A man has been convicted of murdering four young men whom he poisoned so that he could have sex with them while they were unconscious.

Stephen Port, a chef, was found guilty at the Old Bailey of killing Anthony Walgate, 23, Jack Taylor, 25, Daniel Whitworth, 21, and Gabriel Kovari, 22.

The serial killer sought his victims on dating websites including Grindr and dumped their bodies within 500m of his flat in Barking, East London.

The jury was told he used GHB, a sedative known as a date rape drug, spiking their drinks or injecting it into his victims before they realised what he was doing. They died of a fatal overdose. Eight others survived.

Image: Clockwise from top left: Daniel Whitworth, Jack Taylor, Gabriel Kovari, Anthony Walgate

Two of the victims' bodies were found near a churchyard, discovered by the same dog walker.


He disposed of their mobile phones and repeatedly lied to police. He even wrote a fake suicide note and planted it in the hand of one of his victims which implicated him in the death of another victim a month earlier.

Port, 41, denied all the charges against him but was convicted of 22 offences against 11 men including four rapes, four sexual assaults and 10 of administering a substance, in addition to the murders.

He was cleared on three counts of rape.

Detective Chief Inspector Tim Duffield said: "Stephen Port is probably one of the most dangerous individuals I've encountered.

"He's a voracious sexual predator who appears to have been fixated, nay obsessed, with surreptitiously drugging young, often vulnerable men for the exclusive purpose of rape.

"From what we've seen as an investigation team, this is a highly devious, manipulative and self-obsessed individual.

"Throughout both the criminal investigation, many days of police interviews and during the course of a long trial, he has never once shown a shred of remorse for his victims or indeed their families."

Stephen Port guilty of four murders

Concerns have been expressed about the police investigation.

The family of Mr Taylor said they "definitely" planned to sue after officers initially dismissed his death as "just another" drug overdose.

They said Mr Taylor would still be alive if police had "done their job".

Mr Whitworth's stepmother, Mandy Pearson, said: "We are bereft at the loss of such a clever, talented and much loved boy.

"An investigation is, as I am sure you are all aware by now, in the hands of the IPCC (Independent Police Complaints Commission).

"The fight goes on until all our questions are answered."

Image: A CCTV picture of Stephen Port arriving at a flat in Barking to buy drugs

Commander Stuart Cundy, from the Met's Specialist Crime and Operations command said: "From the evidence we've heard at trial there were potential opportunities that were missed.

"The IPCC investigation will carefully consider those."

Nik Noone, chief executive of LGBT anti-violence charity Galop, said: "Our thoughts are with the friends and families of the young men who tragically lost their lives, the survivors that have come forward and those who are affected by the issues raised in this case.

"Our focus now turns to understanding what lessons need to be learnt from the police response to unexplained deaths and sexual assault of young men and what must be done to learn how to prevent someone like Port in the future."