Gibraltar - Simon Parkes, 18, Royal Navy Sailor, 12 December 1986

[Legally Bland]

Police are to search a cemetery for the remains of a Royal Navy sailor who was thought to have been murdered in Gibraltar in 1986.

Naval rating Simon Parkes, 18, from Kingswood, near Bristol, disappeared after going ashore with crewmates from HMS Illustrious.

[...]

Detectives reopened the case in 2001 after a shipmate, petty officer Allan Grimson, was convicted of two murders. He has denied killing Mr Parkes.

Cemetery search in 1986 missing sailor case

 

[Legally Bland]

There's a wiki page for Grimson which suggests his two known victims were killed in 12 December in different years, the same date Simon went missing.

Allan Grimson - Wikipedia

This is all new to me, I'll try find MSM links regarding the dates.

 

[Legally Bland]

The dates of Grimson's killings are a bit vague:



Judge Peter Cresswell, sentencing Grimson at Winchester Crown Court on Tuesday, told him: "You are a serial killer in nature if not by number.

"You are a highly dangerous serial killer who killed two young men in horrifying and appalling circumstances."

...

Before he was sentenced, Grimson admitted killing Mr Wright some time between 11 December 1997 and 17 December 1999, and Mr Jenkins some time between 1 November 1998 and 18 December 1999.

BBC News | UK | Navy killer jailed for life

 

[Legally Bland]

Pic of one of Grimson's known victims, Nicholas Wright, I had to double check to make sure it wasn't a pic of Simon.
_______________

Killed a year apart on December 12 in 1997 and 1998, the two men’s deaths landed cruel Grimson with a 22-year jail term.


But questions remain over the disappearance of naval rating Simon Parkes, who vanished during shore leave from HMS Illustrious on December 12 in 1986.

Portsmouth 'serial killer' faces fresh accusation over sailor's disappearance

 

[Tortoise]

I don't think I've heard of a personality disorder being a mitigating factor before, yet it was stated as such in the judgement of his appeal for sentence reduction.

Legal / Professional - Minimum Terms, High Court setting of minimum terms for mandatory life sentences under the Criminal Justice Act 2003

 

[Legally Bland]

I don't think I've heard of a personality disorder being a mitigating factor before, yet it was stated as such in the judgement of his appeal for sentence reduction.

Legal / Professional - Minimum Terms, High Court setting of minimum terms for mandatory life sentences under the Criminal Justice Act 2003

That's really odd. Are there any serial killers without personality disorders?

This is from September, AG was able to apply for parole last month:

The thought of Grimson’s possible Parole Board bid to leave prison, when he becomes eligible to apply in November, fills naval rating Mr Parkes’ mother, 73-year-old Margaret Parkes, with a sense of dread.

Portsmouth 'serial killer' faces fresh accusation over sailor's disappearance

 

[Legally Bland]

From 2004:

A gay double killer trusted to become a jail "Samaritan" is alleged to have sexually attacked a suicidal inmate he was supposed to be helping.

Allan Grimson, a former Navy petty officer from Tyneside, was jailed for life in 2001 after admitting the murders of navy rating Nicholas Wright, 18, from Leicestershire, and barman Sion Jenkins, 20, from Newbury.

[...]

A spokeswoman for Humberside Police said: "At the beginning of October we were notified by the Prison Service that allegations had been made against an inmate who was accused of sexually assaulting another man. Humberside Police has launched an investigation and officers are currently making inquiries."

Double killer in sex attack inquiry

 

[Tortoise]

When the ship left Gibraltar on 14 December 1986, no-one had seen Simon for two days - he was last spotted in the Horseshoe Bar on the night of the 12th. [...]

Witnesses would later say the last time they saw Simon alive was in a bar with another crew member of the HMS Illustrious — Allan Grimson. [...]

And without a body and merely circumstantial evidence that Grimson was connected to Simon's disappearance, the Crown Prosecution Service refused to charge Grimson with the crime.

Desperate for answers, Margaret asked to meet with the murderer to try and get him to confess to her son's murder.

She said: "We were advised that, psychologically, he would manipulate the situation. I think he had a sense of power over the situation, or over us, because he had a secret.

Margaret said: "Allan Grimson is apparently asking for parole in November, so there is no way that he’s going to admit to anything else that would jeopardise his parole. It’s no good appealing to him.”

I fear my boy was murdered by evil 'Frankenstein' killer who targeted men, cut off their ears and slit their throats with a diving knife

Absolutely shocking. What did they think the chances were that this was a copycat killer, with him being in Gibraltar and in the same bar too.

 

[Legally Bland]

Sunday Mirror article from 2002:

A GAY serial killer has admitted murdering a teenage sailor - but is refusing to help police find the body.

Former Royal Navy petty officer Allan Grimson confessed to killing radio operator Simon Parkes, 18, who disappeared in Gibraltar in 1986.

Grimson, who was jailed for life last year for two other murders, has drawn rough maps for police showing the areas where they should search, but refuses to identify the exact location.

[...]

Grimson, 42, has hinted that two other men might be buried nearby. A police source said: "He has given us details of how he killed Simon Parkes because he's been persuaded that this young man's grieving parents have a right to know the truth and give him a proper burial."

I killed Simon; GAY MURDERER ADMITS BURYING ROOKIE SAILOR. - Free Online Library

 

[Tortoise]

That's confusing then. Why hasn't he been charged and sentenced if he confessed to it 17 years ago?!

 

[Mrs Marple]

Well its likely that if he killed on Dec 12 88 and 89, and is guilty of this in 86, there is a missing victim in 87 as well. What a psycho. Thank you for this Legally, l hadn't heard of it before the news today either. Literally forgotten. Disgraceful.

 

[Tortoise]

Well its likely that if he killed on Dec 12 88 and 89, and is guilty of this in 86, there is a missing victim in 87 as well. What a psycho. Thank you for this Legally, l hadn't heard of it before the news today either. Literally forgotten. Disgraceful.

There was more than a year between them, it was an 11 and 12 year gap. 1986, '97, '98.

 

[Tortoise]

I think it's quite likely he won't give them the whereabouts of Simon's body because they'll find a lot of others buried with him.

 

[Elainera]

Well its likely that if he killed on Dec 12 88 and 89, and is guilty of this in 86, there is a missing victim in 87 as well. What a psycho. Thank you for this Legally, l hadn't heard of it before the news today either. Literally forgotten. Disgraceful.

According to post #3 and #4 above Mr Wright and Mr Jenkins were killed more than a decade later, in 1997 and 1998.

I'm glad police is again searching for Simon. At least they haven't forgotten him.

 

[Tortoise]

Police began combing Trafalgar Cemetery on the British Overseas Terrority earlier this week after receiving new information in relation to the case.

Officers said today that the search turned up some bone material - although they will need further forensic analysis to determine whether or not they are human.

Police carrying out searches at a cemetery in Gibraltar discover 'bone material' | Daily Mail Online

 

[Tortoise]

Detectives said the bones "may or may not be human" and they were treating the discovery with caution.

They said their appeal for information had generated "promising leads" which would be followed up in the UK and Gibraltar.

Bone fragments found in 1986 missing sailor case

 

[Elainera]

The officers are doing a great job. It must be very uncomfortable working in those forensic suits all day as humidity in Gibraltar is high.

 

[PeachUK]

Fresh search begins for Hampshire sailor who went missing in Gibraltar in 1986 | ITV News

 

[StillDiggin]

Operation Thornhill – Further searches conclude in Gibraltar.

 

[PeachUK]

Simon Parkes: Tests on material found in Gibraltar not human