bodies and secrets under the floorboard? The stinky serial killer | mystery and makeup
In the chilling episode of "Murder, Mystery & Makeup," Bailey Sarian artfully unfolds the depraved story of Dennis, a former army serviceman and London police affiliate, whose benign appearance belied his monstrous predilections. Listeners are drawn into a narrative that paints Dennis as a sinister predator, exploiting his position at a job placement center to lure unsuspecting victims to a grim fate within his North London flat. What begins as an offer of shelter ends in tragedy, with Sarian detailing the unfathomable end met by these sleeping souls, including the tragic case of a 15-year-old named Steven. The ghastly reality of Dennis's apartment, a veritable tomb with bodies concealed under floorboards and fixtures, underlies a tale as horrific as it is compelling.
The grotesque precision with which Dennis executed the post-mortem desecration of his victims is not spared, as Sarian recounts his appalling use of army butchery skills. The episode navigates the macabre labyrinth of Dennis' mind, divulging how he dispassionately dissected and disposed of human remains with such regularity that plumbing issues arose, culminating in a grim discovery by unsuspecting plumbers. Sarasian doesn't shy away from the cold, calculated calm with which Dennis confessed to the slaying of 15 innocents, offering listeners a glimpse into his inadequate insanity defense amidst the overwhelming tide of condemning evidence. In the "Murder, Mystery & Makeup" podcast, Sarian delivers a haunting account that is as fascinating as it is horrifying, tracing the morbid path from Dennis’s chilling detachment to his eventual life imprisonment.
This is a preview of the Shortform summary of the Feb 19, 2024 episode of the Murder, Mystery & Makeup
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1-Page Summary
Strangled and drowned sleeping victims
Dennis, after his service in the army and involvement with the London police, began preying on vulnerable boys and men, many of whom he encountered while working at a job placement center in North London. He offered them shelter, only to murder them while they slept in his apartment. One such victim, a 15-year-old named Steven, was strangled with a necktie and drowned in a bucket of water. The bodies were hidden under floorboards for as long as eight months, in closets, and under fixtures such as the sink when he ran out of room. The decomposing bodies prompted daily spray-downs of his apartment to manage the smell and flies, ultimately leading to neighbor complaints about the stench.
Dismembered victims and disposed of body parts
Dennis' army-trained butchery skills were put to gruesome use as he meticulously dismembered his victims' bodies. He boiled their skulls to eliminate identifiable features and either buried organs in his yard or incinerated smaller parts. The body parts were sometimes flushed down the toilet, causing severe plumbing issues, leading to the discovery of human remains by plumbers. This would become the breakthrough that shed light on the extent of Dennis's sinister activities, revealing trash bags full of human flesh beneath a manhole connected to the apartment complex's sewer system.
Calmly confessed to murdering 15 people
Confronted with the evidence, Dennis confessed to the killings with a disturbing detachment. He kept thorough records of his murders, including detailed notes, sketches, and even recordings from prison. He claimed his murders were committed in a trance-like state, which became a central piece of his unsuccessful insanity defense. This defense was inadequate against the incriminating physical evidence, such as photographs, a chopping board, and a pot used to boil victim parts. The jury, presented with this evidence, found Dennis guilty, and he was sentenced to life imprisonment with no chance of parole until at least 2008.
1-Page Summary
Additional Materials
Clarifications
- Dennis's army-trained butchery skills indicate that he acquired skills related to cutting and preparing meat during his time in the army. This training could have included knowledge of anatomy, precision cutting techniques, and handling sharp tools effectively. These skills were repurposed by Dennis in a disturbing manner to dismember his victims' bodies with a level of precision and efficiency that reflected his military training.
- The breakthrough that led to the discovery of human remains by plumbers occurred when plumbing issues caused by flushing body parts prompted the plumbers to investigate further. This investigation revealed human remains in the sewer system connected to Dennis's apartment complex, exposing the extent of his crimes. The plumbers' discovery played a crucial role in uncovering the gruesome activities of Dennis and provided key evidence for his prosecution.
- The insanity defense is a legal strategy where a defendant argues that they were not mentally responsible for their actions at the time of the crime. In this case, Dennis claimed he was in a trance-like state when committing the murders. However, despite this defense, incriminating physical evidence such as photographs, tools used in the crimes, and detailed records of the murders were presented in court. This physical evidence contradicted Dennis's claim of insanity, leading to the inadequacy of the insanity defense in his case.
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Strangled and drowned sleeping victims
The chilling acts of Dennis, a man who targeted vulnerable boys and men, has sent ripples of horror through the community as details of his gruesome routine emerge.
Lured vulnerable boys and men back to his apartment
After serving in the army and moving to London, where he joined the police, Dennis spent a considerable amount of time seeking companionship in the bars of the West End. Eventually, he took up residence in North London and worked at a job placement center, where he met face-to-face with job seekers, which is where he met some of his victims.
Offered them a place to stay before killing them
Dennis utilized his position to lure vulnerable individuals under the guise of offering shelter and assistance. He provided a place to stay to individuals like David Gallichan, who was unemployed and in need of housing. His predatory strategy capitalized on the needs of those like David as well as his own desire for companionship. This was exemplified when he picked up Steven, a 15-year-old who had been on his way home from a concert, and brought him back to his apartment, only to murder him in his sleep.
Hid decomposing bodies under the floorboards and in closets
Dennis resorted to disturbing methods to conceal his heinous acts. He strangled Steven with a necktie, rendering him unconscious, and then drowned him in a bucket of water. The body of his first victim, Steven, was hidden under his floorboards for eight months. Over two years, he accumulated a dozen bodies, which he hid throughout his apartment due to running o ...
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Strangled and drowned sleeping victims
Additional Materials
Clarifications
- Dennis had a chilling routine where he lured vulnerable boys and men back to his apartment under the guise of offering shelter and assistance. He then proceeded to strangle and drown his victims while they were sleeping. To conceal his crimes, he hid the decomposing bodies under the floorboards, in closets, and other limited spaces within his apartment. The disturbing nature of his actions was further highlighted by the complaints from neighbors about the stench emanating from his residence due to the decomposition of the bodies.
- Dennis used his position to exploit vulnerable individuals by offering them shelter, preying on their needs for support. His desire for companionship drove him to seek out victims who he could manipulate and control within his living space. This manipulation allowed him to establish a sense of closeness with his victims before carrying out his heinous acts.
- Dennis used a necktie to strangle his victims, rendering them unconscious before drowning them in a bucket of water. This method of rendering the victims unconscious before killing them was a part of his disturbing routine. It was a calculated and cruel act that he repeated with multiple victims. Dennis utilized this method to carry out his heinous crimes and conceal his actions.
- Dennis hid the bodies of his victims under the floorboards and in closets to conceal his crimes. This method allowed him to keep the bodies out of sight and avoid detection. By hiding the bodies in his living space, he was able to continue his gruesome acts without immediate suspicion. The decomposition of the bodies led to a foul odor that attracted attention from neighbors.
- Dennis accumulated a dozen bodies over two years by luring vulnerable individuals to his apartment under false pretenses, then murdering them in their sleep. He hid the bodies in various locations within his apartment to conceal his crimes. This pattern of behavior showcased a disturbing level of premeditation and a callous disregard for human life.
- Dennis managed the fly infestation and stench in his apartment by spraying it down twice daily to control the flies and mask the smell of decomposing bodies. The accumulati ...
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Dismembered victims and disposed of body parts
The gruesome details of a criminal's methodology have been unearthed, shedding light on the chilling means by which he attempted to conceal his abhorrent acts.
Used his culinary training to cut up the bodies
Boiled skulls and flushed flesh down the toilet
Dennis applied the butchery skills he had acquired during his army training to proceed with the dismemberment of his victims. He utilized his kitchen knives with a macabre precision, boiling the skulls to remove any flesh, a process meant for erasing any identifying features from the remains.
Further deconstructing the bodies, he bagged organs and other remains, opting to either bury them in his yard or incinerate smaller pieces to avoid detection. When he could no longer find space to hide the bodies, Dennis was compelled to take more drastic actions.
Eventually clogged drains exposed his crimes
Plumbers found trash bags full of human remains
The heinous strategy involved cutting up the body parts, placing them into trash bags, and disposing of them via the household plumbing. He resorted to flushing these remnants down the toilet, or directly into the sewer, a decision that eventually led to a macabre discovery.
Over time, the consistent flushing of body parts caused severe plumbing issues, culminating in blockages an ...
Here’s what you’ll find in our full summary
Dismembered victims and disposed of body parts
Additional Materials
Clarifications
- Dennis utilized butchery skills acquired during his army training to dismember his victims. Army training often includes various skills, including butchery, that can be repurposed in unexpected ways. This background knowledge enabled Dennis to efficiently and effectively carry out the gruesome task of dismembering the bodies. His military experience provided him with the precision and expertise needed for such macabre actions.
- Incinerating smaller body parts is a method used to destroy evidence by burning them to ashes, making it harder to identify the remains and link them to the perpetrator. This process involves subjecting the body parts to high temperatures until they are reduced to charred fragments, which can then be disposed of more discreetly. Incineration is a common technique employed by criminals to eliminate incriminating evidence and hinder forensic investigations.
- Flushing body parts down the toilet and into the sewer is a method used by some criminals to dispose of human remains. This involves breaking down the bodies into smaller pieces and then flushing them down the toilet or directly into the sewer system to try to conceal evidence of their crimes. However, this method can lead to plumbing issues, blockages, and potential discovery of the remains by authorities or maintenance workers.
- The criminal in the text disposed of human body parts by cutting them up and flushing them down the drains. This led to severe plumbing issues, with trash bags filled with human remains causing blockages and flooding in the apartment complex. Plumbers were called to address the problem and discovered the source of the blockages to be the human tissue-filled bags in the sewer system. This discovery exposed the gruesome methods used by the criminal to conceal his crimes.
- The consistent flushing of body parts down the toilet led to severe plumbing issues due to the large and irregular nature of the flushed items. Human tissue and organs are not designed to be disposed of i ...
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Calmly confessed to murdering 15 people
When confronted by the police, the calmly composed murderer, Dennis, admitted to his gruesome killings in a detail that was both chilling and dispassionate.
Kept detailed notes and sketches of his victims
In interviews with authorities, Dennis revealed his compulsion to document his crimes, keeping several spiral-bound notebooks filled with notes and sketches of his victims. His meticulous records didn't end there; he recorded dozens of tapes from his prison cell, penned pages upon pages, and even wrote an entire manuscript for an autobiography.
Claimed he went into a "trance" during the killings
Dennis alleged that he was in a trance-like state when committing the murders. He claimed to snap out of it just in time to release some potential victims. This claim of going into a trance formed the basis of his defense when he tried to plead not guilty.
Tried to plead not guilty by reason of insanity
His defense team attempted to assert that Dennis was not of sound mind when he carried out the murders. They employed psychiatric terms in their explanation, which ultimately did not resonate with the jury. Despite his defense team's efforts to plead insanity, citing his alleged trance-like state, the vast array of physical evidence spoke louder. The evidence the court faced was overwhelming, including ...
Here’s what you’ll find in our full summary
Calmly confessed to murdering 15 people
Additional Materials
Clarifications
- Dennis meticulously documented his crimes by keeping detailed notes, sketches, and recordings. He maintained spiral-bound notebooks filled with information about his victims and wrote an entire autobiography manuscript. Additionally, he recorded tapes from his prison cell and penned numerous pages, showcasing the extent of his compulsion to document his actions. Dennis's thorough documentation provided a chilling insight into the depth of his obsession with his crimes.
- The evidence presented in court against Dennis included photographs of the crime scenes, the chopping board used for dissection, and the cooking pot in which he boiled parts of his victims. These physical pieces of evidence, along with Dennis's meticulous records and detailed confessions, played a significant role in swaying the jury's decision. The prosecution's case was bolstered by the overwhelming and graphic nature of the evidence, leaving little room for doubt regarding Dennis's guilt. The combination of forensic evi ...
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