, why not take a peek at my other articles: such as serial killers and their diets, favourite drinks, height, IQ, star signs, lunar cycles, dates of birth, reasons for killing, music, nicknames, last meals and whether they're alive or dead... to name but a few.
Michael J Buchanan-Dunne is a writer, crime historian and tour-guide who runs Murder Mile Walks, a guided tour of Soho’s most notorious murder cases, hailed as “one of the top ten curious, quirky, unusual and different things to do in London” and featuring 12 murderers, including 3 serial killers, across 15 locations, totalling 75 deaths, over just a one mile walk.
MURDER MILE PODCAST Launching 1st October 2017 Do you love history, story-telling and true-crime podcasts? Are you looking for a series of truly gripping stories to send a shiver down your spine? As of Sunday 1st October, Murder Mile is launching a 30 minute weekly podcast which proves that on every street, in every city and almost in every building, alley or doorway... there is murder. As with Murder Mile Walks (my guided walk of Soho's most notorious murder cases) this podcast will focus on murders case within a few streets of each other, and (as I love story-telling) you can expect them to be well researched, skillfully-written and as boldly performed as the walks themselves. And regardless of where in the world you live and where you listen to the podcast, even if you've never been to (or even heard of) Soho, Covent Garden or Fitzrovia, the Murder Mile podcast will be a visceral experience, packed full of amazing details, gripping backstories and authentic sounds / descriptions to ensure that... "you'll feel like you're actually there". Murder Mile podcast will be:
I've just finished writing and researching the first two episodes, and already I'm really excited by this project; it's dark, broody, moody, scary and gripping but with the usual splashes of dark humour and mystery that you'd expect from Murder Mile. And best of all, the geniuses behind the soundtracks to The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari and Blue Velvet Revisited, the fantastic musical duo Erik Stein & Jon Boux of Cult With No Name have agreed to do the music. Stay tuned for more details. Michael.x Michael J Buchanan-Dunne is a writer, crime historian and tour-guide who runs Murder Mile Walks, a guided tour of Soho’s most notorious murder cases, hailed as “one of the top ten curious, quirky, unusual and different things to do in London” and featuring 12 murderers, including 3 serial killers, across 15 locations, totalling 75 deaths, over just a one mile walk.
One of the odd facts about some of the world's most sadistic serial killers is that many started off in childhood by being cruel to animals; whether by dissecting roadkill, trapping wildlife, or wantonly torturing and killing other people's pets. This inability to show empathy for another living creature, compassion for their actions or even remorse for the pain which they have inflicted is often a small but crucial step into a child's development from a normal human-being, into being a serial killer.
But this heinous habit isn't consistent across the board, as there are many cases where infamous serial killers and murderers were absolutely besotted by their pets, doted upon them daily and when their beloved pet died, they were absolutely beside themselves, showing more grief and emotion for their animal, than any of their victims. What follows is a handful of those examples (which I will update and add to, as and when). Enjoy. Mx
Sadly, owing to copyright infringement issues, I have had to remove photos of their pets.
"Bleep" was the faithful, loyal and loving Border Collie cross of London's most notorious serial killer Dennis Nilsen. She was bought as a puppy in a local pet shop on Kilburn High Road by David "Twinkle" Gallachan, who was Nilsen's lover, who he'd met barely a few weeks earlier at The Champion in Bayswater and named "Bleep" as her muted barks as a puppy sounded more like a high-pitched squeak. So was "Bleep" the last victim of serial killer Dennis Nilsen? Yes. Did Nilsen kill "Bleep"? No. Of course he didn't. Nilsen absolutely adored "Bleep" (see them playing in the animation above); he fed her, brushed her, bathed her and the two would take lovely long walks together on Hampstead Heath. Bleep was his best-friend, his closest companion, and - in Nilsen's eyes - the only one who ever truly loved him.
But in 1978, after a few volatile months together, "Twinkle" walked out, causing Nilsen to spiral out of control, and with his rage uncontrollable and fuelled by anger, he killed fifteen young men in just five years. "I wanted to stop sooner", Nilsen said after his arrest, but after he'd murdered his second victim - Kenneth Ockenden - he knew he'd be locked up for life and his main concern was "if I'm put away, what would happen to Bleep?". Unfortunately, Nilsen's concerns were proved right as just three days after he was imprisoned, "Bleep" was put to death by lethal injection. Her only crime? Being a faithful, loyal and loving dog... of a serial killer.
See video footage of Bleep & Dennis together in his home videos here. Learn about the time that Nilsen rescued a sparrow and nursed it back to health click here. Or read his full profile.
MYRA HINDLEY owned a tan & white collie called "Puppet", which she was totally besotted by. Unfortunately, after her arrest as accessory to the brutal murder of 17 year old Edward Evans and the discovery of Brady's suitcase which contained a series of highly disturbing photos and a 13 minute audio of the torture and murder of 10 year old Leslie Ann Downie, Police were alerted to a few different versions of this photo, taken on Saddleworth Moor at different times, and they wondered whether they were a macabre memorial taken on top of the shallow grave of 12 year old victim John Kilbride. Sadly, they were right.
As Hindley refused to cooperate, they needed to find a way to accurately date the photos, and to do that they needed to determine the age of “Puppet”, so they put her under anaesthetic to x-ray his teeth. Unfortunately, “Puppet” died during the procedure and Hindley was inconsolable, later stating “I feel as though my heart's been torn to pieces. I don't think anything could hurt me more than this has”. Oddly, she never showed any remorse for her victims. Read her full biog here.
IAN BRADY: Lazy biographers often state that Moor's Murderer Ian Brady was an animal abuser, whether torturing cats or drowning dogs, but (as much as this makes for good newspaper copy) it's simply not true. Ian Brady truly loved animals; he had three rabbits; a big grey called Jenny, a big black called Harry and a small Dutch called Smokey, a black & silver German Shepherd called Una and a Cocker Spaniel called Sheila, at whose death the ten year old Brady was inconsolable. Left, is a photo of Brady & "Bruce", who belonged to his birth mother and his step-father.
Also, in an incident he recounted to DSC Peter Topping of Manchester CID, when Brady was a child growing up in The Gorbals (Glasgow) he saw an injured horse which had slipped on the icy-road, a canvas screen was erected and the horse was "euthanized" with a house-brick. Brady said “it lay there with its massive sides heaving and its breath steaming the frosty air… I can still see the great liquid eyes rolling in terror… they were going to kill the horse. My chest was bursting and I began to cry”. Even if this story is a fabrication, it seems unlikely that he was an animal abuser, especially as Brady reportedly asked for the proceeds of his autobiography – Black Light – to be split between four animal charities. Read Brady's full psychological profile here.
John Wayne Gacy: As a mentally and physically abused boy, growing up in a loveless home and living in fear of his violent and alcoholic father, young John Wayne Gacy Jnr had one thing in his life which he could be assured of would bring him love and affection - his dogs. He had two during his preteen years; the second of these was a Spaniel called Prince (seen left). As with many of his contemporaries, Gacy wept copiously upon the death of both dogs, and yet showed no emotion for any of his victims. His final words weren't "I'm sorry" but simply "kiss my ass". Read Gacy's full profile here.
Jeffrey Dahmer: As a young boy, serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer adored his dog, a Spaniel cross who he named Frisky, as being a shy, timid and lonely boy, Jeffrey's dog was often his “only friend” according to his father. And yet, Dahmer would happily impale the heads of other dogs he’d found as rock-kill on a stick to scare the neighbours.
Ed Gein: Oddly, for a serial-killer, a grave-robber and a necrophile, Ed Gein (dubbed "The Butcher of Plainfield") had no known history of animal cruelty, as hunting, skinning and butchering wildlife was very much a part of his life living in rural Wisconsin. And even though he would watch his father “gut a hog or deer”, stripping its skin, filleting its muscles and gutting its innards (techniques he would use of many of his victims), Ed would late claim that he’d never butchered any large animals as “the sight of blood made me queasy”. That said, it is worth noting that Ed claims to have experienced an ejaculation watching a hog being slaughtered. Read Ed Gein's profile here.
Harold Shipman: Although Dr Harold Shipman, dubbed "Doctor Death" and one of the world's most prolific serial killers had very few pets (one black poodle and a few rabbits), as a medical student at Leeds School of Medicine, Shipman would regularly complain about the caged dogs that were kept on the roof for medical testing and vivisection, and would often weep at the sight of the poor little dogs being led to their early deaths. Read Dr Shipman's profile here.
Adolf Hitler: It seems odd that a man with so much hatred, who orchestrated the holocaust and the deaths of six million Jews, could have so much love for his pets, but it's true. Hitler loved his dogs, these included: "Fuchsl", a white Fox Terrier who Hitler found as a stray, nurtured and raised during in World War One and was reportedly “distraught” when Fuchsl was lost during a trench bombing. “Prinz”, a German Shepherd who comforted Hitler during his post-World War One war years of poverty, but as Hitler was unable to afford to feed Prinz, Hitler had to re-home her, but she always escaped and returned to her loving master.
There was also “Muckl” a German Shepherd, "Blonda" (born in 1928), “Blonda” (her daughter born in 1930), “Bella”, another German Shepherd who was brought from a minor official in the Ingolstadt post-office (the nearest town to his countryside retreat dubbed The Wolf’s Lair) in 1942 to keep his other dogs company, and, more famously, there was his beloved “Blondi”.
On 29th April 1945, as the Soviets closed in on Berlin, Hitler decided to take his own life, but fearing that his SS-issued cyanide capsules lacked the necessary potency, he ordered Dr Werner Haase to test them on Blondi who died instantly. After which, Hitler became inconsolable at the death of his beloved dog, and so at Hitler’s request, Hitler's dog-handler Feldwebel Fritz Tornow shot Eva Braun’s two dogs and Blondi’s litter of puppies in the garden of that infamous bunker.
UPDATED: Whilst serving his sentence at HMP Full Sutton, Dennis Nilsen kept two budgerigars which he called Hamish and Tweetles.
If you "enjoyed" this blog post, why not take a peek at my other articles: such as serial killers and their diets, favourite drinks, height, IQ, star signs, lunar cycles, dates of birth, reasons for killing, music, nicknames, last meals and whether they're alive or dead... to name but a few.
Michael J Buchanan-Dunne is a writer, podcaster, crime historian and tour-guide who runs Murder Mile Walks, a guided tour of Soho’s most notorious murder cases, hailed as “one of the top ten curious, quirky, unusual and different things to do in London” and featuring 12 murderers, including 3 serial killers, across 15 locations, totalling 75 deaths, over just a one mile walk.
Profile #4 - Ian Brady: Dubbed 'The Moor's Murderer', Ian Brady with his partner Myra Hindley would kidnap, rape, torture and murder five young children, aged between 10 and 17 years old, some of whom were buried in shallow graves in Saddleworth Moor.
Following on from previous profiles of infamous murderers and serial killers posted here, such as Dennis Nilsen, Ed Gein, John Wayne Gacy and Dr Harold Shipman, this week's case is the "Moor's Murderer", Ian Brady. As before, the intention of these profiles is not to rake over the same old gory details (as many blogs do), but by asking a series of standardised questions about each serial killer or murderer, the aim is to try to understand who they were as a person and why they did what they did, without absolving them of their heinous crimes.
For the sake of clarity, I have split the profile of Ian Brady from his partner Myra Hindley (her profile to appear soon) as Hindley's actions and personality were directly influenced by Brady.
PERSONAL DETAILS
FAMILY HISTORY
WORK
SOCIAL
MURDER CAREER
ARREST/SENTENCE
If you "enjoyed" this blog post, why not take a peek at; Serial Killers & Murderers Who Were Never Caught, London's Deadliest & Often Forgotten Disasters, Are More Serial KIllers Born During a Full Moon, Killer's Birthdays / Star Signs, Serial Killers Who Were On TV, Celebrities Who Have Killed, London's Railway of Death, Serial Killers as Kids and the World's Weirdest Death Rituals
Michael J Buchanan-Dunne is a writer, podcaster, crime historian and tour-guide who runs Murder Mile Walks, a guided tour of Soho’s most notorious murder cases, hailed as “one of the top ten quirky & unusual things to do in London” and featuring 12 murderers, including 3 serial killers, across 15 locations, totalling 75 deaths, over just a one mile walk.
|
AuthorMichael J Buchanan-Dunne is a crime writer, podcaster of Murder Mile UK True Crime and creator of true-crime TV series. Archives
November 2024
Subscribe to the Murder Mile true-crime podcast
Categories
All
Note: This blog contains only licence-free images or photos shot by myself in compliance with UK & EU copyright laws. If any image breaches these laws, blame Google Images.
|