Patrick MacKay

“The ferocity of the way he struck him was quite incredible. He must have really used all his strength and he was strong, he was strong at 17.” Ken Tappenden, Former Detective Inspector, Kent Police.

In early 1974, the map in the police incident room at Scotland Yard was covered with red dots marking locations across South West London where a mugger had repeatedly targeted elderly women. The perpetrator was Patrick Mackay, and his violence was about to escalate.

On 26th February 1974, police discovered the body of an elderly woman, Isabella Griffiths. The door to her home had been forced open and she had been strangled. She had also been repeatedly struck with a heavy instrument and had lain dead in her Chelsea flat for 12 days. The killer placed her body in the kitchen, covered it, closed her eyes, and stabbed her through the chest, pinning her body to the floor. Police also found evidence that the murderer had remained in the house for a considerable time listening to the radio.

At this stage, police did not realize that a serial killer was at large.

On 10th March 1975, one year after the murder of Isabella Griffiths, the body of Adele Price was discovered in a flat on Lowndes Square in Knightsbridge, London. Once again, the murder displayed disturbing similarities.

The killer forced his way into the flat and strangled Mrs. Price. He then remained there for several hours after the murder, falling asleep in an armchair while her body lay in the kitchen. He was abruptly awakened when Mrs. Price’s granddaughter called through the intercom and escaped before she entered the flat after receiving no response.

Police realized that the murders of the two elderly women were connected, but they had no suspects.

In the village of Shorne, Kent, Father Anthony Crean was preparing for Easter. Well known in the community for helping the homeless, he had befriended Patrick Mackay after meeting him while out walking a few years earlier. On one occasion, Mackay stole a blank cheque from Father Crean’s home, forged his signature and withdrew £80 from a local bank. He was caught and ordered to repay the money, but never did so.

The unpaid debt led to another confrontation on 21st March 1975. Mackay entered Father Crean’s cottage while he was away. When the priest returned, the two fought in the hallway. Father Crean managed to break free and locked himself in the bathroom, but Mackay found an axe and smashed through the door. He repeatedly stabbed the priest in a frenzied attack before finally killing him with a blow to the head from the axe.

Later that evening, a nun concerned about Father Crean’s whereabouts made a horrifying discovery. She found him floating in a bath filled with bloody water.

“It was a bizarre and depraved murder.” John Penycate, author of Psychopath: Case of Patrick Mackay.

Even at an early stage of the investigation into Father Crean’s murder, the trail of evidence pointed to one man: Patrick Mackay.

Mackay had left his name and address at the train station while trying to return to London, asked for a glass of water at a nearby house after leaving the murder scene, and spoken with a local police officer as he walked through the village.

Two police officers were assigned to find Mackay before he could kill again. Their most significant lead was that he maintained regular contact with another priest in London.

Investigators contacted priests across London and eventually located the one who knew Mackay. He directed them to a hostel near Lewisham. When officers arrived, the hostel manager was speaking to Patrick Mackay on a payphone. Police searched Mackay’s room and found disturbing evidence, including swastikas, photographs of Adolf Hitler and Nazi uniforms displayed on the walls. They also discovered valuable jewellery hidden beneath a cushion, which was later linked to burglaries in Chelsea and Belgravia.

Residents of the hostel informed officers that Mackay also occasionally stayed with a family in South West London. Within 24 hours, police had traced the address. Unfortunately, during that time Mackay committed another crime.

On Saturday night, the day after murdering Father Crean, Mackay targeted a retired nurse who was walking home alone. He followed her to her flat, forced his way inside and robbed her. Fortunately, she did not provoke him, and he left her alive.

The following morning, police officers found Mackay in Stockwell, South London. He was calm and compliant because he was suffering from a hangover, having spent all the money stolen during the robbery on alcohol.

He immediately admitted murdering Father Crean, claiming that a “white mist” had come over him and that he had acted in a fit of anger. During the journey to Gravesend Police Station, he led officers to a garage near Clapham where he said he had disposed of the knife used in the killing.

During police interviews, Mackay vividly described the murder, recounting it step by step. Investigators noted that discussing the blood appeared to excite him and triggered his memory of standing for an hour after the murder, watching Father Crean’s body float in the water.

Mackay was charged with the murders and held at Brixton Prison awaiting trial.

“I could see he was in a frame of mind, he had those killer eyes again…” Ken Tappenden, Former Detective Inspector, Kent Police.

Police considered Mackay a suspect in at least a dozen other killings committed over the previous two years. Most of the victims were elderly women who had been stabbed or strangled during robberies.

Mackay was eventually charged with five murders and appeared before the Old Bailey on 21st November 1975. Had he been found to be clinically insane, he could have been committed to Broadmoor Hospital, but only if he suffered from a treatable condition. Instead, he was diagnosed as a psychopath, a condition considered untreatable, and was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment. Police believed he may have been responsible for as many as 11 murders.

Newspapers covering the trial highlighted the brutality of Mackay’s crimes with headlines such as “The Man Who Enjoyed Killing,” “Bloodlust of the Beast in Black,” and, in a reference to future concerns, “Life for the Mad Killer Law Let Go.”

More than 37 years later, Mackay remained imprisoned and was reported to be among the small number of prisoners in the United Kingdom serving a whole life order, making it unlikely that he would ever be released.