"The Muswell Hill Murderer" Dennis Nilsen Pt. 2: The Murders

In the season 5 special of British Murders, I'm telling the story of "The Muswell Hill Murderer" Dennis Nilsen.

Nilsen was arrested on suspicion of murder in February 1983 after some of the other tenants at 23 Cranley Gardens called in a plumber to deal with their blocked drains.

The plumber found pieces of human flesh and bones in an outside maintenance hole and the waste pipe leading out of Nilsen's attic flat.

While en route to the police station, Nilsen told the officers that he thought he had killed 15 or 16 people.

In the first episode of this two-part special, I discussed Nilsen's background and upbringing, including his time in the Army and the Metropolitan Police.

In this second episode, I discuss the brutal murders themselves, the trial and the aftermath.

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Intro music:⁣

David John Brady - 'Throw Down the Gauntlet'⁣

https://linktr.ee/davidjohnbradymusic⁣

My recording equipment:⁣

Shure SM7B Vocal Microphone

Cloud Microphone Cloudlifter CL1

Focusrite Scarlett Solo USB Audio Interface

Rode PSA-1 Professional Studio Boom Arm

Recorded in:⁣

Hindenberg PRO

Edited in:⁣

DaVinci Resolve 17⁣

References:⁣

Benson, R. (2022, January 24). Dennis Nilsen: The full true story of a horrific serial killer. WalesOnline. Retrieved May 11, 2022, from https://www.walesonline.co.uk/lifestyle/tv/dennis-nilsen-full-true-story-22853538?msclkid=09e41107cf9b11eca632235be034c15d

Blanco, J. I. (n.d.). Dennis Andrew NILSEN. Murderpedia. Retrieved May 11, 2022, from https://murderpedia.org/male.N/n/nilsen-dennis.htm?msclkid=743a7e4dd16011ec8f587d87ad43f3e0

Christodoulou, H. (2020, September 17). Dennis Nilsen murder victim’s family slam ‘cash-grabbing’ David Tennant ITV drama for ‘glorifying’ serial killer. The Scottish Sun. Retrieved May 11, 2022, from https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/news/5108808/des-dennis-nilsen-itv-david-tennant-killer/

Dennis Nilsen | The Trial. (n.d.). Crime+Investigation UK. Retrieved May 11, 2022, from https://www.crimeandinvestigation.co.uk/crime-files/dennis-nilsen/trial

Dennis Nilsen – London/Fraserburgh serial killer. (2012, June 9). UK Database - Sex Offenders Register. Retrieved May 11, 2022, from https://uk-database.org/2012/06/09/dennis-nilsen-londonfraserburgh-serial-killer/

Dennis Nilsen: Serial killer died in “excruciating pain.” (2019, October 23). BBC News. Retrieved May 11, 2022, from https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-50152862?msclkid=eb03bf75d05611ecb198acecb90ceff5

Finnis, A. (2020, September 16). Stephen Sinclair murder: How the death of Dennis Nilsen’s last victim led to the serial killer being arrested. Inews. Retrieved May 11, 2022, from https://inews.co.uk/culture/television/stephen-sinclair-murder-dennis-nilsen-victims-death-serial-killer-caught-645881?msclkid=111eb559d05411ec93515690a7a59ca2

Flaherty, J. (2020, September 17). ITV Des’ serial killer Dennis Nilsen called Birkenhead victim “the youngest-looking I’d ever seen.” Liverpool Echo. Retrieved May 11, 2022, from https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/itv-des-serial-killer-dennis-18948604

Gamp, J. (2022, January 31). Who are Dennis Nilsen’s victims? The Sun. Retrieved May 11, 2022, from https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/12676347/dennis-nilsen-victims/

Hu, Z. (2022, January 24). Who was Kenneth Ockenden? The Sun. Retrieved May 11, 2022, from https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/17421636/who-was-kenneth-ockenden/

Lally, C. (2006, January 13). Woman living in Dublin told her brother was first victim of killer. The Irish Times. Retrieved May 11, 2022, from https://www.irishtimes.com/news/woman-living-in-dublin-told-her-brother-was-first-victim-of-killer-1.1000983?msclkid=b4a1502acf9511eca2b6b3fef451b812

Martyn Duffey (1964–1980). (n.d.). Find a Grave. Retrieved May 11, 2022, from https://nl.findagrave.com/memorial/231005365/martyn-duffey?msclkid=de3ac08bcfa411ec959f58aaafe13e7c

McCoid, S. (2020, September 17). Family of Dennis Nilsen’s Birkenhead victim Martyn Duffey never stopped looking for him. Liverpool Echo. Retrieved May 11, 2022, from https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/tv/family-dennis-nilsens-birkenhead-victim-18954052?msclkid=de3a9063cfa411ec9ca4c58fd091fffe

Ogden, M. (2022, January 20). The Nilsen Files: The shocking truth I found in the archives. Evening Standard. Retrieved May 11, 2022, from https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/tvfilm/the-nilsen-files-serial-killer-tv-documentary-bbc-met-police-b977850.html

Pietras, E. (2021, August 17). Dennis Nilsen Netflix documentary: How his helpless victims were strangled, drowned and left to rot in drains. The Sun. Retrieved May 11, 2022, from https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/12677337/dennis-nilsen-netflix-documentary-how-victims-died/

Psychiatrist backs Crown case that Nilsen is not mentally ill. (1983, November 1). Nick Davies. Retrieved May 11, 2022, from https://www.nickdavies.net/1983/11/01/psychiatrist-backs-crown-case-that-nilsen-is-not-mentally-ill/

Robinson, A. (2022, March 14). Yorkshire’s forgotten victim of serial killer Dennis Nilsen, strangled after saying thanks. YorkshireLive. Retrieved May 11, 2022, from https://www.examinerlive.co.uk/news/local-news/yorkshires-forgotten-victim-serial-killer-23386485?msclkid=95943f79cfd911ec8e88c619bf0776e4

Sohrabi-Shiraz, A. (2020a, September 16). How Douglas Stewart escaped Dennis Nilsen murder after waking to find he was tied up. Daily Star. Retrieved May 11, 2022, from https://www.dailystar.co.uk/tv/how-douglas-stewart-escaped-dennis-22692839?msclkid=e18700c8cfd211ecb5789c4559bd99cf

Sohrabi-Shiraz, A. (2020b, September 16). Tragic story of Stephen Holmes and how 14-year-old became Dennis Nilsen’s first victim. Daily Star. Retrieved May 11, 2022, from https://www.dailystar.co.uk/tv/tragic-story-stephen-holmes-how-22694093?msclkid=25689783cf9511eca1c1b9c0f5fb079c

Sohrabi-Shiraz, A. (2021, September 7). Tragic story of Kenneth Ockenden and how he fell into Dennis Nilsen’s depraved clutches. Daily Star. Retrieved May 11, 2022, from https://www.dailystar.co.uk/tv/tragic-story-kenneth-ockenden-how-22687397?msclkid=33def74acf9e11ec94964358c15ba4e2

Stephen Dean Holmes (1964–1978). (n.d.). Find a Grave. Retrieved May 11, 2022, from https://nl.findagrave.com/memorial/221458005/stephen-dean-holmes?msclkid=2568f3cacf9511ecb909e74f628a37e6

Tatchell, P. (2022, January 24). Police failed Dennis Nilsen’s victims. Decades later, little has changed. The Guardian. Retrieved May 11, 2022, from https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/jan/24/police-dennis-nilsen-victims-homophobic-murders?msclkid=99e7b6afcfd411ecae9ba3ad5dc05649

Vanapalli, V. (2021, August 18). Where is Carl Stottor Now? TheCinemaholic. Retrieved May 11, 2022, from https://thecinemaholic.com/where-is-carl-stottor-now/?msclkid=a82cd2e8d05011ecafa16fe72c0c5cc1