Thomas McDowell

Thomas McDowell (born 1977) is a convicted British murderer responsible for the death of Andreas Hinz.

Early life

McDowell was born in Ballymena, Northern Ireland.

Crime

Hinz, a 37 year old homosexual trainee rabbi, gifted linguist, and German national, had spent the night of 3 July 2002, drinking alone in the Black Cap public house, a gay bar in Camden, north London. After striking up a conversation with McDowell, they left the bar together in the early hours and returned to McDowell's flat in Baynes Street, Camden.^[1]

After initially laying Hinz out with a "martial arts" kick, McDowell proceeded to strangle Hinz before dismembering his body with a rip saw.^[2] The body parts were wrapped in bin liners and put out onto a street near St Pancras Way for the refuse collectors. Their subsequent decomposition, exacerbated by summer heat, led to a "terrible smell" and a cloud of flies that eventually led to their gruesome discovery.^[3]

At McDowell's trial two years later, it was revealed that he had suffered abuse at the hands of a man as a child and grew up with a sense of hatred towards homosexuals, as well as suffering from a personality disorder. McDowell was a student at the time of the murder and had also been working as a male prostitute. McDowell admitted manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility and was sentenced to life imprisonment at Southwark Crown Court on 30 September 2004. The trial judge spoke of his doubt as to whether it would ever be thought safe to release McDowell back into the community, and recommended that he should never be released.^[4] He began his life sentence at Rampton Secure Hospital in Nottinghamshire.

It has since been reported that McDowell is one of around 50 prisoners currently in the prison system who have reportedly been issued with whole life tariffs and are unlikely ever to be released. However, this sentence was ruled illegal by the European Court of Human Rights on 9 July 2013 and this means that McDowell will have a minimum term imposed by the High Court.

References