Twisted Grindr serial killer’s letters from prison ‘exposed his concerns’

Stephen Port, a notorious serial killer with a peculiar interest in children’s films like Transformers, wrote letters from prison boasting about his alleged intelligence. Unbeknownst to him, he was not writing to an adoring fan but to seasoned author Sebastian Murphy-Bates, who was researching the murderer.

Port, who was convicted for the brutal murders of four men he met on the dating app Grindr, claimed to be a genius in these letters. However, Murphy-Bates observed that Port seemed more preoccupied with “childish concerns,”. Port would entice his victims online, then sexually assault them at his East London flat after drugging their drinks with GHB. In his book, Murphy-Bates explores Port’s life and crimes and scrutinises the role of the police who failed the victims.

The killer stood trial for over 20 offences against 11 men, including the murders of Anthony Walgate, Gabriel Kovari, Daniel Whitworth, and Jack Taylor. According to Murphy-Bates, Port’s prison notes were “witless.”

In 2016, Port received a life sentence for his horrifying crimes, which were inadequately investigated by the police, allowing him to continue his killing spree. Murphy-Bates suggests that if the police had done their job properly, Jack Taylor might still be alive today, reports the Mirror US.

In his account, Murphy-Bates shares his unique experience of corresponding with imprisoned serial killer Stephen Port in his book Easy Kills.

Easy Kills

The author said: “When the notorious serial killer Stephen Port was finally apprehended, it left many baffled. This 40 year old man had managed to elude law enforcement for over a year while he committed the horrifying murders of Anthony Walgate, Gabriel Kovari, Daniel Whitworth, and Jack Taylor.

“Their bodies were found discarded in public areas in Barking, East London. The question on everyone’s mind was how could this seemingly ordinary chef commit such heinous acts and evade capture?”

Was he a criminal mastermind?

He continued: “Following Port’s conviction for these four murders, along with numerous sex offences at the Old Bailey, I decided to write to him at HMP Frankland, Durham. My aim was to understand the kind of man he was while conducting research for my book, Easy Kills.

“To put it mildly, my impression from our correspondence was far from that of a genius. To be more direct – the man is an imbecile. His letters, filled with spelling errors, revealed a man preoccupied with childish concerns and interests, alongside boasts about an intellect that I’m certain was purely imaginary. In order to gain his trust, I posed as a young, insecure gay man named Luke Banes (a nod to Skywalker from Star Wars and a character from Transformers, both of which Port is obsessed with).

“I even sent him a picture, hoping to reel him in further, and it worked. Either Stephen was too oblivious to question why I’d cropped everyone except “Luke” out of the printouts, or he was too aroused to care and was just happy to have the photo in his cell. I wasn’t surprised by his mindless notes. I already knew from his clumsy denials of all 29 charges that it wasn’t his intelligence that had kept him on the loose for so long.”

So what was it?

Mr Murphy-Bates added: “The incompetence of the Barking and Dagenham Metropolitan Police Service. Port should have been caught in June 2014, when he killed fashion student Anthony after drugging him. But the police failed to check his electronic devices, which would have revealed a disturbing history of rape porn and his true intentions for luring the young man to Barking.

“Even without checking his devices, the police should have been suspicious of him. After all, he was the one who pretended to be a bystander and called 999 about Anthony’s body He was found to have hired Anthony as an escort, proving his call was a lie. He even admitted to moving the body to the street.”

Did he become a murder suspect?

The author continued: No, he was charged (and later convicted) with perverting the course of justice. As he waited for his court date, he went on to murder Gabriel and Daniel, disposing of their bodies in the same graveyard near his apartment, just weeks apart.

“Daniel’s body, in particular, was found with potential evidence, including a blanket and a note that appeared to be a suicide note. However, the police failed to test the blanket, which was later found to have Port’s DNA on it, and didn’t investigate the note further, despite it being suspiciously well-preserved in a plastic wallet and mentioning “the guy I was with last night”.

“After serving half of his sentence, Stephen was released from prison. If he had served his full sentence, Jack Taylor might still be alive. Yet, even when a fourth body was found within 400 yards of Port’s apartment, the police didn’t raise an alarm, despite it being in the same location as the previous two. It wasn’t until Jack’s sisters, Donna and Jen, persuaded the police to release CCTV footage of Jack’s last walk through Barking town centre that Port was finally identified and arrested in October 2015.

“My book, titled ‘Easy Kills’, is so named because the police made it far too easy for a completely unresourceful idiot to commit murder. They failed to investigate even when he left clues for them.”

He concluded: “I hope it serves as a stark reminder of mistakes that the Met cannot afford to repeat.”