Stephen Port

Stephen John Port (born 22 February 1975)^[1][2] is a convicted British serial rapist and serial killer. He is responsible for murdering at least four men and for committing multiple rapes. Port received a life sentence with a whole life order on 25 November 2016, meaning he will not become eligible for parole and is unlikely to be released from prison.^[3] Police announced they are now investigating at least 58 deaths connected to the use of gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid (GHB) in response to the Port case.^[4]

Early life

Port was born in Southend-on-Sea. When he was a year old, he moved to Dagenham, where he grew up and his parents still live. He was described as being a 'loner' at school. His neighbour, Ryan, described him as having a peculiar, child-like personality, exhibiting odd behaviour as a grown man, such as playing with children's toys. He came out as gay in the mid-2000s.^[2] He lived alone in a flat in Barking, London and worked as a chef at a Stagecoach bus depot in West Ham.^[5]

Victims

Port met his victims via online gay social networks.^[2] He used gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid (GHB), a date rape drug, adding it to drinks given to his victims, raped them, and murdered four of them in his flat in Barking.^[6] The prosecution said "postmortem examinations on the four young men who died revealed that each had died from a drug overdose featuring high levels of GHB", but Port surreptitiously used other drugs on his victims: amyl nitrite (poppers), Viagra, mephedrone (meow meow) and methamphetamine (crystal meth).^[7] At his trial, the Judge accepted that Port's intention was only to cause really serious harm and not death, but made the point that Port must have foreseen that there was a high risk of death, especially after the death of his first victim.^[3] This was sufficient for him to be convicted of murder in English law.

The graveyard of St Margaret's Church, Barking: The bodies of three of the four murder victims were found here.

His first murder victim, Anthony Walgate, 23, a fashion student originally from Hull, who on occasion worked as an escort, was contacted by Port on 17 June 2014 pretending to be a client and offered £800 for his services; they later met at Barking station. On 19 June 2014, Walgate was pronounced dead shortly before 8 am after Port himself anonymously called the emergency services reporting that a young boy was "collapsed or had had a seizure or was drunk" on the street outside his flat.^[7] Evidence linking Port to Walgate's death was missed at this time. Port was convicted of perverting the course of justice in March 2015 because his account of the death to the police varied. He was imprisoned for eight months, but released the following June and electronically tagged.

Between August 2014 and September 2015 Port murdered at least three more men: Gabriel Kovari, 22, who had moved to London from Slovakia; Daniel Whitworth, 21, from Gravesend in Kent, who worked as a chef; and Jack Taylor, 25, who lived with his parents in Dagenham, East London, and worked as a forklift truck driver.^[8] The bodies of the last three of the four murder victims were found in the graveyard of the church of St Margaret of Antioch in Barking, two of which were found by the same woman walking her dog.^[2] Port had planted a fake suicide note alongside the body of Whitworth that suggested he was responsible for the death of one of the other victims, Kovari, and that he had killed himself out of guilt.^[2][9]

Inquests

The inquests into the deaths returned open verdicts. Nadia Persaud, the coroner, however, said she had "some concerns surrounding Daniel's death which have not been answered by the police investigation". Her statement continued: "most concerning are the findings by the pathologist of manual handling prior to his death" and noted that "the bed sheet that he was found wrapped in was not forensically analysed, and the bottle of GBL which was found near him was also not tested for fingerprints or DNA". A detective was asked why the bed sheet had not been tested.^[2]

The Metropolitan Police have been criticised for making a 'catalogue of police failings' throughout their inquests into the deaths of all four victims. Crucial witnesses, such as Port's neighbour Ryan, were not questioned. Ryan held vital information such as witnessing Port in a dazed state, with a large container full of white powder and bottles of clear liquid in his home when he made an unexpected visit. It later came to light that Port was using these drugs on his victims in order to sedate and ultimately kill them. Ryan also reported receiving suspicious text messages from Port regarding his second victim, Gabriel Kovari.

Kovari's previous roommate, John Pape, reported being very suspicious that there was more to his friend's death than the Police were letting on. He searched on the internet for other unexplained deaths in the Barking area, and found information about the unexplained death of Port's first victim, Anthony Walgate, furthering his suspicions that Kovari's death was not accidental. He was astonished at the similarities of the cases, especially the locations in which the bodies were found, however Dagenham Police did not link the two cases nor did they issue any warnings to the LGBT community.

The woman who found Kovari's body in a Churchyard in Barking, found Daniel Whitworth's body just 2 weeks later in almost the exact same position. She reported thinking these circumstances are clearly suspicious and that Dagenham Police 'had no idea what they were doing' to not be able to connect the two cases, despite the bodies being found in the exact same locations and positions.

Mandy, Whitworth's step-mother, reported the Police knocking on her door to inform her they had found Daniel's body. She says she was led to believe Daniel had overdosed on drugs, despite no investigation having taken place. Police didn't treat the death as suspicious, despite bruising found under Daniel's arms, which led to a coroner reporting that third-party involvement could not be ruled out. The Police took the fake suicide note left by Port with Daniel's body at face-value. They sent a small fragment of the letter to Mandy and Daniel's father, Adam, asking them to verify if it was Daniel's penmanship. They looked at the writing on the note and compared it with Daniel's writing from Birthday cards and other mementos. They reported back to the Police saying they were unsure if it was Daniel's writing, as they didn't often see his handwriting and they couldn't say for certain. Mandy reported that Dagenham Police had told her they had experts who can analyse the writing and determine whether it is Daniel's or not, and Mandy assumed this is what the Police would do. It is later shown at trial that Dagenham Police documented that Mandy and Adam had confirmed the handwriting was Daniel's, despite them telling the Police they were unsure. It came to light that handwriting professionals had not investigated the note, but that untrained Police Officers had 'taken a look' at the note themselves. Mandy maintains that if specialists had looked further into this note, they could have found Port earlier.

Mandy and Adam were later shown the entire suicide note. Mandy reports that Adam immediately voiced that he did not see anything on the letter than indicated it was written by Daniel, and the note appeared to be 'cold' and 'matter-of-fact'. The note also stated 'don't blame the guy I was with last night'. When Mandy and Adam asked the Police if they had looked into who the note was referring to, the Police said they didn't know, may never know, and that they weren't ever going to find out all the answers. Mandy reported that in hindsight, she doesn't feel Dagenham Police were investigating properly, and they wouldn't have had to look very far to find out Port was behind it, and save another family from emotional turmoil. When Mandy wished to challenge the open verdict or continue investigation, she reported that she was told that nothing more could be done, and she felt there was an attitude of 'it is what it is, deal with it'.

When Kovari's former roommate John Pape heard about Whitworth's death, he called the detective at Barking Dagenham Police and demanded to know if they thought these 3 cases were linked or could be murder, as he was concerned for his own personal safety. They definitively denied that the cases were murder and assured John the deaths were not suspicious. John attempted to further connect with the police as he felt like he may have relevant information regarding Kovari's last movements. He was told by the Police Officer that they would notify their superior who would get back to John, however they failed to do so. In a final attempt to get his voice heard, John contacted LGBT Online Communities such as Pink News who had links with the Police. These organisations contacted the police highlighting John's concerns, but the Police refused John's input.

Jack Taylor's sister, Donna Taylor, recalled the Police coming round to inform the family they had discovered his body. She reported them simply, brashly stating 'Jack's dead', and going on to explain they found a syringe in his pocket, white powder in his wallet and needle marks on his arm. Donna was unhappy with this revelation, claiming that Jack was very anti-drugs. 11 days after Jack's death, Donna and her sister Jen contacted Barking Dagenham Police to get an update on the investigation, and were astonished to find out that there was not an investigation taking place, and Police were satisfied with the theory that Jack had sat down by himself and overdosed on drugs.

Donna and Jen, displeased with the Police's investigation, began to research and piece things together without the help of the authorities. They came across Anthony, Gabriel and Daniel's cases and the similarities aroused their suspicions. They raised these concerns to the Police who denied any connection to the previous cases. A persistent Donna & Jen continued to contact the Police with questions and concerns until they eventually agreed to take Jack's sisters to where his body was found. Police met Donna & Jen at Barking Train Station, who told them that they found CCTV Footage of Jack meeting with a man [who was later identified as Port]. Donna reported being very surprised to find out there was CCTV footage of Jack, 14 days after he had been found dead, and they had not been notified. The sisters probed further, and asked Police if they knew who Jack's male companion was, but Police did not know and were not looking into it. Jen described the Police's attitude as 'shocking' and she was taken aback at how little the Police seemed to care about finding the man Jack was with.

Police showed Donna & Jen the CCTV of Jack Taylor and Port walking through Barking. It shows the two walking side by side up until they reach an area where CCTV is not available. Police told the sisters, that they lose sight of one of the men on CCTV, the two part ways, and Jack continues alone to the Churchyard, where the overdose takes place. Jen reported that this information 'did not sit right' with her. Unconvinced that Jack would have walked alone into the Churchyard, Donna and Jen spoke to the Sergeant who reviewed the CCTV. The Sergeant contacts Donna, alerting her that Jack did not enter the green area alone, but in fact continued in a different direction, still with his male companion. There was never any footage of Jack by himself.

Donna and Jen requested that images of Port from the CCTV were released to the public, in order to identify him. The Police were initially reluctant, claiming that they don't normally release CCTV footage. Undeterred, Donna and Jen pressed the Police, telling them they want the footage released. Eventually Police gave in and released the footage. 2 days later, Port was arrested.^[10]

Conviction and life sentence

On 23 November 2016, he was convicted of the assaults by penetration, rapes and murders of Anthony Walgate, 23, Gabriel Kovari, 22, Daniel Whitworth, 21 and Jack Taylor, 25, as well as the rapes of three other men he drugged, and ten counts of administering a substance with intent, and four sexual assaults.^[4] He was found guilty on all counts.^[6] In total, eleven men were victims of Port's crimes.^[11]

Commenting on the case, Malcolm McHaffie, Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor for CPS London, said: "Over a period of three years the defendant committed a series of murders and serious sexual offences against young men. Port manipulated and controlled these men through the chilling and calculated use of the drug GHB, which he administered without their permission.... This was a technically challenging case, complicated by a significant amount of evidence taken from the numerous social media sites Port used."^[12]

At the Old Bailey on 25 November 2016, Mr Justice Openshaw sentenced Port to life imprisonment with a whole life order.^[11]

Questions over the Met investigation

Although the bodies of the four men were found in the vicinity of Port's flat in just over a year from late summer 2014, Walgate (the first) outside his front door, and the other three in a graveyard, the Metropolitan Police neglected to link the deaths.^[2][13] The first three victims (Kovari and Whitworth being the others) were initially thought not to have died in suspicious circumstances,^[2] and despite the PinkNews website and the force's LGBT independent advisory group correctly believing there was a serial murderer at large, the police had told them the crimes were not linked.^[6] The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) is now investigating whether 17 police officers in the Met should face disciplinary action.^[13]

See also

• List of prisoners with whole-life tariffs

References