Serial killer Dennis Nilsen dies in prison aged 72
Dennis Nilsen admitted to killing at least 15 young men between 1978 and 1983 and was jailed for life.
Serial killer Dennis Nilsen has died in prison at the age of 72.
Nilsen, who admitted to killing at least 15 young men between 1978 and 1983, was jailed for life in 1983, the BBC reports.
The 72-year-old, a former civil servant, murdered and dismembered his victims at his Muswell Hill home, many of which were homeless young gay men.
Nilsen, who was convicted of six murders and two attempted murders, died of natural causes at HMP Full Sutton maximum security prison in Yorkshire yesterday (May 12).
A spokesman revealed that Nilsen’s death will be investigated by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman as is normal for custody deaths.
He said: “Dennis Andrew Nilsen, date of birth 23 November 1945, died in custody at HMP Full Sutton on Saturday, 12 May 2018.
“As with all deaths in custody, there will be an independent investigation by the prisons and probation ombudsman.”
Nilsen, who was arrested at the age of 37 after human remains were found in a blocked drain at his home, admitted to killing at least 15 people but was only convicted of the murders of six men and the attempted murders of two other men.
During his trial at the Old Bailey, the court heard how the remains of three victims were found at his home while bones from around eight bodies were found at his previous address in Cricklewood, north-west London.
According to reports, Nilsen met his victims in a pub and would take them back to his flat for a drink. The court heard how he would then strangle his victims with a tie before disposing of their bodies either by hiding them under the floorboards or by dismembering the body and flushing parts down the toilet.
Nilsen, who spent 11 years in the Army, would sometimes sit with the bodies for days before dismembering them.