Serial killer who targeted men on gay dating sites
 

Is convicted of 4 counts of murder

I never even heard about that case I don't think, was it in England?

I'm trying to paste a link it's a horrific case

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Stephen Port, a chef from London, has been convicted of the murders of four young gay men he met through dating websites.

The 41-year-old, who used dating apps such as Grindr to meet his victims, drugged them with fatal amounts of GHB to rape them before dumping some of their bodies in or near a graveyard close to his flat in Barking, east London, the Old Bailey had heard.

Port was convicted unanimously of the murders of Gabriel Kovari, Daniel Whitworth and Jack Taylor, and by a majority verdict of 11-1 of the murder of Anthony Walgate. The jury of 10 women and two men convicted him of 17 offences against a number of victims, including the four murders. These charges included seven counts of administering a substance, three rapes and three sexual assaults.

Daniel Whitworth, Jack Taylor and Gabriel Kovari
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Daniel Whitworth, Jack Taylor and Gabriel Kovari. Photograph: PA
Jurors have yet to reach verdicts relating to other charges. Mr Justice Openshaw has told jurors he will accept a majority of at least 10 to two on the remaining counts.

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Port, who is due to be sentenced on Friday, gave no reaction from the dock when the guilty verdicts were read out. He had denied all charges.

The court was told that police had failed to make a link until after the death of Taylor, the last person to die at Port’s hand.

Jurors were told Port had embarked on cover-ups after the deaths, including trying to implicate Whitworth, 21, in the death of Kovari, 22, by faking a suicide note supposedly written by Whitworth saying he had taken his own life in guilt after accidentally giving Kovari too much GHB during sex.

The jury has been told that Walgate, 23, a fashion student whose body was found in June 2014 propped up outside the communal entrance to the building where Port lived in a one-bedroom flat, was his first murder victim.

Port was convicted of the murder of Kovari, originally from Slovakia and temporarily living in Port’s flat, whose body was found in the grounds of St Margaret’s church, around 500 metres from Port’s flat.

Whitworth’s body was found in the same graveyard in September 2014, three weeks after Kovari’s.

The court heard that Taylor, 25, died within hours of hooking up with Port on Grindr in the early hours in September 2015, and was found in the same church grounds.

The police are under investigation as they originally said the deaths were not suspicious even though the 4 bodies were dumped either outside his flat or near it, the family of the last victim Jack Taylor had to harass them to investigate :umm2:

They were found drugged and killed and they didn't think it was suspicious? :umm2:

wtf?

Jacks body had to be exhumed

Awful. The whole thing is disturbing but the fact the police didn't want to investigate is terrible.

This just gets worse journalists from the local paper and the Pink news were told they were scaremongering when they suggested there was a link and posted articles :umm2:

Christ.How much evidence do they need?They were found drugged,raped and killed and the police didn't see anything fishy going on?I mean it doesn't exactly take Hercule Poirot.

All found in the same location as well, there is a suggestion of institutionalised homophobia in the met, either that or they are all dense

It is terrible. I read that after the first death, and he was initially arrested on suspicion, they took his computer but never checked what was on it. Apparently the reason they didn't was because of the cost of doing it. But if they had they would have found clear evidence that he was responsible for that death. Instead he ended up being bailed and went on to kill the others :sad:

wow, sounds like there was a whole lot of blunders made on this one. Imagine if you were a family member of one of the men killed after that, knowing they had him but let him go

I know. It was actually friends of the first victim too that were pestering the police to check his computer (only to be told cost, etc)... so yeah, awful for them eventually finding out what was on it, awful for the family of his next victims... I suppose we have hindsight and everything, maybe there were other reasons too and of course they couldn't have known he would go on to kill again, but just looking on how it's been reported it seems really odd. Even at the time of the first killing they knew at the very least he'd moved the guys dead body out of his flat onto the street even though at first he denied knowing him, and why take his computer if you're not going to check what's on it? - I don't get it at all.

I actually wonder if the fact of who the first victim was might have had anything to do with it, with him being gay and an escort. I'm probably reaching lol but if they didn't investigate as thoroughly as they should have, there must be a reason. And it's not totally unrealistic to think there could have been homophobia/general apathy with him being a prostitute playing a part. If it was a different 'type' of victim maybe it would have been a different story.

Well that's disgraceful if they didn't take it as seriously because he was an escort. I hope the investigation is looked into thoroughly

I was just listening to a debate in this and I think it's safe to say if it were four women found dead in the same location links would have been made sooner, also it seems some stereotyping of gay lifestyles may have played a part with the drug use, I feel particularly sorry for the family of the last victim as he would most definitely be alive if they investigated properly

Yeah that's how I see it too, it shouldn't be like that but it is. And it's not just the 4 murder victims either, apparently he drug raped other people too. There is a big drug-sex culture on apps like Grindr though, it's an everyday thing for some people so I'd imagine the police deal with deaths/problems linked to it quite regularly.

:clap1::clap1::clap1: I watched the Taylor family on the news and their story is harrowing and unbelievable concerning the police's cavalier 'dismissal' of their theories and suspicions, so I think you have Hit The Nail on the head with what you say here Cherie.

Yes,I agree with Cherie and yourself too on this.

This is a really tragic and worrying series of murders.
The Police really seem to have failed massively here to properly look at the cases.

Like you I watched the Taylors, it was really awful and so sad to listen to.
Thank goodness they would not let this rest and pushed for more.

I've been reading more on this and imo the police are to blame for the three deaths after basically dismissing the first victims death - the first victims friends begged the police to investigate but they flat out refused.

Absoloutly tragic losses :(

horrifying and the police have let people down massively.. reminds me of the Jeffrey Dahmer cases a bit