Grindr serial killer Stephen Port's prison letters 'exposed childish concerns'

Stephen Port, the infamous serial killer with a bizarre penchant for children’s movies like Transformers, boasted about his intelligence in letters from behind bars. Unbeknownst to him, he was actually writing to seasoned writer Sebastian Murphy-Bates, who was researching the murderer.

Port, found guilty of the brutal murders of four men he encountered on the dating app Grindr, fancied himself a genius, as revealed in these correspondences. Yet, according to Murphy-Bates, Port’s interests appeared to be fixated on “childish concerns.”

Port would entice his victims through online chats, then assault them in his East London flat after drugging their drinks with GHB. Murphy-Bates’ book delves into the life and heinous acts of Port, scrutinizing the police’s role in failing the victims.

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Port’s victim Jack Taylor was 25
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During his trial, Port faced charges for more than 20 offenses involving 11 men, including the murders of Anthony Walgate, Gabriel Kovari, Daniel Whitworth, and Jack Taylor. Murphy-Bates described Port’s prison writings as “witless.”

In 2016, Port received a life sentence for his chilling crimes, which were not properly investigated by the police, enabling his continued killing spree, reports the Mirror US.

Murphy-Bates posits that had the police acted competently, Jack Taylor might still be alive. In an enthralling narrative, Murphy-Bates recounts his extraordinary interactions with the jailed serial killer Stephen Port in his book, Easy Kills.

Anthony Walgate, another of his victims, was 23
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When the notorious serial killer Stephen Port was finally apprehended, it left many baffled. This 40 year old man had managed to elude law enforcement for over a year while he committed the horrifying murders of Anthony Walgate, Gabriel Kovari, Daniel Whitworth, and Jack Taylor.

Their bodies were found discarded in public areas in Barking, East London. The question on everyone’s mind was how could this seemingly ordinary chef commit such heinous acts and evade capture?

Was he a criminal mastermind?

Ports was also convicted of killing Daniel Whitworth
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Sebastian Murphy-Bates explained: “Following Port’s conviction for these four murders, along with numerous sex offences at the Old Bailey, I decided to write to him at HMP Frankland, Durham. My aim was to understand the kind of man he was while conducting research for my book, Easy Kills.

“To put it mildly, my impression from our correspondence was far from that of a genius. To be more direct – the man is an imbecile.

“His letters, filled with spelling errors, revealed a man preoccupied with childish concerns and interests, alongside boasts about an intellect that I’m certain was purely imaginary. In order to gain his trust, I posed as a young, insecure gay man named Luke Banes (a nod to Skywalker from Star Wars and a character from Transformers, both of which Port is obsessed with).

“I even sent him a picture, hoping to reel him in further, and it worked. Either Stephen was too oblivious to question why I’d cropped everyone except “Luke” out of the printouts, or he was too aroused to care and was just happy to have the photo in his cell. I wasn’t surprised by his mindless notes. I already knew from his clumsy denials of all 29 charges that it wasn’t his intelligence that had kept him on the loose for so long.”

So what was it?

Gabriel Kovari’s death was ‘probably’ a result of police failure to investigate Port’s first killing
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The author continued: “The incompetence of the Barking and Dagenham Metropolitan Police Service. Port should have been caught in June 2014, when he killed fashion student Anthony after drugging him. But the police failed to check his electronic devices, which would have revealed a disturbing history of rape porn and his true intentions for luring the young man to Barking.

“Even without checking his devices, the police should have been suspicious of him. After all, he was the one who pretended to be a bystander and called 999 about Anthony’s body. He was found to have hired Anthony as an escort, proving his call was a lie. He even admitted to moving the body to the street.”

Did he become a murder suspect?

Sebastian Murphy-Bates explained: “No, he was charged (and later convicted) with perverting the course of justice. As he waited for his court date, he went on to murder Gabriel and Daniel, disposing of their bodies in the same graveyard near his apartment, just weeks apart.

“Daniel’s body, in particular, was found with potential evidence, including a blanket and a note that appeared to be a suicide note. However, the police failed to test the blanket, which was later found to have Port’s DNA on it, and didn’t investigate the note further, despite it being suspiciously well-preserved in a plastic wallet and mentioning “the guy I was with last night”.

“After serving half of his sentence, Stephen was released from prison. If he had served his full sentence, Jack Taylor might still be alive.

“Yet, even when a fourth body was found within 400 yards of Port’s apartment, the police didn’t raise an alarm, despite it being in the same location as the previous two. It wasn’t until Jack’s sisters, Donna and Jen, persuaded the police to release CCTV footage of Jack’s last walk through Barking town centre that Port was finally identified and arrested in October 2015.

“My book, titled ‘Easy Kills’, is so named because the police made it far too easy for a completely unresourceful idiot to commit murder. They failed to investigate even when he left clues for them.”

He concluded: “I hope it serves as a stark reminder of mistakes that the Met cannot afford to repeat.”

Image Credits and Reference: https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/grindr-serial-killer-stephen-ports-34464395

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