STEPHEN PORT WILL spend the rest of his life in prison in the UK for the murder of four men.
The 41-year-old serial killer was sentenced to a whole-life term at a London court today.
Port was found guilty on Wednesday of four counts of murder, four counts of rape, four counts of assault by penetration and 10 counts of administering a substance.
According to prosecutors, the chef spiked his victims – whom he met on dating apps – through their drinks or by other means. Four of the men died from an overdose of the psychoactive drug GHB and four others were raped while unconscious.
Altogether, he was convicted of offences in relation to 11 men.
“Over a period of three years the defendant committed a series of murders and serious sexual offences against young men,” said Malcolm McHaffie, deputy chief crown prosecutor for CPS London.
“Port manipulated and controlled these men through the chilling and calculated use of the drug GHB, which he administered without their permission.”
His chilling cover-ups included disposing of mobile phones, writing a fake suicide note and planting vials of drugs on their bodies.
“He even claimed that the deceased themselves were responsible for the overdoses and in one instance accused a murder victim of carrying out one of the other killings,” explained McHaffie.
Port met all his victims on dating websites between June 2014 and September 2015. He brought them back to his house in Barking, London, where he poisoned, raped and killed them. Their bodies were found in a nearby graveyard.
Port’s victims were Anthony Walgate, a 23-year-old fashion student from Hull; 22-year-old Gabriel Kovari from Slovakia; Kent chef, 21, Daniel Whitworth; and Dagenham forklift driver Jack Taylor, 25.
“These evil crimes have left entire families, a community and a nation in shock,” Detective Chief Inspector Tim Duffield said today.
I have previously said that Port is one of the most dangerous individuals I’ve encountered in almost 28 years of policing and a full life term in prison was the only appropriate punishment in the circumstances.
“All of those affected have my deepest sympathies and I hope they can find some solace from the fact that Port will spend the remainder of his life behind bars.”
An investigation into the handling of the cases by London police has been launched. The force failed to uncover the connection between the four men’s deaths until Taylor (Port’s final victim) family put pressure on for a re-examination of the cases.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission will look at whether “discrimination played any part in actions and decisions” by investigators.
A total of 17 officers – ranging from constable to inspector – are under investigation and have been served with either gross misconduct or misconduct notices.
“As his trial established, Port was known to the police in connection to the death of Mr Walgate. We now know that tragically, three more young men went on to lose their lives,” IPCC commissioner Cindy Butts said on Wednesday.
“I have met with LGBT community members in Barking and Dagenham to explain the IPCC’s role, and would like to provide the assurance that our investigators are continuing to work hard to scrutinise the police response to the tragic deaths of these four young men.”
The Guardian reports today that the judge pointed to the issues during sentencing today. He said:
It is not to me to say whether the seeming bizarre coincidence of these three gay young men being found dead so close together might have given rise to suspicions that these deaths were not the result of ordinary self-administered drug overdoses but that is how their deaths, including Jack Taylor’s death, were treated at the time; the competence and adequacy of the investigation will later be examined by others.
In the fake suicide note (pictured above), Port – writing as Whitworth – said he had taken his own life because he killed Kovari by accident ‘while having some fun at a mate’s place’ with the drug, which is known as G or liquid ecstasy.
“BTW, please do not blame the guy I was with last night, we only had sex, then I left. He knows nothing of what I have done,” the note continues.
Police did not attempt to trace the person referred to in the letter and took its contents as the truth.
Port was on bail (for lying about the discovery of his first victim’s body in June 2014) – when he killed Kovari and Whitworth in August and September 2014.
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