UK UK - The unidentified victims of Dennis Nilsen 1980-81

[Mrs. Badcrumble]

Watching mini-series Des and realising that several of the UK serial killer Dennis Nilsen's victims remain unidentified. According to the Wikipedia article, Nilsen later claimed that he fabricated many of the John Does, but I'm including them anyway (you never know..).

None of the victims are in the DoeNetwork.

Dennis Nilsen - Wikipedia

1980

• September: Unidentified. All that Nilsen could remember about his fifth victim was that he was a tall Irish labourer with rough hands, who wore an old suit and jacket, and whose age he estimated to be between 27 and 30 years old. He had met this victim in the Cricklewood Arms in late 1980.[88]Nilsen later claimed to have fabricated this victim.[184]

• October: Unidentified. Nilsen's sixth victim was described by his murderer as a slender male prostitute, approximately 5 feet 10 inches (1.78 m) in height, who was aged between 20 and 30, and of either Filipino or Mexican descent. To Nilsen, this victim had gypsy-like features. Nilsen met this victim in the Salisbury Arms in October 1980.[185]

• November: Unidentified. This victim was described by Nilsen as being an English vagrant in his 20s, whom he encountered sleeping in a doorway at the top of Charing Cross Road. He was emaciated, with a pale complexion and had several missing teeth. Nilsen and the youth took a taxi to Melrose Avenue; that evening, the victim was strangled to death as he slept, with his legs moving in a cycling motion as he was strangled. Nilsen later stated he believed this victim's life had been "one of long suffering",[184] and that the act of killing this victim had been "as easy as taking candy from a baby".[186]

• November–December: Unidentified. The last victim to be killed by Nilsen in 1980 was an English "long-haired hippy", aged between 25 and 30, whom he had met in the West End after the pubs had closed in November or December 1980. This victim's body was retained beneath the floorboards of the flat until Nilsen removed the corpse, cut it into three pieces, then replaced the dissected remains beneath the floorboards. He burned the corpse one year later. Nilsen later claimed to have fabricated this victim.[187]

1981

• c. 4 January: Unidentified. The ninth victim was described by Nilsen as an "18-year-old, blue-eyed Scot" with blond hair and who wore a green tracksuit top and trainers. Nilsen met this victim in the Golden Lion pub in Soho in early January 1981. Killed after partaking in a drinking contest with Nilsen at Melrose Avenue, the body of this victim was dissected on 12 January.[84]

• February: Unidentified. Murdered sometime in February 1981. Nilsen recalled little about this victim, other than the fact he was originally from Belfast; was slim, dark haired, aged in his early 20s, and approximately 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) tall. He had encountered this victim somewhere in the West End after the pubs had closed. He was strangled with a necktie and his body subsequently placed beneath the floorboards.[84]

• April: Unidentified. Nilsen encountered his eleventh victim, a muscular young English skinhead aged approximately 20, at a food stall in Leicester Square in April 1981. He was lured to Nilsen's home with the promise of a meal and alcohol. Nilsen recalled this victim wore a black leather jacket and had a tattoo around his neck, simply reading "cut here", and that he had boasted about how tough he was and how he liked to fight. Nilsen hung this victim's naked torso in his bedroom for 24 hours, before placing the body beneath the floorboards. Nilsen later claimed to have fabricated this victim.[83]

Dennis Nilsen's WS thread in the serial killer forum:
UK - UK - Serial killer-of-six Dennis Nilsen

 

[DrDavies]

I'm so pleased you posted this. Do you know if genetic genealogy has been used to trace these poor victims? I cant find anything to say they have. Is it even known if there is DNA for any of them?

 

[The4TierBridge]

I'm so pleased you posted this. Do you know if genetic genealogy has been used to trace these poor victims? I cant find anything to say they have. Is it even known if there is DNA for any of them?

These all seem to be bodyless confessions.

 

[alucardsdream]

I'm so pleased you posted this. Do you know if genetic genealogy has been used to trace these poor victims? I cant find anything to say they have. Is it even known if there is DNA for any of them?

If I remember correctly, he burned most of the remains in his backyard at his first house and then tried to grind up all the bone fragments he could find. He later tried flushing pieces of flesh in the sewer and that got him caught. (I read a book about him, Killing for Company by Brian Masters, a few years ago, it was disturbing but a good read.) He also later claimed that he lied about his total victim count so it's unclear if he killed 12 or 15 people. I'm guessing that there was no way to get DNA from most of the remains which would eliminate the possibility of genetic genealogy.