The Kindly Killer: Dennis Nilsen
Dennis Andrew Nilsen is also known as the Muswell Hill Killer and the Kindly Killer. Dennis was a serial killer and necrophiliac who lived in London. Between 1978 and 1983, he managed to murder 16 victims in England. His victims were mostly homeless men or male students whom he would pick up in bars and take
home. He would get the men drunk and then strangle or drown the victims in the middle of the night, sometimes having little to no recolection of the murder. He was known for keeping the bodies post-mortem, carrying out sexual acts with the men and boys before he would dismember their bodies on the kitchen floor using a large butcher knife, boil the skulls to rid them of skin, place organs in various bags, and hide them around his apartment or flush body parts down the toilet. In other circumstances, he would hide the bodies until he was safe to carry the body parts to the apartment's garden, and have a bonfire to burn the remains of the men and boys. When he moved to a new top floor apartment, he found it more difficult to hide the bodies. He began to dispose of them in suitcases and to hide them in his closet. As the bodies began to pile up in Nilsen's apartment, neighbors began to notice an awful smell that resembled decompsing bodies. He convinced neighbors that the smell was the result of structural problems in the building. Nilsen was forced to spray his apartment twice a day to rid his home of flies. When the apartment's inspector found a problem with the water pipes, he took a closer look, finding that there was a blockage in the pipe. In further investigation, he found that the pipes had been blocked by human remains. The police were immediately called. Dennis tried to cover his tracks by removing the human tissue from his apartments drains, but was spotted by a tennant who became suspicious of Dennis's actions. When police knocked on Nilsen's door to ask questions, they noticed the awful smell, and asked Nilsen what the smell was from. Nilsen then confessed to police of the multiple organs and body parts hidden around the apartment. He seemed eager and showed no remorse for his victims toward police. He confessed and gave details of the murder of fifteen boys and men. He also admitted to the attempted murder of seven others, but could only name four. When Dennis Nilsen was held at the Brixton Prison, he wrote over fifty notebooks of his memories of the murders and also drew "sad sketches" which showed his treatment shown toward many victims. Dennis Nilsen was sentenced to life on November 4, 1983. |
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