From cold case to conviction: The evil crimes of David Fuller
Cold Case UKWhen it comes to disturbing cold cases, the case of David Fuller is particularly noteworthy. Fuller was able to get away with two murders for over 20 years, but he also committed atrocities against the bodies in the mortuary where he worked.
The case will be covered in the upcoming series Cold Case UK, but here at Crime+Investigation, we’re going to dive further into the case right now. Join us as we examine the horrific crimes of David Fuller.
Who was David Fuller?
David Fuller was born on 4th September 1954, in Deal, Kent. During his life, he was part of a four-year apprenticeship in the Ministry of Defence. He had been married three times and worked as an electrician.
Fuller was respected by those who knew him, so much so that he was given the nickname ‘Uncle Dave’. Fuller’s true nature came to light when the cold case Bedsit Murders was reopened.
The Bedsit Murders
In 1987, two women living in bedsits in Tunbridge Wells were murdered within five months of one another. 25-year-old Wendy Knell was found dead after being sexually assaulted and strangled in her bedsit on Guildford Road on 23rd June 1987.
Five months later, on 24th November, 20-year-old Caroline Pierce was found dead. Caroline also lived in a bedsit, and screams were heard from her Grosvenor Park home on the night of her death. Caroline then went missing, and less than a month later – on the 15th December – her body was found naked in a dyke full of water in St Mary-in-the-Marsh, Romney Marsh, Kent. She had been killed and assaulted in the same way that Wendy had.
The case went cold until 2007, when a review was opened. Samples from both cases showed that the same person had assaulted and killed Wendy and Caroline. It wasn’t until another 13 years later, in 2020, that the match was made due to a breakthrough in DNA technology. Fuller was identified as the killer.
The mortuary discovery
Following Fuller's arrest in 2020, police conducted an extensive search of his home. What they found was beyond disturbing. Images of Fuller abusing dead women in two different hospital mortuaries were discovered in four hard drives in the back of a cupboard. Prosecutor Duncan Atkinson QC referred to the contents of the hard drives as a 'library of unimaginable sexual depravity'.
Between 2008 and 2020, Fuller had been abusing the bodies of female corpses while he was employed as an electrician at two hospitals in Tunbridge Wells. Due to the nature of his work, he was able to gain access to the mortuaries. He filmed himself while doing so and took pictures.
Fuller worked the night shift at the hospitals, often working between 11pm and 7am. He was left alone frequently in the mortuary. He also knew which areas of the mortuary were covered by the CCTV cameras and would actively avoid these places.
Fuller knew that he could get into the post-mortem room on the side of the mortuary that had no CCTV at the time. Fridge doors were also unlocked, and no staff would see him. He committed his heinous crimes knowing that he was unlikely to be caught because of this.
Over the years, Fuller was able to abuse more than 100 female corpses. This included the bodies of two 16-year-old girls and a nine-year-old girl. Some of the bodies were also older than 85.
The conviction of David Fuller
Along with the murders of Wendy Knell and Caroline Pierce, an additional 16 charges were placed on Fuller for his mortuary offences. In December 2021, he was given a whole-life order life imprisonment sentence. He will have no possibility of parole.
The crimes of David Fuller are particularly heinous. Not only did he sexually assault and murder two young women in the 80s, but he then went on to abuse the corpses of women and girls for many years. His despicable crimes have left a long-lasting mark, not only on the community, but also on the families and friends of those he killed and abused after death.
Fuller continued his crimes for over a decade, but he was finally given the justice he deserved in 2021.
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