Dennis Nilsen: The Kindly Killer (Part 2)

Summary

Morbid Podcast

Dennis Nilsen: The Kindly Killer (Part 2)

Hosts: Ash Kelley & Alaina Urquhart
Date: February 9, 2026

---

Episode Overview

In the second installment of their three-part series on Dennis Nilsen, “The Kindly Killer,” Ash and Alaina deep-dive into the chilling escalation of Nilsen's crimes. They chart his transition from the early murders committed in his Melrose Avenue flat to the increasingly erratic and disturbing acts in his later years—interweaving profound insights, survivor stories, and their signature blend of dark humor and empathy. This episode explores the police inaction, the marginalized status of many of Nilsen’s victims, and the psychology behind his need for control—all leading up to the events that would ultimately bring his spree to an end.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Catch-Up and Context (01:15–08:11)

• The episode opens with lighthearted banter, COVID warnings, and book talk before making a sharp transition into the gruesome material.
• Quote: [09:07] Alaina: "We left you with Dennis beginning his killing spree... He had shown necrophilic tendencies as well. He likes to keep his victims around after they're deceased for a while under the floorboards."

2. The Andrew Ho Incident & Police Inaction (10:10–14:46)

• Incident: Shortly after murdering Stephen Holmes, Nilsen meets Andrew Ho, a Chinese international student, at a pub. Nilsen lures him back to his flat under false pretenses and attempts to strangle him.
• Andrew escapes, reports the assault to police, but due to the climate of homophobia and victim-shaming, Nilsen isn't charged.
• Quote: [14:00] Alaina: "A lot of activists see the disinterest of law enforcement and the social stigmas around the gay community to have allowed him to continue killing people."
• Quote: [14:43] Alaina (citing Peter Tatchel): "Had they done a proper investigation and caught Nilsen, 15 victims might still be alive."

3. The Murder of Kenneth Ockendon (15:32–18:52)

• Nilsen befriends Canadian tourist Kenneth Ockendon; after a night of camaraderie, Nilsen strangles him.
• He develops a macabre routine: washing, dressing, posing, and photographing the corpse—revealing deepening psychosis.
• Quote: [18:29] Alaina: "He would speak to him as though he were still listening. I would compliment him on his looks and anatomy."

4. Chilling Logistics: Hiding the Bodies (19:15–20:08)

• Discussion on Nilsen’s methods of interacting with the bodies and the unsettling fact that neighbors were unaware of the horrors inside his flat.
• Quote: [20:24] Ash: "You drive past a lot of houses in your life—some weird shit’s going down in some of them."

5. Martin Duffy: The Youngest Victim (25:34–29:31)

• Martin Duffy, a 16-year-old runaway, becomes another victim—his youth making the crime even more haunting.
• Nilsen bathes with the body, displaying escalating necrophilic behavior.
• Quote: [29:01] Alaina: "I talked to him and mentioned that his body was the youngest looking I'd ever seen."
• Ash's reaction: [29:03] "So he's a pedophile." (emphasizing the breadth of Nilsen's depravity)

6. Escalation & Increasing Desperation (30:08–36:44)

• With little consequence for his past acts, Nilsen begins killing more frequently and erratically, targeting men on society's margins.
• Many of these later victims remain unidentified.
• Quote: [32:46] Alaina: "He was just one of hundreds of men who’d gone missing from London over the years, 41 of whom were named Billy Sutherland."

7. Compartmentalization: Living Dual Lives (34:31–36:44)

• Fascinating exploration of how Nilsen separated his horrifying double life from his public persona.
• Ash and Alaina reflect on compartmentalization and trauma.
• Quote: [35:28] Alaina: "He would later say, 'I never thought of them again at work until I came home that evening.'"

8. The Kindly Killer Moniker (43:08–44:01)

• The "kindly" persona: Nilsen occasionally exhibits moments of apparent empathy (e.g., helping Malcolm Barlow during an epileptic episode), undercut by his later violence.

9. The Murder of Malcolm Barlow: Murder as Inconvenience (45:50–48:41)

• Nilsen helps and feeds Barlow, only to murder him out of simple irritation and inconvenience—his motivations becoming less “psychosexual” and more capricious.
• Quote: [47:14] Alaina: "Given the events of that day... Dennis made the deliberate decision to just get rid of him."

10. The Practicalities of Storage and Disposal (48:41–50:23)

• As the body count rises, decomposition, bugs, and landlord intervention force Nilsen to dismember and burn the corpses. He attempts to mask the smell with burning tires.
• Quote: [50:22] Alaina: "He threw an old tire into the pit, hoping the smell of burning rubber would ward off any questions."

11. The Cranley Gardens Flat: A Change in Modus Operandi (51:40–53:35)

• In his new attic flat, lack of space forces a pause and changes his method. Paul Knobbs survives an attack, waking with strangulation marks—a rare escapee.
• Quote: [53:13] Ash: "The fact that he stopped is not something we come across very often."

12. The Murder of John Howlett: Loss of Control (54:42–57:42)

• Howlett is a different type of victim—bigger and stronger than Nilsen—leading to a brutal struggle.
• Quote: [56:34] Alaina (quoting Nilsen): "'I think I said, ‘it’s about time you went.’’ Think about that in your head, how scary that is."

13. Coping with the Macabre: Humor & Processing (58:27–61:51)

• Ash and Alaina use humor and relatable anxieties to process the horror.
• Quote: [58:04] Ash: "Meanwhile, I actually can't sleep on my right side... and this man's just going to sleep with a dead body that he just killed in his bathroom."

14. Gender, Brain Differences & Theories (60:01–62:05)

• Thoughtful discussion on the prevalence of male serial killers, the psychology and possible neurological factors at play, and musing on whether modern science could one day prevent such crimes.
• Quote: [61:51] Ash: "Actually a fun bonus episode idea would be to look at the different parts of the brain and what they're responsible for and how it relates to crime and decision making in general."

15. Dismemberment, Disposal, and Foreshadowing the End (62:05–63:25)

• Unable to hide bodies as before, Nilsen resorts to dismembering victims and attempting to dispose of remains through drains and boiling.
• Quote: [62:31] Alaina: "He flushed the organ down the toilet and other small pieces of flesh. He also boiled John Howlett's head, hands, and feet."

16. Next Episode Teaser & A Palate Cleanser (63:27–64:05)

• Alaina signals the transition to part three—hinting that Nilsen’s increasingly erratic actions are leading to his downfall.
• The episode closes with a light, wholesome fact about dogs tilting their heads to listen—a routine “palate cleanser.”

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the failure of police intervention:
  [14:43] Alaina (quoting Peter Tatchel):
  "Had they done a proper investigation and caught Nilsen, 15 victims might still be alive."

• On witnessing evil next door:
  [20:24] Ash:
  "You drive past a lot of houses in your life—some weird shit’s going down in some of them."

• On the chilling aftermath:
  [58:04] Ash:
  "Meanwhile, I actually can't sleep on my right side... and this man's just going to sleep with a dead body that he just killed in his bathroom."

• On gender and the criminal psyche:
  [61:51] Ash:
  "Actually a fun bonus episode idea would be to look at the different parts of the brain and what they're responsible for and how it relates to crime and decision making in general."

• On the central horror:
  [29:01] Alaina (quoting Nilsen):
  "I talked to him and mentioned that his body was the youngest looking I'd ever seen."
  [29:03] Ash (reacting):
  "So he's a pedophile. Wow. Necrophiliac, murderer, pedophile. You can't get everything."

---

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 09:07 — Recap and introduction to Part 2
• 10:10–14:46 — The Andrew Ho incident and missed police opportunity
• 15:32–18:52 — The murder of Kenneth Ockendon and Nilsen's rituals
• 19:15–20:08 — Concealing and interacting with the dead
• 25:34–29:31 — The murder of Martin Duffy and escalating depravity
• 30:08–32:46 — Escalation, targeting marginalized men
• 34:31–36:44 — Nilsen's compartmentalization and dual lives
• 45:50–48:41 — The murder of Malcolm Barlow: inconvenience as motive
• 48:41–50:23 — Burning remains to avoid detection
• 51:40–53:35 — Move to Cranley Gardens: changes in method, survivor story
• 54:42–57:42 — The murder of John Howlett: change in victimology, struggle
• 58:27–61:51 — Processing trauma, gender, and brains
• 62:05–63:25 — Dismembering and disposing of bodies
• 63:27–64:05 — Previewing Part 3 and a wholesome dog science fact

---

Tone and Format

Ash and Alaina bring their trademark mix of empathy, research, and morbid wit to unfathomably dark material, balancing the horror with honest reflections, occasional comedic relief, and pop culture asides.

---

Summary

This episode chronicles the tragic escalation of Nilsen’s killing spree and the systemic, societal, and psychological failures that allowed it to continue. The hosts make profound points about marginalized victims, police indifference, and the complexities of the criminal mind. As Nilsen spirals into chaos, the episode sets the stage for his eventual capture—promising that justice, and more crucial insights, are coming in part three.

Transcript

[Alayna]

We know you'll always find ways to look out for the people you love. And with Amica life insurance, we'll help build a plan to make sure you always can.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

Visit amica.com and get a quote today.

Adobe Acrobat Studio, your new foundation. Use PDF spaces to generate a presentation. Grab your docs, your permits, your moves, AI levels of your pitch. Gets it in a groove. Choose a template with your timeless cool. Come on now, let's flex those tools. Draft, design, deliver, make it sing. AI builds the deck so you can build that thing. Do that, do that, do that with Acrobat. Learn [e-mail] do that with Acrobat Shipping.

Billing, admin, payroll, marketing. You're managing all the things, so why waste time sending important documents the old fashioned way? Mail and ship when you want, how you want with stamps.com. print postage on demand 247 and schedule pickups from your office or home. Send save up to 90% with automated rate shopping. That's why over 1 million small businesses trust stamps.com. go to stamps.com and use code podcast to try stamps.com risk free for 60 days.

[Alayna]

Hey, weirdos.

[Ash]

I'm Ash.

[Alayna]

And I'm Alayna.

[Ash]

And this is morbid.

[Alayna]

This is morbid.

[Ash]

What's up, big Red?

[Alayna]

You know everybody. It's that time of year.

[Ash]

Yeah.

[Alayna]

We got exposed to Covid.

[Ash]

You sure did.

[Alayna]

And everybody break in the office. Yeah, it's. There's a lot of nasty things still going around right now. So wear your masks if you feel so inclined.

[Ash]

Yeah, you should.

[Alayna]

And be careful out there. Yeah. Because I feel.

[Ash]

Wash your hands.

[Alayna]

Yeah, wash your goddamn. Damn.

[Ash]

If more people just wash their fucking.

[Alayna]

Hands, we'd be in much better shape.

[Ash]

Like, I. I'm not even getting into it.

[Alayna]

It's true. Just wash your hands. You know, it's how, like, you know, the black plague started.

[Ash]

Exactly. It washes its hands or it spreads disease again.

[Alayna]

Exactly. I have that sign in my. In one of my bathrooms.

[Ash]

That's where I got it from.

[Alayna]

Yeah. But. Yeah, so there's still a lot going on in the world. They still have not located Savannah Guthrie's mother, Nancy. I see. And there's a lot of, like, stuff happening in the case, but also none at all. Like, it's very, very wild. It's just a very interesting situation and it's really sad. So I just can't stop looking for updates.

[Ash]

I feel so bad for that family and I hope that there's a good update soon.

[Alayna]

Yeah, that's the thing. I keep looking, being like, ugh, please tell me they. That something happened here also.

[Ash]

Just, like, give them answers because it must be hell. Again, not giving any answer.

[Alayna]

Yeah, I can't imagine that I'm trying to think of anything else that I can offer as a fun. Oh, there's more signed editions of the Butcher Legacy that were just added. We initially had like a. A big chunk at Barnes and Noble of signed editions of the Butcher Legacy. Nice. You guys gobbled them up. And then people said, hey, I didn't get one.

[Ash]

And Elena said all sad about it.

[Alayna]

And I said, girl, I got you. She said, honey, I said, give me more to sign. So I got more to sign.

[Ash]

She said, what's a wrist?

[Alayna]

Yeah, what's a wrist?

[Ash]

She said, arthritis. Never heard of her. Yeah, carpal tunnel. What's that?

[Alayna]

Who knows? And, but I did see, like, a couple of people were asking, like, are these really, like, hand signed or are they printed? No, they're hand signed, I guess, which would be like a big bummer. They're. They're hand signed. I promise you that.

[Ash]

I feel like. Does that happen a lot?

[Alayna]

I don't know. That's a. When I got the question, I was like, do people do that?

[Ash]

I wouldn't think so. You just get like a printed version, kind of less cool.

[Alayna]

Be kind of a bummer, I feel. But no, these are hand signed. I have a box literally right next to me right now.

[Ash]

I can attest I watch her sign many, many, many, many, many tippins. Tippins, Tippins a day.

[Alayna]

And I've just been. I'm signing whenever I can. So go gobble those up. You can pre order them now. The book comes out August 11th.

[Ash]

Gobble them up.

[Alayna]

But pre order now so you can get your signed copy because I love you and I want you to have your signed copy.

[Ash]

Hell yeah. Okay, brother.

[Alayna]

And you know what? If you don't want the signed copy or if they run out, go get a regular copy. Just get you any copy that you can pre order. You can go to butcherlegacy.com and you can pick where you can get it. Indie stores are great. Yeah. All that great stuff.

[Ash]

Everything is great. Just make sure you get a copy.

[Alayna]

Yeah, just get a copy, pre order.

[Ash]

That, or else you'll feel left out because everybody listening to this mostly probably has a copy. Yeah. So if. If you're listening and you don't have a copy yet, you don't want to let it. That's a little bit of a. Of a letdown for you.

[Alayna]

It is.

[Ash]

You might not know what Happens.

[Alayna]

And we don't want that.

[Ash]

And you know, it's not too late to buy all three.

[Alayna]

It's true. It's not too late. So you can always buy all three.

[Ash]

You can. That's one. You have free will. Yeah, you can buy all three.

[Alayna]

It's a great use of free will. I would say. Adult money. You got it. Use it.

[Ash]

Adult money.

[Alayna]

This is what you use. I can't take it with you.

[Ash]

So I always think that whenever I buy something crazy, I go, can't take it with me.

[Alayna]

Can't take it with me.

[Ash]

Can't take it with me.

[Alayna]

But I can take this book with me. Yeah, you can.

[Ash]

Hell yeah.

[Alayna]

Put it in your back pocket.

[Ash]

In fact, I went to Martin's and Noble the other day and I got reckless up in there.

[Alayna]

Hell yeah.

[Ash]

I bought every book that Emily Henry has to offer.

[Alayna]

You went into a flow state.

[Ash]

I went. I went into a flow state.

[Alayna]

Ah, you went into a full stage.

[Ash]

I got this book, Bunny, that.

[Alayna]

Oh, I've heard a lot about that.

[Ash]

I have seen everybody raving about that book and I've been wanting to get it and I like always look at it and I'm like, I don't know. I don't know. I bought it.

[Alayna]

Yes, you should.

[Ash]

But first I'm rereading the Butcher and the Wren. And I'm gonna reread the Butcher game.

[Alayna]

Yeah.

[Ash]

And then I'm gonna read for the first time Butcher Legacy. And that's my. That's my reading list right now. And then I'm gonna definitely need to go back to a place of romance.

[Alayna]

Yes, absolutely.

[Ash]

It's like a palate cleanser. But my goal. I got this. I got them for both of us, actually.

[Alayna]

Oh yeah, hold on.

[Ash]

I got these little book counter things and. Oh yes, they. They come with four little cubes. And I'm like, who's reading a thousand books?

[Alayna]

Thank you. I. I was like, who gets to four digits?

[Ash]

I was like, I need. If you're getting to four digits, tell me your secrets.

[Alayna]

Tell me how you do it.

[Ash]

But hold on, let me get to my delivered tab over here. But yeah, there's. And you can get these little like charms quote unquote with them. So I got Elena a ghost and a candlestick.

[Alayna]

Yeah, it's so cute.

[Ash]

And I got a little teacup and a candle. It was really cute.

[Alayna]

So let me. They're adorable.

[Ash]

Let me find where I got them on the Tik Tok shop. I'll send Mikey the link to the.

[Alayna]

Notes, cuz it is A fun little way to count.

[Ash]

I buy so much on the Tik Tok shop. It's really sick.

[Alayna]

The Tik Tok shop has me in a chokehold.

[Ash]

Same.

[Alayna]

A true chokehold Same if. Oh, my God.

[Ash]

Okay, so they're elegant designs, but they E and elegant. The first E is a three and they're a Silver Star seller.

[Alayna]

Oh, my God.

[Ash]

So, yeah, I'll give this to Mikey to put in the show notes and get you a book counter because it's fun. And my goal for this year is to read two books a month.

[Alayna]

I think that's a good goal.

[Ash]

Yeah, I'm trying. And if I can do more, I'll do more.

[Alayna]

Yeah. Just at least.

[Ash]

But in January I read two.

[Alayna]

I need to get on my shit. I just haven't had a lot of time to.

[Ash]

Because, well, you also write the books, so it's hard to read the books and write the books.

[Alayna]

It is hard to read, but it's necessary.

[Ash]

And raise the kids and write the morbids and say the morbids. It's a lot.

[Alayna]

There's a lot going on. There is. And I've been going through, like, final edits and all that. So I think that now that that's I'm through, that I can finally leisurely read. But I'm still making my way through Phantasma.

[Ash]

There you go.

[Alayna]

And I still love it. I'm still having so much fun with that book. I really. Kaylie Smith.

[Ash]

Kaylee Smith.

[Alayna]

Fun fucking book.

[Ash]

I'll add that to my TBR fun book.

[Alayna]

It really like, I was like, wow, I want more books like this.

[Ash]

I wanted to spend even more time in Barnes and Noble last weekend, but there were so many people there.

[Alayna]

I went on a Saturday. Oh, fuck that. That's your problem.

[Ash]

I didn't think about at all. And then I got there and I'm sorry. There was a lot of kids there and I was like, shut the up.

[Alayna]

No, you got to go. If you can get there during the week and I can a. I can. Or at night.

[Ash]

Yeah. Oh, my God.

[Alayna]

Nighttime. Barnes and Noble is lovely.

[Ash]

I went a few weeks ago just after Christmas on like a weeknight.

[Alayna]

It was beautiful. Yeah, it was beautiful. That's really where it's at. Yeah. And there's really no way that I can segue from that beautiful discussion of one of my favorite things in the world, which is books. Yeah. To Dennis Nelson Nielsen.

[Ash]

I couldn't really think of a good one either, but we did it. Here we are.

[Alayna]

Here we are. We're back we're back to Dennis Nielsen.

[Ash]

She says, this is going to be the worst part.

[Alayna]

This is going to be rough the second, because we're going to do this in three parts. In the third part, you're going to be like, yay.

[Ash]

A message from a UK listener. And they were like, you said, this is going to be a three part series. And I was like, no, this is going to be a three parter.

[Alayna]

Three pie.

[Ash]

And they were like, in my worst Boston accent.

[Alayna]

I love that. No, sorry, I didn't mean to be so proper about it. I know it's going to be a three pattern. Hey. And in part two, we're going deep into the depths of the most hellish you can possibly think of.

[Ash]

So let me get my hazmat suit on. Yeah.

[Alayna]

Everybody get ready. But don't worry, because I'm gonna follow it with part three, which is gonna give us some more hella shit. But it's also then going to end with some. Some justice. We love justice, so we need that. So we left you. With Dennis beginning his killing spree, he had finally done it. He had shown that he has necrophilic tendencies as well. He likes to keep his victims around after they're deceased for a while under the floorboards. And I think he's called the kindly killer because he kind of like befriends his victims first. Okay. And he does come off a little unassuming.

[Ash]

Yeah.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

Let me.

[Alayna]

I haven't kindly Googled this, you know, yet. So on October 11, just a few weeks after the bonfire that he. That he did himself to. To get rid of Stephen Holmes body.

[Ash]

Yeah.

[Alayna]

After that bonfire. It was only a few weeks after that that Dennis went out to St Martin's Pub, where he met and started chatting with a young Chinese college student named Andrew Ho.

[Ash]

Okay.

[Alayna]

After a few drinks, Dennis convinced Andrew to come back to his AP apartment with him. He promised him a large amount of money for his company.

[Ash]

He's a scary looking guy.

[Alayna]

He is. But he, like. He came off unassuming. No, he looks super little, like, nerdy and just kind of, like, quiet.

[Ash]

Once you know what you know about somebody, you can't unknow it.

[Alayna]

It's true. So he promised Andrew a lot of money for his company. And at the apartment, Dennis poured two more drinks, and the conversation turned to the subject of bondage. Andrew informed Dennis that he wouldn't mind being tied up or doing the tying.

[Ash]

Okay.

[Alayna]

Now, Dennis agreed, but insisted that he wasn't interested in any sexual intimacy. Okay. He was just interested. Just the Tie part. This struck Andrew as, like, a little strange because he was like, okay, this guy invited me back to his apartment. He offered me money for my company, which, in my experience, leads to one thing.

[Ash]

Yeah.

[Alayna]

But instead, Dennis tied a cord around Andrew's feet and told him that he was afraid he might have come there to rob him. Okay. Once Andrew's ankles were secured, Dennis grabbed a necktie and wrapped it around Andrew's throat, and he pulled it tightly, and he just started admonishing him for going home with a stranger while he did this.

[Ash]

Oh, that's fucking gross.

[Alayna]

Now, had Dennis not loosened his grip at the first sign of panic from his. From Andrew, and it seems entirely likely that Andrew would have suffered the same fate as Stephen Holmes. But he did. He loosened his grip. He saw Andrew panic. He loosened it a little bit. I don't know what the intention was there, but in that instance, Andrew used the opportunity to, like, turn out of his grasp or get himself out. He grabbed a candlestick from the table and hurled it at Dennis. The chaos of all of this also gave him the opportunity to remove the rope from around his ankles, and he ran from the apartment.

[Ash]

That's so scary, all that to happen, like, to get away.

[Alayna]

Now, about an hour later, the police come knocking on Dennis's door because Andrew had reported the whole thing.

[Ash]

Yeah.

[Alayna]

And that was, like, a big deal for him to. To, like, go and report this. Yeah. Because he was technically involved in a transfer of money.

[Ash]

Right.

[Alayna]

For companies which could get him in trouble.

[Ash]

Yeah.

[Alayna]

But he felt it was that important and that serious.

[Ash]

Okay.

[Alayna]

Now, despite.

[Ash]

Because somebody that does this to you is going to do this to other people or likely has already, and he.

[Alayna]

Clearly felt like he was going to go further.

[Ash]

Yeah.

[Alayna]

Now, despite the complaint filed against him for assault, the police at Dennis's door seemed completely uninterested in what either of them had to say.

[Ash]

I'm like, huh?

[Alayna]

Same.

[Ash]

Same police department that he worked for.

[Alayna]

Yep. Dennis told them that they had been drinking, and while it was true he had placed a necktie around Andrew's neck, he insisted he'd only done so because he wanted to show him how dangerous it was to go home with a stranger.

[Ash]

You can't do that, though. That's actually not allowed.

[Alayna]

Like, truly. So after proving his point, Dennis claimed that he threw Andrew out of his apartment. And that was the last time he saw him. He was like, I was just proving a point. And once I had, I told him to get the fuck out of here. Okay. And it's like, that's not what he said. I bet. Now, given his personal circumstances and all that, he stood to lose. Andrew decided not to file a.

[Ash]

Like, formal.

[Alayna]

Like a formal complaint against Dennis. Without a complaint, there was nothing the police could do besides just question him. But looking back at this, a lot of activists see the disinterests of law enforcement in the social stigmas around the gay community to have allowed him to continue killing people.

[Ash]

Very much so, yeah.

[Alayna]

That was very clearly a big part of this.

[Ash]

You mentioned it in part one. It sounds a lot like the Jeffrey Dahmer case.

[Alayna]

It really does.

[Ash]

And the same exact things played out there.

[Alayna]

Yeah. Like this Andrew ran out of that apartment and he got the police, and the police weren't real. I mean, they. I guess they questioned him, but that's really all they were interested in doing. They didn't want to go any further.

[Ash]

And it's like, maybe keep tabs on this guy.

[Alayna]

Yeah.

[Ash]

Who's coming and going from the apartment. You know, like, who's going in the apartment and not coming out.

[Alayna]

Exactly. Just see what's going on. Right. But activist and writer Peter Tatchel wrote, had they done a proper investigation and caught Nielsen, 15 victims might still be alive. Wow. 15. Yeah. The close call with the police probably should have served as, like, somewhat of.

[Ash]

A deterrent to him, but he also saw that he got away with it.

[Alayna]

He did. That's the thing. Because. And it should have, at least for a while, served as one. But it didn't do anything to stop him from finding another man to lure back to his apartment. Just emboldened, because, like you said, he saw that he got away with it. In early December 1979, almost a full year after the first murder, and just a few months after the incident with Andrew Ho, Canadian tourist Kenneth Auchindond stopped into the West End Pub for lunch. Sitting at the bar, Kenneth started talking to the man next to him, Dennis Nilsen, who also happened to be eating alone that day. The conversation must have been pretty good, because they spent the next several hours together, and then Kenneth agreed to join Dennis for dinner at his apartment. After dinner, they went out to get a few bottles of liquor and then went back to the apartment to have a few drinks and just listen to some music.

[Ash]

Yeah.

[Alayna]

Now, in Kenneth's presence, Dennis felt more relaxed and comfortable than he had in a long time. He said, I guess Kenneth reminded him of his close friend from his days in the service. Oh, this guy's name was Derek Collins, his friend. Okay. And he just kind of, like, went back to that time, I think he really. That was the only time he felt kind of like normal, at ease. Yeah, a little bit. Yeah. But that said, the pleasantness of this whole night was offset somewhat by the frustrating and very disappointing knowledge that the next morning, Kenneth would be headed to the airport to return to Canada.

[Ash]

It's like the knowledge that people have.

[Alayna]

Free will and how. And get to leave when they want to. Yeah. And that's the thing. It's like if you had actually had a great evening with him, you could try connect with him and keep talking.

[Ash]

But it's also like, I think he had that experience once before with the. Was he engaged to the man?

[Alayna]

That they weren't engaged, but they were.

[Ash]

Long together and then it didn't work out.

[Alayna]

Yeah. Now, with a mind that is healthy, you could understand that, like, that happened, but it's not always going to happen.

[Ash]

But he's not of sound mind.

[Alayna]

Now, in his recollection of Kenneth's murder, Dennis Nilsson said, it must have been well after midnight. All of a sudden, I was dragging him across the floor with a cord around his neck. All of a sudden I was saying, let me listen to the music as well. He didn't struggle. He was dead.

[Ash]

What?

[Alayna]

So he just is like, all of a sudden, boom, cord around his neck, dragging him down, like, saying, let me listen to the music as well.

[Ash]

That was the part that I was saying, what to do? Like.

[Alayna]

Yep. So he strangled Kennis. And when he was convinced that he was dead, Dennis removed his clothes and washed his body as he'd done with his previous victims. Then he returned him to his bed where he assaulted the body until he fell asleep. Wow. Yeah. Now, a few hours later, Dennis cleaned up the mess in his apartment. Then he moved Kenneth's body to a large cupboard in the kitchen, then threw away any evidence that Kenneth had been in his apartment. And in the days after that, Dennis periodically removed Kenneth from the cupboard and dressed him.

[Ash]

Oh.

[Alayna]

Decomposition had set in a lot faster than in the case of the Holmes murder. So Nielsen was basically required to. In his mind to wash the body and apply makeup to hide the natural, like, decomp.

[Ash]

Wouldn't washing it. Wouldn't washing the body just make it worse? It would not like submerging it in water.

[Alayna]

But he's trying to. He's trying. Okay. He would then pose the body in various positions around the apartment and take photographs. Oh, yeah.

[Ash]

Okay.

[Alayna]

In the case of Stephen Holmes murder, the body under the floorboards caused Dennis a lot of anxiety and was a source of dread, but also occasional Excitement and arousal. This time, though, Dennis's. You know, the body of Dennis most recent victim. Excuse me, he became more of a play. And I'm referring to it as the body because that's what he was using it as. He wasn't looking at it as Kenneth anymore. This is his. His body. You know what I mean? Like, yeah, I just don't want anybody thinking I'm, like, not treat Kenneth as Kenneth. This was no longer who Kenneth was.

[Ash]

Right.

[Alayna]

But like I said, with Stephen Holmes, like, being under the floorboard, that, to Dennis was, like, very nerve wracking. Very. It made him anxious a lot. But then he would take Steven's body out, and that would get him all happy again. But this time with Kenneth, he was more of a playmate or a houseguest to Dennis than anything else.

[Ash]

I wonder if that's because he had shared more of a connection. One, it seemed when they initially met, more time together. And then, two, he had already gotten away with this. So he might have been more emboldened that nobody was gonna come knock on the door and interrupt.

[Alayna]

So I can experiment a little more here. Yeah. Like, at night, while he laid in bed watching television, he would often remove Kenneth as Kenneth's body and lay it across himself. He found, like, comfort in the weight of him laying there. He was also beginning to show signs of deepening psychosis at this point, I'd say, so he said later. Dennis said later. I would sometimes speak to him as though he were still listening. I would compliment him on his looks and anatomy. What? And each time, when he was done, he would just wrap Kenneth's body tightly in plastic sheeting and put him back under the floorboards of the kitchen or in the cupboard. Okay. Yeah.

[Ash]

Isn't it wild that, like, while we're living our. Like, next to this. I'm gonna call our lives, like, normal?

[Alayna]

Yeah.

[Ash]

You're just, like, going about your normal activities. And there could be somebody in the world doing this.

[Alayna]

Yep.

[Ash]

That ever hit.

[Alayna]

Yeah.

[Ash]

Yeah, that could be happening.

[Alayna]

Yeah. Just like, yeah, we're gonna go, like.

[Ash]

Get your kids ready for dance, and somebody else is gonna take a body out of their cupboard, dress it up, and watch TV with it.

[Alayna]

That you have no idea what anybody. Any house that you pass by, do you? And you can't eat in any. Everybody's house.

[Ash]

Oh, no. This show has ruined me because I drive past people's houses all the time and just think, what the could be going on?

[Alayna]

What are they doing in there?

[Ash]

What the could be going on in there? Because odds Are you drive past a lot of houses in your life? Some weird ships going down in some of them?

[Alayna]

Absolutely.

[Ash]

You know.

[Alayna]

Yeah, of course.

[Ash]

This Heart Health Month show your heart you care with Goodrx. GoodRx now offers 30 popular heart health meds for less than $30. Plus get expert advice on managing high cholesterol, blood pressure and diabetes. Check Goodrx before every trip to the pharmacy to save up to 80% on both brand and generic medications. Gutter X is free and it's super easy to use. Just search for your prescription on the website or the app, compare the prices and get a free coupon to show your pharmacist. Check out our ex to save at over 50,000 pharmacies nationwide, including Walmart, Walgreens, CVS, Publix, Kroger and so many more. Or get prescriptions delivered right to your door. That's super convenient. GoodRx is not insurance, but even if you do have insurance or Medicare, Goodrx may beat your co pay price. I have insurance but this happens to me all the time. Whenever I go to the pharmacy I always check Good or X just to see if I can get any kind of coupon and 9 out of 10 times I'm like oop that beat my insurance copay price. Hell yeah. Stay smart about your heart. Check Gutter X to save time and money on prescriptions. Go to goodrx.commorbid that is goodrx.commorbid do you have so many subscriptions you can't even keep track of them anymore? Well guess what? Now Blue Apron is one less. Blue Apron is now making it easier than ever to get incredible meals on your table. No subscription needed. I'm obsessed with that. You get the quality you love and you order what you want when you want it. Trying to eat better usually feels like a daily struggle. Meal planning and prepping can be super time consuming. I literally spent like four hours the other day just meal prepping and healthy meals sometimes don't leave you feeling satisfied. But every Blue Apron meal is crafted by chefs Chef's Kiss and informed by nutrition, striking the perfect balance between delicious flavors and purposeful nourishment. One pan meals with minimal prep and cleanup. Just assemble, bake and enjoy. I actually ordered the hoisin, pork and udon noodle stir fry. My mouth is salivating just thinking about it. I got the four person serving so that Drew and I could have some for dinner and then have leftovers the next day. I First of all, the leftovers kept perfectly like it wasn't yucky to reheat or anything like that. And it was 15 minutes probably to get together. It was the easiest meal with the biggest payoff order [e-mail] get 50 off your first two orders plus free shipping with code morbid50 terms and conditions apply. Visit blueapron.com terms for more information.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

Adobe Acrobat Studio, your new foundation Use PDF spaces to generate a presentation Grab your document your permits, your moves AI levels of your pitch gets it in a groove Choose a template with your timeless cool Come on now let's flex those two draft design deliver, make it sing AI builds the deck so you can build that thing do that, do that, do that with Acrobat learn [e-mail] do that with Acrobat.

[Alayna]

When weeks passed, though, without word from Kenneth, his friends and family started growing concerned. Of course, his mother Audrey reported him missing to the Metropolitan Police Force in London and even flew to England to aid in the search. Wow. But that's a mama, right? But just as with the case of Stephen Holmes, there was little evidence to indicate where Kenneth had gone. Right. Audrey Ockendon, his mother, said he seems to have vanished into thin air. According to the press, the police at Scotland Yard were, quote, reluctant to get involved because Ken Jr. Had been missing for less than a month. So much of the search fell to the family who were unprepared and completely unfamiliar with the city and the country, which is awful that it like fell on them to find try to find him. Kenneth's father said, I'll stay until something turns up. We hope every day that there'll be some sort of information.

[Ash]

Oh, that's awful.

[Alayna]

That's heartbreaking. Like his family was just like, I'm not leaving until I find him.

[Ash]

How could you?

[Alayna]

Yeah. Months passed and the search continued, but nothing much came of it. And despite having kept a very detailed diary of his movements around the city, Kenneth's entries stop on the afternoon of December 2, right before he met Dennis Nilsson.

[Ash]

That is haunting.

[Alayna]

And there was no indication of what happened or where he went that day. Dennis kept himself company with Kenneth's body for several weeks, but eventually the cold space beneath the floorboards couldn't stop the natural process of decay. So he stopped taking Kenneth's body out of its hiding spot.

[Ash]

Okay.

[Alayna]

In the months after this, Dennis carried on with life as usual until May 17, 1980, when he met 16 year old Martin Duffy, who was a runaway. A few days earlier, Duffy had left his parents house, telling them he was just going to the library. But instead he hitchhiked to London. The last time anyone had seen him was the day he arrived in the city and was detained by police for failing to pay a train fee.

[Ash]

Okay.

[Alayna]

He had no friends or family in the city, so he spent four days sleeping in train stations, surviving on whatever food he could skirt like scrounge from the trash. In many ways, he was kind of an ideal victim at this point for someone like Dennis Nilsen. He came from a troubled home. He had struggled with his parents since reaching his teen years.

[Ash]

Yeah, he's not from this area.

[Alayna]

Yeah, he's not familiar with this area. He had been picked up by the police for shoplifting on several occasions. And a lot of times he would stay out all night at the bars around the Liverpool area. So this wasn't like immediately setting off alarm bells. At one point, Martin's parents had become so frustrated with him that they had him committed to a residential facility for troubled adolescents and he received psychiatric treatment there. After his just discharge from the facility, Martin genuinely seemed to want to turn his life around, even managing to stay off drugs and maintaining a job. That's great. By all accounts, things were going well for him until April 1980 when he was picked up by police for fare evasion. He was let go with a warning, but for whatever reason, that incident caused him to backslide into his old habits.

[Ash]

Yeah.

[Alayna]

And on May 13, he packed a small suitcase and left his parents house for the last time. When he ran into Dennis Nilsen on the night of May 17, he was bordering on desperate. He had no money, he had no food, nowhere to sleep.

[Ash]

Oh, that makes us a million times more sad.

[Alayna]

He was, I mean, quite simply and unfortunately he was the perfect target. Yeah. At this point.

[Ash]

Yeah.

[Alayna]

By the time they got back to Dennis's apartment, Martin was already exhausted and wasn't likely to remain awake for very much longer. And so they sat on the couch and chatted. But after just two beers, Martin said he was tired and wanted to go to sleep. So Dennis offered him the bed. A short time after that, Dennis crept into the bedroom and attacked Martin Nilsson later said. I remember sitting astride him. I strangled him with great force in the almost pitch darkness with just one side light on underneath. He said when he felt him go limp, he carried him from the bed to the kitchen where he filled the sink with water and held Martin Duffy's head under it until the bubbles stopped coming to the surface. My God, he said, I must have held him there for about three or four minutes.

[Ash]

Like that's a long time.

[Alayna]

And out of Nowhere. You just get up and, like, strangle this boy.

[Ash]

This poor kid.

[Alayna]

Once he was convinced that Martin was dead, he laid him out on the floor and undressed him, then carried him to the bathroom and placed his body in the bathtub. After the last two murders, Dennis washed the bodies in the bathtub. This time, though, he also removed his own clothes and got into the tub and bathed along with his victim.

[Ash]

What?

[Alayna]

Yeah. When he was finished, he returned Martin's body to the living room and placed it in a chair where he could just admire it.

[Ash]

What the.

[Alayna]

He said, I talked to him and mentioned that his body was the youngest looking I'd ever seen.

[Ash]

That's absolutely.

[Alayna]

That's a direct.

[Ash]

So he's a pedophile.

[Alayna]

Yeah. Wow.

[Ash]

Necrophiliac, murderer, pedophile.

[Alayna]

You can't get everything. Initially, Dennis kept Martin Duffy's body in the kitchen cupboard. But after two days, decomposition had significantly disfigured his remains. So he placed his body under the floorboards and left it there. In the days that followed, he threw away Martin's clothing, his suitcase, and other belongings, erasing any sign that he had been in his apartment at all. It's like he just disappeared.

[Ash]

Did he eventually burn Kenneth's body or was. Were Kenneth's remains still?

[Alayna]

He was still under the floorboards.

[Ash]

I'm wondering, like, that apartment's starting to smell.

[Alayna]

I'm sure it is. Now, when Dennis met Stephen Holmes at the pub in December 1978, it's reasonable to assume he hadn't intended at that moment to murder him. I think he just, like, didn't know what he was gonna do kind of thing. But by committing that first murder, he had indulged his darkest fantasy. I think at that point, it was a fantasy to him, a dark fantasy.

[Ash]

But he made it.

[Alayna]

But he didn't real, he didn't plan. I think that one far ahead of time, you know.

[Ash]

But now he's premeditating.

[Alayna]

But now he's indulged his darkest fantasy, and there's been no negative consequence at all.

[Ash]

And if anything, yeah, there's been subtle cues to keep going.

[Alayna]

Exactly.

[Ash]

You know.

[Alayna]

Now, following that murder, he claimed he'd made a promise to himself, the first murder, Stephen, that he said he was never gonna let that happen again. Right.

[Ash]

And then he did three more times.

[Alayna]

But just a few months later, he very likely tried to murder Andrew Ho. This. And this is all to say that he might not have intended or even desired at the time to become a killer, but once he had done the first murder and gotten away with it, that desire. And he urges. And his fantasies, it just overruled any moral qualms that he may have had with these acts. And it just took him over. Because he's not.

[Ash]

I'm not saying he's insane, but he's not living in reality.

[Alayna]

No, Something is very off here. Something's broken. He's. You know what it is? He's just deeply entrenched in dark fantasy. Because that's all he's done his entire life, is isolate and live in a fantasy world. Now, over the next. The course of the next six months, he would go on to murder five more men. Only one has ever been identified. Of those five men. Yeah. That's horrible. In August of that year, he met Billy Sutherland, a drifter from Scotland who supported himself primarily through sex work. Although he wasn't like Nilsen's other victims in a physical sense. Like, he was older, he was covered in tattoos. Just different physically.

[Ash]

Sure.

[Alayna]

His background and marginalized status made him an ideal target for Dennis Nilsen. Sutherland had a history of petty crime, stealing to get by whenever he couldn't find work. And he rarely stayed in one place for long. That's kind of what he was. Sutherland met Dennis at a pub near Piccadilly Circus. And the two men spent the night going from one bar to another until close closing time. Now, at the end of the night, Sutherland mentioned that he had nowhere to go. So Dennis was like, hey, come back to my apartment. Later, Dennis claimed to have no recollection of killing Billy Sutherland.

[Ash]

Interesting, because that happened with the last victim, too. It's just like all of a sudden, they're dead.

[Alayna]

He only remembers that he, quote, strangled him from the front and that there was a dead body in the morning, quote. Okay. Given how forthcoming Dennis was about his other crimes, it's likely he might actually be telling the truth here. Okay, because I don't understand why just one he doesn't remember.

[Ash]

Yeah. Why he's still forthcoming with some.

[Alayna]

I don't know. A few weeks later, Billy Sutherland's mother reported him missing to the police and the Salvation Army. But he was just one of hundreds of men who'd gone missing from London over the years, 41 of whom were named Billy Sutherland. Wow.

[Ash]

That's actually wild.

[Alayna]

Isn't that crazy? Yeah. Also, given his lifestyle and criminal history, particularly sex work, the case wasn't given high priority, especially in that time period.

[Ash]

So shitty.

[Alayna]

But that whole. Consider them less dead.

[Ash]

Yeah, that still happens.

[Alayna]

Yeah, absolutely. And even if it had been, no one would have thought to look for him, under the floorboards of Dennis Nielsen's apartment, it just was. There was no. There's nothing connecting him to him. No. Now, in the months after the Billy Sutherland's murder, Dennis's drinking continued to spiral out of control, which I'm sure only.

[Ash]

Is making fantasies and lack of touch with reality worse.

[Alayna]

Exactly. Now, during the day, he was able to maintain his employment and keep up appearances, but at night, the alcohol blotted out all the darker parts of his personality.

[Ash]

That's the other crazy thing.

[Alayna]

He's.

[Ash]

You have to think he's doing all of this. He's getting this drunk, and then he's.

[Alayna]

Just going to work and going to work, going to work and talking to people while having bodies in his floorboards.

[Ash]

Because he's like a. He helps. He's like a job search consultant. Right. Like, that's like, what?

[Alayna]

Now, between September and December, he would murder four more men, all in more or less the same way as everybody else had been killed. They would meet at one pub or another, and after a few drinks, Dennis would invite the man back to his apartment where they would listen to music or watch a movie while they continued drinking. Once his guest had been subdued or incapacitated from alcohol, Dennis would climb on top of him, him, straddle him, strangle him with a cord or a necktie. And then when the man was dead, he would wash the body, spend as much time as possible before decomposition set in. And after that happened, he would store the body under the floorboards and set out to find a new victim.

[Ash]

He's just keeping everybody in the floorboards at this point.

[Alayna]

It's wild. And these victims, when I say he killed four men, he killed five men, they remain unidentified to this day, unfortunately, or I would have have given names. Throughout this period, he started compartmentalizing in a way that allowed him to continue killing without hesitation. Yeah. And without interrupting his appearance of normality, which is like, he could literally. He's a very interesting case of compartmentalization because he can really put it over here and just be a totally normal person at work. Yeah. Like, really scary. He would later say, I never thought of them again at work until I came home that evening. That's how much he can compartment. I think he. Some people, especially evil people or people that are deeply, deeply up, they can literally separate parts of their brain, I think, and they can just put it over here, and it's not there.

[Ash]

I once had a therapist, told me I was really good at compartmentalizing.

[Alayna]

I mean, trauma can make you really good at compartmentalizing. But I think even.

[Ash]

Even to like. Like, I know that I'm good at compartmentalizing, but to that degree, like.

[Alayna]

Like, I can't.

[Ash]

If I. I can't imagine compartmentalizing that.

[Alayna]

I'm extraordinary at compartmental.

[Ash]

Yeah.

[Alayna]

And, like, not to toot my own. I don't think it's necessarily always a good thing. No, no.

[Ash]

Honestly, in fact, a lot of times.

[Alayna]

A lot of times it's very bad. I'm really good at it.

[Ash]

Yeah.

[Alayna]

And I think it's just some brains can do it, some camp. But I think to this extent, there needs to be some deeply, deeply up parts of you that are. Allow you. Because I can compartmentalize things that I think, you know, like.

[Ash]

Well, a lot of times compartmentalizing is in. Is tied in with survival.

[Alayna]

Yeah. That's the thing. It's like, I can compartmentalize to be like, you know what? That's not helping me be productive here, so I'm gonna put it over.

[Ash]

Same here. Yeah.

[Alayna]

He's compartmentalizing so he can continue on dark fantasy.

[Ash]

Like, but still. Yeah. Be part of, like, day to day society.

[Alayna]

Exactly. Which is crazy to go to work and not think about the bodies under your floorboards.

[Ash]

I can't conceive, like, that's.

[Alayna]

I can't conceive of that, but I can't conceive of anything he's doing.

[Ash]

No, exactly.

[Alayna]

He's such. They're such different species of human. You know what I mean? Like, there's such a different subsect of human.

[Ash]

It's so funny. I meant to mention this earlier when we were getting our nails done the other day and we were watching that video about the climber, the guy who just recently climbed.

[Alayna]

Alex. Yeah, he just climbed that.

[Ash]

Let me look it up really quick. Hold on. But I was just thinking, when they did that MRI on his brain and they saw that his amygdala, like, doesn't respond to fear like a typical amygdala actually does. I really do think it would be so fascinating to do more MRIs on serial killers. Because if. If like this person who's literally just like, very interested in adventure and climbing, their amygdala works that certain way, there's got to be some part of a serial killer's brain or like a person like this, their brain, that does not fire like a typical brain fire.

[Alayna]

Yeah. You know, I also thought that was really interesting to watch. I did not think I was gonna be interested. I was actually.

[Ash]

I'm not gonna lie. His name is Alex Honnold. I was literally talking about it before we started watching it. I was like, I.

[Alayna]

Why would I watch that? Yeah.

[Ash]

Couldn't stop.

[Alayna]

Yeah. Alex, what is it?

[Ash]

Honnold.

[Alayna]

Honnold. He climbed like a skyscraper in Tempeh. Tempeh. Yeah. I was like, it begins with a T. He like free climbed it.

[Ash]

Yeah.

[Alayna]

With like no rope or anything. It's honestly, it was live on Netflix. And John and I.

[Ash]

Remarkable thing.

[Alayna]

We turned. I know we're going off on a tangent right now, but this is what you come for. But I can't help it. This is how my brain works. But John and I were turning on something. Oh, we were turning on Frankenstein on Netflix. I remember. And I opened it and that was on the homepage. It was like live. When he was actually climbing it.

[Ash]

Live.

[Alayna]

And I was like, what is this? And we were like, let's just see it for a second. And we're like, we're not. This is crazy. Why would you. We put it on. We watched it till the end. I had to watch him get to the tippity top. It's fascinated by it.

[Ash]

He did it in less than two hours. And it's no ropes. It's called Taipei 101. It's a Taiwanese skyscraper and it's the 11th tallest building in the world.

[Alayna]

But highly recommend watching it. It was very interesting.

[Ash]

It was really good. And then I actually do want to finish it. We didn't get to the documentary. The documentary. I'm trying to find what it's called.

[Alayna]

Did.

[Ash]

I think it won an Oscar recently.

[Alayna]

Isn't it called like Free Solo or something? It's about Alex climb Free Solo climbing El Capitan, which is like the. One of the craziest rocks.

[Ash]

Free Solo. Good call.

[Alayna]

Free Solo.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

Yeah.

[Alayna]

But that.

[Ash]

That part where they do scan his brain. I wanted to bring it up on the pod because I do just think that's really fascinating.

[Alayna]

It is.

[Ash]

And I think we could really get somewhere.

[Alayna]

Yes. Yes.

[Ash]

And you know, maybe we could possibly treat serial killers someday if we figure out what in their brain is going wrong.

[Alayna]

Stop them before it could get to a certain point. Maybe you can start. Because the whole point that we just want us to get to sometime is to get to the point where we are stopping them before it even gets to a point where it even starts becoming an issue. Like recognize it when they're a kid and be able to treat that ahead of time so it never becomes even slightly in fruition.

[Ash]

Yeah. Like, because there's got to be something different.

[Alayna]

Yeah. Because Dennis said once he was in his apartment, it was like he was in an entirely different world. Interesting. He would leave that day job and it was totally different world.

[Ash]

It's wild.

[Alayna]

He said, I remember being thrilled that I had full control and ownership of this beautiful body. I was fascinated by the mystery of death, which, like, cool. You're fascinated by death. That's okay.

[Ash]

Go to the body farm.

[Alayna]

Go do something.

[Ash]

And the death, like, go do something.

[Alayna]

That can help people. Or like, what. What are you doing, sir?

[Ash]

You're killing people.

[Alayna]

Like, he wants complete dominion over somebody else's entire existence. Yeah. It's very Jeffrey Dahmer esque. The. I would be very interested. And maybe we should do it at some point to compare and contrast the two of them.

[Ash]

Yeah.

[Alayna]

Because they seem to have the same desperate need to keep. So. Because Jeffrey Dahmer said the same thing. He said, I just wanted them to stay. He would do anything for them to stay. And it's. That's not saying that, like, oh, these, these. They just wanted them to stay. You know, like there's something so off in their brain that they're like, no, I want them to stay. And I will literally do anything to keep them staying.

[Ash]

Right.

[Alayna]

Whether they want to or not. That's the important thing.

[Ash]

Like, I don't care about a person's autonomy.

[Alayna]

I don't want them to have autonomy. Like Jeffrey Dahmer tried to create zombies.

[Ash]

Like, well, I was. That's what I was actually just gonna bring up. And I don't. I mean, morally. In part two, does Dennis Nelson ever do that?

[Alayna]

He doesn't go full Jeffrey Dahmer.

[Ash]

So I guess that's the contrast there. But I wonder even what that is about, where it's like, Jeffrey Dahmer almost wanted to make these people alive again in a certain way, whereas Dennis Nielsen is just happy with.

[Alayna]

Well, he likes to turn them into dolls.

[Ash]

Dolls. Yeah.

[Alayna]

Which is a similar. It is similar pathology in a way, because regardless of what, it's a different mechanism or pathway that they're taking to get there. But either way, they want to end with complete control. Control of the person.

[Ash]

Right.

[Alayna]

One of them is just trying to make it so that they're more able, animated. There you go. And then Dennis is just saying, well, I'll just put them where I want to put them and that's how I'll have control. Yeah.

[Ash]

Unfortunately, I think we would find more comparisons than contrasts.

[Alayna]

I think so. But in September 1981, Dennis was returning home from work when he spotted 24 year old Malcolm Barlow. Like many of Dennis's victims, Barlow looked very young for his age, and he'd led a very difficult life. Both of Malcolm's parents had died when he was young, and he was raised in a rotating selection of foster homes and residential facilities. That's awful. In addition to cognitive and developmental disorders, he also suffered from epilepsy, which he generally lacked the capacity and resources to manage without any help. Yeah. Which is so sad.

[Ash]

That's tough to manage with help.

[Alayna]

Yeah. He wasn't really able to maintain employment for very long, so he would have to turn to sex work to get by a lot of times. And sometimes he would. He would just, like. He was kind of desperate for money most of the time and desperate to, like, get by and just get food in his mouth and shelter at times. So sometimes he would go as far as, like, blackmailing the men he slept with in order to extort money out of them.

[Ash]

Okay.

[Alayna]

It's just part of, like, a whole con thing.

[Ash]

Yeah, it's pretty common.

[Alayna]

Yeah. Now, on the morning of September. I'm not saying it's okay.

[Ash]

I'm just saying not good. But that happens.

[Alayna]

It was part of, like, that craziness.

[Ash]

Yeah.

[Alayna]

It's like. No.

[Ash]

Desperation.

[Alayna]

On the morning of September 17, Dennis left his apartment for work. And he'd only made it a few houses down the street when he came upon Malcolm Barlow. He was sitting on the sidewalk with his back against a stone wall. Dennis stopped to see if he was all right, and Barlow explained that the pills he'd taken for his epilepsy and had made him dizzy and his legs had given out beneath him. Dennis helped Barlow to his feet and brought him back to his apartment, where he fixed him a cup of tea and called for an ambulance. You might be seeing why he's called the kindly killer. Okay. With these kind of things. The ambulance came a short time later, and once Barlow had been taken away, Dennis went to work and thought nothing more of this incident.

[Ash]

It's really weird that, like, empathy was shown there.

[Alayna]

That's the thing.

[Ash]

Like, that's not.

[Alayna]

He's a strange, common. He's a strange cat. Cat.

[Ash]

Don't even call him a cat. Get out of here.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

With Venmo. Stash a taco in one hand and ordering a ride in the other means you're stacking cash back. Nice. Get up to 5% cash back with Venmo stash on your favorite brands when you pay with your Venmo debit card. From takeout to Rachel Entertainment and more. Pick a bundle with your Go to's and start earning cash back at those brands. Earn more cash when you do more with stash. Venmo Stash terms and exclusions apply. Max 100 cash back per month. See terms at Venmo Me Stash terms.

Adobe Acrobat Studio, your new foundation. Use PDF spaces to generate a presentation. Grab your docs, your permits, your moves. AI levels of your business. Gets it in a groove. Choose a template with your timeless cool. Come on now, let's flex those two Draft, design, deliver, make it sing. AI builds the deck so you can build that thing. Do that, do that, do that with Acrobat. Learn [e-mail] do that with Acrobat.

Looking for a Valentine's gift she'll truly love? 1-800-Flowers.com knows what she wants. For 50 years, 1-800-Flowers has helped guys like you get it right. Delivering millions of fresh Valentine's roses nationwide. 1-800-Flowers offers premium fresh cut flowers backed by their seven day freshness guarantee, plus same day delivery when you need them on time. Valentine's is coming up and bouquets are selling fast, so don't wait on this order today at 1-800-FLowers.com. sxm. That's 1-800-FLowers. Com. Sxm.

[Alayna]

The next day, when Barlow was released from the hospital, he returned to Dennis apartment and sat down on the steps to wait for him to return from work.

[Ash]

Oh, man.

[Alayna]

When he arrived home, Dennis was surprised to see him sitting there, assuming he would still be in the hospital. But he invited him inside. That evening, Dennis made dinner for both of them. And they just sat on the couch together, watching television, drinking rum and Coke. Just hanging out. Yeah. After two drinks, Barlo passed out. Dennis slapped him in the face, thinking he was having another episode and he would need to call an ambulance again. But instead, he just sat in the chair thinking about what he should do. Okay. Until that point, Dennis's murders had been definitely psychosexually motivated, for sure. And again, very loosely planned.

[Ash]

Yeah.

[Alayna]

You know, like kind of sloppy, kind of just of the moment. Yeah. But in the case of Malcolm Barlow, the murder was not planned. And it wasn't really motivated, like, by anything sexual. It was really just like in Dennis Nilsen's mind that he presented an inconvenience for him. Oh. For the second time in two days, this stranger had, according to Dennis, interrupted his life. And here he is again, needing to possibly provide emergency care for someone he didn't know. This is according to Dennis.

[Ash]

Yeah, of course. I take back what I said about empathy.

[Alayna]

Yeah. And given the events of that day. Who's to say Barlow wouldn't be discharged from the hospital and show up at Dennis's apartment again and start the cycle over again? Again. This is according to Den. Yes. Yes. This is where his wild mind goes is not, oh, I helped this guy and I did a good thing. Right. And then this guy showed back up thinking, I'm a safe place because I did that for him and just wanted to hang out for a little while. He's like, no, now he's just going to rely on me. Yeah. So instead of calling the ambulance or police to have Barlow removed from his house because he's still not sure if he's having an episode or if he just passed out, Dennis made the deliberate decision to go to. Just get rid of him, he said later, putting my hands around his throat, I squeezed tightly. I held that position for about two or three minutes and released my hold. I didn't check, but I believed him to be now dead. So with Barlow now dead, Dennis put him in the cupboard where he'd stashed all the others, and then he returned to the couch. He finished his drink and went to bed. Wow. Just that casually.

[Ash]

It's interesting, too, because I don't. I don't know if I'm right here, but that's the first time he's manually strangled somebody.

[Alayna]

Yeah. It seems like he's using, like, a necktie or a cord.

[Ash]

Yes. It's interesting that he was, like, irritated beforehand and then manually strangled.

[Alayna]

That is an interesting little difference.

[Ash]

Yeah.

[Alayna]

So by the time he put Barlow's body in the cupboard, Nilsson's apartment had become so crowded with dead bodies that he needed to do something about it or risk his neighbors catching on to what was happening. That's how many bodies were in his apartment.

[Ash]

I'm surprised it could even get past a certain point like that. We're only now reaching that point.

[Alayna]

Well, it was in the colder months. The decomposition had been stalled.

[Ash]

Right.

[Alayna]

But with the warmer weather, the bodies under the floors started decomposing at a rapid rate. And with that process came the inevitable odors and bugs.

[Ash]

Oh, no.

[Alayna]

Yes. He had tried to hide the evidence of death by covering the bodies with deodorizer spray and insecticide. Oh, my. But those did very little to mask the obvious.

[Ash]

Not insecticide.

[Alayna]

Further complicating things was the fact that just a few weeks earlier, his landlord had informed him they were going to be renovating the entire building and were asking everyone to move out. At first, Dennis resisted, but when the landlord offered him like A good sum of money to leave the before the end of the lease release. He happily accepted.

[Ash]

Okay.

[Alayna]

One night in late September 1981, just a few days before he was moving out of the building on Melrose Avenue, Dennis Nilsen removed the bodies from their hiding spaces one by one and dismembered what was left of the remains. A relatively easy process given how much time had passed in the decomposition. Once that was complete, he carried the remains out to the bonfire in the back garden, where he disposed of Stephen Holmes's body and burned what was left of his victims in a roaring fire in order to disguise the smell of burning human remains.

[Ash]

I was going to ask that.

[Alayna]

He threw an old tire into the pit, hoping the smell of burning rubber would ward off. Any questions?

[Ash]

Oh, I feel like that would make it even worse.

[Alayna]

It absolutely did, but he could just say, it's the. It's the tire. Okay. Now, in October, Dennis left the apartment on Melrose Avenue and moved into a small attic apartment on Cranley Gardens. You might remember that from part one in London's Muswell Hill neighborhood. The layout and location of the apartment immediately presented a problem for Dennis because it had no private garden and was an attic unit, so there was no space between the floorboards. Ah. It is maybe because of those factors that Dennis would ultimately wait several months before committing another murder. Yeah. Now, it wasn't like he didn't think about killing in this time. Like, that wasn't like. He just was like, you know what? I'm gonna be that person. And he even came pretty close one night in late November. On the afternoon of November 23rd, he met 19 year old Paul Knobbs, a student of European studies at a local bookstore. They chatted for a short time before Dennis invited him back to his apartment for dinner, and he agreed. After Dennis prepared dinner, they sat on the couch and watched television while having a few drinks. The normal thing he does after one or two drinks. Knobbs called his mother to say he'd be home soon. He was only 19.

[Ash]

Oh.

[Alayna]

But in a short. But a short time later, he began feeling ill and called again to say he was instead gonna stay the night with a friend.

[Ash]

Oh, no.

[Alayna]

The next morning when Knobs woke up, he was very hungover.

[Ash]

I'm actually surprised he woke up. He made it through the night there.

[Alayna]

So he staggered to the bathroom and when he looked in the mirror, he saw he had a deep red mark around his neck and some bruising. Oh. Though he had no recollection of what had happened or what could have caused the injury.

[Ash]

So he was likely drugged.

[Alayna]

Yeah. Before leaving, Dennis gave Knobs his phone number and told him he should go see a doctor because he looked terrible.

[Ash]

What?

[Alayna]

After leaving, Paul stumbled down the street to a local pub, where he ran into one of his friends from school, and the other man helped him get to the University College hospital nearby. Upon being examined, the emergency room doctor informed Knobs that, quote, his symptoms were consistent with a classic case of strangulation.

[Ash]

Yeah.

[Alayna]

Yeah. He was given some tranquilizers and told to go home and rest, which he did. Ultimately, it took about five days before he was well enough to leave his apartment, but the mark on his neck remained for nearly three months.

[Ash]

Oh, my God.

[Alayna]

Yeah. He never reported the incident to the police, and when the doctor asked what happened, he said he'd been mugged.

[Ash]

Okay.

[Alayna]

Now, maybe his inability to store the body somewhere in the apartment prevented Dennis from from fully murdering Paul Knobs.

[Ash]

It's crazy, though, to think that obviously he started strangling him and stopped at some point. The fact that he stopped is not something we come across very often.

[Alayna]

No. And the way, like, how deep that was and how, like, intense that was, he obviously stopped and started a few times. I think that's probably why he took so long to recover, because I wonder, like, lack of oxygen to the brain and all that's really scary. He probably. It's awful. Awful. But this might be why Paul Knobbs lived, is because he had nowhere to store his body.

[Ash]

Right.

[Alayna]

Which is horrifying to think of. Like, that's so if he had somewhere to put you, you were going to be gone. But whatever the case, Dennis's, you know, little pause on, like, moratorium on murdering people wouldn't last very long. In early March 1982, Dennis was drinking at St. Martin's Lane when he saw a face he recognized from the pub a few months earlier. Year. Like many of Dennis's victims, John Howlett had a long history with the police. And after being kicked out of his parents house at age 13, oh, he'd struggled to find to support himself, frequently resorting to petty crime. I know. It makes me so sad. It really does. Dennis met John at the pub in December, not long after he moved to Cranley Gardens. But he didn't invite him back to his apartment that night that he had met at him at St. Martin's Lane. John pulled up a chair next to Dennis at the bar and ordered a drink. But when the bartender took too long to return, John suggested they leave and go find somewhere else with better service. Dennis agreed, but rather than find another bar, he was like, let's go back to my apartment and I can make us some dinner.

[Ash]

Yeah.

[Alayna]

So they went back, but around 1am John excused himself, implying that he was going to the bathroom. When he failed to return after 10 or 15 minutes, Dennis went to look for him and found the man asleep in his bed. Oh. Cause remember, he's been kicked out of his house since he was 13.

[Ash]

Yeah.

[Alayna]

He probably doesn't have a whole lot of places to stay. He's probably just tired. Yeah.

[Ash]

And also, I think there's a very high likelihood with how fast these people are passing out that he's drugging them.

[Alayna]

So Dennis roused him and suggested he call a cab to take him home. And John said, no, thank you. And he was like, I'm too tired to leave, which does suggest drugging.

[Ash]

That's Dennis Nielsen's version of events, too. But he's like, I tried to get him to leave.

[Alayna]

Yeah. Wasn't planning on it. Like Malcolm Barlow, John represented a change in Dennis's pattern. Although he had picked the man up at a bar, it seems like he had no interest in engaging in sex with him or killing him, which is two of the things he usually wants to do when he picks someone up. In fact, he had, according to him, and according to all accounts, he had tried to get John out of the house a few times that night. And John's refusal to leave and inability to leave is what I think it was not straight out refusal. Right. It had, according to Dennis, so profoundly irritated him that he ended up, for the second time. Really? That we can point to killing out of pure anger. Okay. Other than his usual motive, according to Dennis, he said, I went to the armchair, and under the cushion, there was a length of loose upholstery strap. I wound this material around his neck. I think I said, it's about time you went. Oh, when he says, I think I said, it's about time you went. Think about that in your head, how scary that is. Yeah. This man is about to strangle you and saying, I think it's about time you went.

[Ash]

Yeah.

[Alayna]

That's just so, like, gross. Like, it's so cold. Yeah. He said, using all of his strength, he pulled hard on the strap as he straddled John, causing him to wake with a shock because he's asleep. When he did this, for the most part, Dennis victims were younger than he was and generally smaller in stature. So they were. He liked that. He wanted to easily overpower them. Right. John Howlett on the Other hand was a former military guardsman and was obviously larger and more powerful than Dennis.

[Ash]

Definitely.

[Alayna]

Dennis later said he fought back furiously and partially raised himself up. I thought I'd be overpowered. The two of them fought violently on the bed for a short time until John hit his head on the headboard, causing him to lose consciousness.

[Ash]

Oh, no.

[Alayna]

Once he was no longer struggling, Dennis dragged him to the bathroom and began filling the tub. After hoisting his body over the edge, he held his head under the water for nearly 10 minutes until he was certain that John Howlett was dead. My God. Dennis left his body hanging over the edge of the tub and then just returned to bed and went to sleep.

[Ash]

What?

[Alayna]

These are the parts of these stories that, like. Like, obviously killing another human being is unthinkable, but then, like, these strange aftermaths are the things that really get me.

[Ash]

Because he just finishes his dinner, and.

[Alayna]

He just leaves him hanging over the edge of the tub and then just gets in his bed and goes to sleep. Sleep.

[Ash]

Meanwhile, I actually can't sleep on my right side, because if I do, my back is to, like, an open space in my room, and I'm, like, too afraid of the unknown there. And this man's just going to sleep with a dead body that he just killed in his bathroom.

[Alayna]

Yeah.

[Ash]

Like, I'm afraid of ghosts in my home.

[Alayna]

Yeah.

[Ash]

And this man is just doing that.

[Alayna]

I can't go to bed with a full sink of dishes, of dirty dishes.

[Ash]

You know what? That's.

[Alayna]

That gets me.

[Ash]

I applaud that.

[Alayna]

Yeah. Like, that gets me. I applaud that. I will have. I will have trouble going to sleep knowing, because I will think about that dirty sink full of dishes, and I'll be like, I'm gonna have to do that tomorrow. And I can't do it. I can't do it. John's the same way I cannot is going to bed with a young man who he just brutally murdered, his body hanging over the side of the bath in his bathroom. I just can't. My brain will not wrap around, because human beings. And I mean, lately, I feel like in the world right now, my brain is struggling with humans lately, like, I'm just sitting there being like, I don't understand how people are like this. Like, I don't understand how, as a species, we are this horrific. Like, I really can't. And I don't get how some of us aren't, but some of us are.

[Ash]

I'm like, that's what I mean about the brains we got.

[Alayna]

That's the Thing.

[Ash]

Yeah.

[Alayna]

I don't know. It's because how are we so different? I don't. And it's like I don't ever want to think that anyone has the capacity to do this.

[Ash]

Unfortunately a lot of people have the.

[Alayna]

That's the thing with. So many people have the capacity to do this and. And it's really scary to think about when you really deeply go. Go down that road.

[Ash]

A lot of men have the capacity to. Yeah.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

It's.

[Ash]

This is just. I also think studying the difference between men and women's brains would be interesting.

[Alayna]

Oh yeah.

[Ash]

Just because obviously there are killers but like there are women killers but there are so many more male killers.

[Alayna]

Of course.

[Ash]

So it makes you wonder is there something in a man's brain that is more likely to set off and.

[Alayna]

Yeah.

[Ash]

Like what happens and like do.

[Alayna]

I don't know. You know? Yeah, it just.

[Ash]

It just brains man.

[Alayna]

Because you could like. It's like killing someone is such a. Something you can't wrap your brain around. You just can't. Like snuffing out someone else's life. No, I actually can't.

[Ash]

I have dreams sometimes where I've killed somebody or I find out that I've killed somebody and I like feel the guilt in those dreams of like how am I supposed. Like I nightmare supposed to go. How am I supposed to go on? And like I. I can't believe I've just done that.

[Alayna]

But then it's like the smaller like relatively like in comparison acts of like leaving the body in your apartment while you just go to sleep that I'm like that is up a register just like Cuz it's just like what. And now you're just going about your business.

[Ash]

Yeah.

[Alayna]

I just don't. I. Or just going to sleep with a dead body in your.

[Ash]

I can't go to sleep if I like think I've been rude to somebody throughout the day.

[Alayna]

Like I could.

[Ash]

The guilt I feel for like the the smallest interaction versus snuffing out someone's life. I can't imagine.

[Alayna]

Or like being in the Lizzie Borden house house knowing that people were murdered in those rooms. I was so scared of being in those rooms cuz I'm like. And that was from like a billion years ago. Somebody's was killed in this room and they are no longer there like physically there and it's.

[Ash]

Neither is the person who killed them.

[Alayna]

And I was so freaked out just to be in that I was like oh my God.

[Ash]

Like they're.

[Alayna]

They're here and these people are Just going to sleep with a dead body in the room. Yes. Up. And they just have no fear response. It really is. I'm like, what is your amygdala doing? Like, I gotta know. I don't know. It's.

[Ash]

It's. It's in the amygdala and it's. It's in so many other places, too. I think, actually a fun bonus episode idea would be to look at the different parts of the brain and what they're responsible for and how it relates to crime and decision making in general.

[Alayna]

That's a good bonus episode idea. Yeah. It's horrifying. Now no longer able to hide the body in the cupboard or under the floorboards again. Because he's in that little attic and he couldn't dispose of it in the garden. He dismembered John Howlett's remains and wrapped them tightly in plastic and then he placed them in various discreet places around his apartment.

[Ash]

What?

[Alayna]

Yep. Okay. Also not knowing what else to do with the rest of John Howlett's body, he flushed the organ down the toilet and other small pieces of flesh. He also boiled John Howlett's head, hands and feet. Okay. Yeah.

[Ash]

I remember how part one opened.

[Alayna]

So Dennis Nilsen's first set of murders committed at the Melrose Avenue apartment had all seemed to go more or less according to how he had planned them, or barely planned them, I guess. I guess. But beginning with Malcolm Barlow's murder, right before he left the apartment, he appeared to have been becoming more erratic and frenzied. He was killing not out of, like, some kind of pathological need to. He was just doing it when the opportunity presented itself. Yeah. And this is going to prove to be his undoing.

[Ash]

That's good.

[Alayna]

And we're going to end part two right there.

[Ash]

Okay.

[Alayna]

Because I. I can't really talk about any more dismembered parts right now.

[Ash]

Okay.

[Alayna]

And I'd like everyone to sit with that one and just know that he.

[Ash]

Gets caught in the next.

[Alayna]

He does get caught. And we are. He does. He takes a. He takes some more lives before he gets caught. But he does get caught.

[Ash]

I didn't expect that.

[Alayna]

Yeah. All right. Yep.

[Ash]

This is the cutest fun fact I've ever heard in my life. And now I love knowing that this. Dogs tilt their heads when you speak to them to better pinpoint familiar words.

[Alayna]

You know that. I know that.

[Ash]

I am obsessed. I try to get Dolores to tilt her head when I talk.

[Alayna]

They are actively listening to you when they do that.

[Ash]

I'm obsessed with that this is from Science Focus, and it says your dog is tilting its head when you speak to pinpoint where noises are coming from more quickly.

[Alayna]

Yeah.

[Ash]

This is done to listen out more accurately for familiar words such as walkies, and helps them better understand the tone of your voice. Voice. If a dog doesn't tilt its head that often, as those with shorter muzzles might, it's because it relies less on sound and more on sight. Yeah, I'm obsessed with that.

[Alayna]

You know where I heard that?

[Ash]

Tell me.

[Alayna]

The girls watch this show called Brainchild. I don't know. I probably mentioned it on here before, but if you didn't hear me mention it, it was on there. And they loved that fact. They'll tell you that fact all day long.

[Ash]

I'm surprised they haven't.

[Alayna]

Brainchild is a great show on Netflix for your kids to watch. By the way, is that the one.

[Ash]

For something where they did that hearing test and it showed that, like, older people don't hear certain freque.

[Alayna]

You.

[Ash]

And I literally crashed the.

[Alayna]

Out of that.

[Ash]

I cried.

[Alayna]

I remain crashing out about that.

[Ash]

Yeah. I was not in a flow state, but.

[Alayna]

No, But Brainchild really good for kids. My kids love it. They've learned a lot of cool, like, science stuff.

[Ash]

Yeah. They're always telling us cool facts.

[Alayna]

I'm obsessed. I love that fact.

[Ash]

If I speak in a higher pitch, Dolo always does that. And I'm now I know what's happening, and I love it so much.

[Alayna]

I love that.

[Ash]

I love dogs, and I love cats and I love animals. I love them. I'm gonna be one of those old ladies with, like, a. And, like, farm.

[Alayna]

Good.

[Ash]

Like, tons of animals.

[Alayna]

Let's go, girls. I want to be.

[Ash]

All right, well, I'm obsessed with that. I'm obsessed with you guys. Wash your hands. Don't kill people.

[Alayna]

Don't do anything.

[Ash]

Don't spread disease and ice.

[Alayna]

Yeah. All right.

[Ash]

We hope you keep listening, and we.

[Alayna]

Hope you keep it weird.

[Ash]

But not so weird that you are people in your apartment.

[Alayna]

Yeah.

[Ash]

That don't want to be there anymore.

[Alayna]

No. Let people have autonomy.

[Ash]

Let people out of your apartment if they'd like to go. Gosh darn.

[Alayna]

Sat. Sat.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

With Venmo stash a taco in one hand and ordering a ride in the other means you're stacking cash back. Nice. Get up to 5% cash back with Venmo stash on your favorite brands when you pay with your Venmo debit card.

[Alayna]

Card.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

From takeout to ride, shares, entertainment, and more. Pick a bundle with your go to's and start earning cash back at those brands. Earn more cash when you do more with stash. Venmo Stash terms and exclusions apply. Max 100 cash back per month. See terms at Venmo Me Stash Terms.

[Ash]

This episode is brought to you by Kleenex Lotion Tissues. Cold season shows up like one of those mysteries that always keeps you guessing. Luckily, you can be prepared with Kleenex lotion tissues that protect, protect, soothe, and moisturize your skin when you need it most. Keep them close wherever your day takes you. Whether you're unraveling a mystery or facing a sniffle, Kleenex lotion tissues with coconut oil and aloe are the little comfort that goes a long way during cold and flu season. For whatever happens next, grab Kleenex.