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FACTFILE
"Rape is a
natural thing for a man to do"
(John Duffy)
This case saw the first use in Britain of "Psychological
Offender Profiling". Duffy started out as a violent rapist,
originally working with, an un-named accomplice.
John Duffy and
David Mulcahy had been been friends since school in
Haverstock, north London. They both shared a sadistic streak
for tormenting and torturing animals starting with a
hedgehog, which Mulcahy beat to death with a plank of wood,
when he was aged 13.
As they got older the pair transferred their sadistic
tendencies to women, fuelling each other’s dark sexual
fantasies. It is likely got the idea to attack lone women
when they realised how quiet areas were around railway
stations at night.
July 1982,
The first known attack happened when two men attacked and
violently raped a 23 year old woman in Hampstead, North
London. Over the next four years a further 18 women were
attacked.
The police,
concerned at the number of attacks launched "Operation
Hart", the largest police investigation in the UK since the
Yorkshire Ripper enquiry.
During the
investigation Duffy was questioned regarding violence, and,
was in the operation Hart computer, but was near the bottom
of the list, which contained the names of thousands of
potential suspects. Professor David Canter, then at Surrey
University, was called in to aid the police investigation.
Canter drew up a list of seventeen personality and
characteristic traits, as well as environmental clues that
the offender would display. On 12 of these he was completely
accurate.
Summer 1983,
For the next 12 months women were terrorised. 18 women were raped near train stations, plus, as it was later discovered, only 5 minutes walk from Duffy's Kilburn house.
Autumn 1983,
All of a sudden the attacks stopped. Police later found out that this was at the same time Duffy had separated from his wife.
February 1984, The
attacks started again, this time in West and North London,
the police had no evidence to link the two sets of attacks.
July 1985,
Three women were raped on the same night, all in the Hendon, Hampstead area.
August 1985,
Duffy is arrested for beating up his wife, police add him to
the 'Operation Hart' database.
September
1985, a woman is attacked in Barnet, police believe the
attackers description matches Duffy.
2nd December
1985, Duffy was put in an identity parade, but the woman
was still in shock, and failed to identify him.
29th December
1985, 19 year old Allison Day was was violently taken
off a train at Hackney Wick by Duffy and Mulcahy, she was
raped and strangled.
17th April
1986, 15 yea old
Martje Tambosezer was snatched at West
Horsley station, she was cycling away when she fell off her
bike, a piece of fishing wire had been stretched across the
path, a trick Duffy claims he got from the Anarchists
cookbook. They then took her across fields, where Duffy
raped her, watched by Mulcahy. Duffy later claimed
that Mulcahy ripped off Maartje's belt and looped it around
her throat, telling him: 'I did the last one, you'll do this
one2. The belt had a stick through it, Duffy kept twisting
till she was dead.
They
left the scene but Mulcahy returned later and set fire to
the body to destroy any forensic evidence.
12th May 1986,
Duffy arrested near North Weald station, he was carrying a knife, but was later released as there was no evidence
to hold him.
18th May
1986, 30 year old TV presenter, Anne Locke, was snatched
while getting
off a train in Bookman's Park, in Hertfordshire. Anne's
decomposed body was found two months later she was murdered
in undergrowth just a mile from her home. She had been
suffocated with her own sock.
21st October
1986,
A 14 year old schoolgirl was attacked and raped.
7th November
1986,
Duffy was arrested after he was discovered stalking a woman in a residential park.
8th November
1986,
John Duffy was charged with three murders, and seven counts of rape.
26th February 1988,
John Francis Duffy was sentenced to 30 years in prison by a judge at the Old Bailey
3rd October
2000,
Duffy back at the Old Bailey.
His previously unknown accomplice has now been identified by Duffy, who
claims he wants to clear his conscience. Following Duffy
giving Mulcahy's name to police, they were able to check DNA
records, which were not as advanced in the 1980's,
2nd February
2001,,David Mulcahy
is given three life sentences for the rape and murder of three women, and for seven further rapes.
12th March
2001,
Duffy is charged with a further 17 rapes and given a further 12 years on top of his existing sentence.
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