''Killing Her Was As Easy As Washing My Socks'' | The Life & Evil Crimes Of Britain's 'Forgotten' Serial Killer: Patrick Mackay | Serial Killer Series

 (Patrick Mackay. Picture credits: Daily Mail)

Now I like to think of myself as pretty hardcore when it comes to horror movies that I've watched or the disturbing cases that I have written about. I've pretty much been able to research a case, type it all up, hit publish, close the laptop and move on. Obviously I do care about the cases I cover but I'm able to switch off after a post has been completed, I have to otherwise it's not very healthy to have those sorts of thoughts in your head. 


I will admit that there are cases that have been difficult to shake and when I was going through my lists the other day I stumbled across the name, Patrick Mackay and suddenly a lot of memories came flooding back. I'd researched this case years ago and it horrified me when I first became aware of it and I'll admit that I found it difficult to sleep for a couple of nights, all I could picture in my head was that horrific picture of Patrick Mackay (Top right picture in the collage above) with his piercing eyes, that evil face and knowing what this disturbed individual had done to people and animals, he is evil personified. 

I don't think there will ever come a time where I won't find that picture disturbing. I'm sure it has disturbed you too and as you will begin to see in this post (if you are unfamiliar with the case) this guy was beyond a monster, beyond any of our worst nightmares. 

So in my fifth instalment of my Serial Killer Series, I'm bringing you the disturbing and bone-chilling story of Patrick Mackay. This is going to be a difficult post and the details may be a bit hard to take so please keep that in mind. 

Before I begin, don't forget to check out the other four posts I've covered so far in this series:

The Life & Gruesome Crimes Of Jeffrey Dahmer

Danny Rolling: The Serial Killer Who Inspired The Movie, Scream

He Cut Their Eyes Out: The Gruesome Story Of Charles Albright

The Dark & Perverted World Of Steve Wright

So let's begin. Patrick David Mackay was born on the 25th of September 1952 in Middlesex, England. You could pretty much say that from the very beginning his life path was going to be a very dark one. Himself and his sisters grew up in quite a violent household. His early years were very traumatic and abusive at the hands of his alcoholic father who would stagger home drunk from the pub at all hours of the night and once he arrived home his long suffering wife would have to bear the brunt of his drunken outbursts and moodswings. Patrick himself was often at the receiving end of his father's explosive temper and the relationship between father and son was often a difficult one. Patrick later claimed that his two younger sisters had it easy with his father focusing his temper more on Patrick and his mother. 

It was a strange turn of events when Harold, Patrick's father died of a heart attack which left Patrick deeply distraught despite the years of absolute hell that his father put the family through. Patrick was traumatised by this event and just before his father took his last breath he told Patrick ''Remember to be good''. Patrick was just 10 years old when his father died and was not given the opportunity to attend the funeral. Back in those days, it wasn't deemed appropriate for a young child to attend a funeral, some people have that view today. 

(Patrick Mackay as a child, with his family. Picture credit: Murderpedia)

Being the first person close to him to have passed away was very difficult for Patrick to come to terms with, he didn't understand death which as a child you wouldn't have expected him to. It must have been a very confusing and emotional time having your father pass away who was also the person who brought you a lot of pain. He lived in a sense of denial and continued to talk about his father as if he was still alive and carried a photograph of Harold everywhere with him. 

Not surprisingly considering his home life, Patrick had been getting worse at school. There had been issues over the years with his tantrums and cheeky behaviour towards the teachers but now he began to bully children who were younger than him. A fellow classmate would later describe him as a ''little terrorist''. His grades didn't fare well either, everything seemed to be going downhill and then he got into the habit of stealing and at the age of 11 he found himself on the wrong side of the law.

He developed a sickening habit of torturing animals, he would pull the wings off of birds or nail them to the ground so cars could run over them amongst other horrendous things. He just enjoyed inflicting pain on others especially children or animals who were smaller than him. He was a typical coward and bully. 

Things at home were hell, Patrick's temper was so out of control that the police would often be called out to the family home up to four times a week and on some occasions, Patrick was removed from the home. It seemed that he was trying to take his place as the man of the house and his mother and sisters were subjected to his violent outbursts. Things came to a head over a number of incidences involving him trying to strangle his own mother, take his own life and an attempted murder of a young boy who he claimed he'd have managed to successfully kill had it not been for people restraining him. Patrick was the devil in a miniature  form and he ended up being sent to a number of special schools and psychiatric hospitals because nobody knew what to do with him, he terrified everybody. 

At the age of just 15 he was diagnosed as a psychopath with one seasoned psychiatrist concluding that Patrick was most likely to grow up to be a ''cold, psychotic killer''. Anyone who had the unfortunate opportunity of spending time with him would all mention that he had 'Future Serial Killer' written all over him, he was out of control and he caused so much fear at such a young age, it was frightening to wonder what the future held for him. 

From the ages of 12 to 22, he'd been in and out of psychiatric institutions and nothing seemed to work. When he was released back onto the streets he continued with his petty crimes which mostly involved breaking into the homes of elderly people and stealing money and items. His crime spree soon turned deadly when he began attacking vulnerable elderly people, leaving them for dead whilst he helped himself to their items. He even claimed to have thrown a drunken homeless man over a bridge. There were a string of unsolved murders and thefts in London and it all finally came to a head when Patrick spent some time in Kent where he met a popular and well liked priest by the name of Father Anthony Crean. 

(Patrick Mackay. Picture credits: The Sun)

The priest could sense that Patrick had been through a lot in life at such a young age, he obviously had no idea of who Patrick really was or what he had done previously but being the kind man that he was, he wanted to give Patrick a chance. Patrick repaid the man's kindness by going into his house and robbing him. The police got involved and a lot of drama ensued, Patrick was furious (even though it was his own fault) and even Father Crean was willing to put the matter to the side and forgive Patrick but it was no use, things had already turned very sour, pretty quickly (which was never unusual with Patrick, it was very easy to get on his wrong side). 

The police took Patrick's fingerprints and he was dealt with and ordered to pay compensation which he never did. A short while after this, Patrick (not one to let go of a grudge) broke into Father Crean's home and confronted the poor man, who was in his 60s, with an axe. It's not clear if he chased the man through his house or just happened to find him in the bathroom but Father Crean's deceased body was later found by the police in the bathtub which was full of blood. It was a very gruesome scene, blood all over the walls and floor and Patrick just left the murder weapon behind. 

It didn't take long for the police to figure out who was responsible for this poor man's horrific murder. one of the cops remembered the trouble that the priest had recently had with a young man stealing from his house and they still had Patrick's fingerprints on record. The fingerprints matched the prints that were on the axe and around the house and within 48 hours, Patrick Mackay was found and arrested. 

(The crime scene at Father Crean's house. Picture credit: The Sun)

His whole attitude was of no remorse and just care free. He didn't deny what he had done to Father Crean and proceeded to tell the police how he enjoyed watching the man bleed to death. He also started confessing to other murders and his fingerprints were found at some of the crime scenes. He'd confessed to other unsolved murders and robberies and when the police took his details and compared them with each crime scene they found that the details matched. Patrick seemed to know the locations and other details of these crime scenes that only the killer would know. he confessed to 11 murders in total but then later changed his mind and only confessed to 4. Investigators strongly believed that he's committed all 11 murders plus many more but there was insufficient evidence. He had confessed to killing a young woman named Heidi Mnilk by stabbing her and throwing her off of a moving train, robbing two elderly women as well as throwing the drunken homeless man off of the bridge and the murder of Father Crean. 

(Father Crean. Picture credit: Kent Live

It was deemed 100% likely, based on the descriptions he gave and his modus operandi, that he was responsible for the other murders he previously admitted to so this was kept on file and to this day, nobody else has ever been investigated for these unsolved crimes. The police view is that Patrick was responsible but due to lack of evidence, just word of mouth from him, they couldn't secure a conviction. 

He was put on trial in November of 1975 and found guilty. He pleaded guilty on the grounds of diminished responsibility and he was given life imprisonment with a minimum of 20 years. Well you'll be pleased to hear that Patrick Mackay is still behind bars. He was due for release in 1995 but after careful examination by psychologists, prison staff and the parole board it was declared that Patrick Mackay was too dangerous to be released into the public. 

(Patrick Mackay's 'known and suspected victims'. From top left: Heidi Mnilk, Isabelle Griffith, Adele Price. From Middle section: Ivy Davies, Father Crean. Bottom: Stephanie Britton and Christopher Martin. Picture credits: The Sun)

He was moved to a more open prison and many feared that he would be released at some point but every time he is put up for parole his chances of walking out a free man, are rejected. As recently as last year (2021) he attended a parole hearing and yet again he was deemed unfit for release. Patrick Mackay (who has changed his name to David Groves) is now 69 years old and has been in prison for 47 years and is officially the longest serving prison inmate in the UK. It's highly likely that he will die behind bars. 

(Prison photograph of Patrick Mackay taken some years ago. Picture credit: Alchetron)

''My life was wasted. I now realise that it is now wasted forever to rot'' - Patrick Mackay 

''You know, when I look at myself now I could put a bullet through my head and through my brain for the kind of bloody life that I have had, but I don't know who would do me that service'' - Patrick Mackay 

Further Reading & Sources; 

Britain's Forgotten Serial Killer | Book by John Lucas

The Big Book of Serial Killers - Volume 2 | Book by Jack Rosewood

Serial Killers & The Phenomenon of Serial Murder | Textbook by David Wilson

Patrick Mackay: Article | The Sun

Fred Dineage Murder Casebook | Documentary

Patrick Mackay | Wikipedia

Patrick Mackay | Murderpedia

Patrick Mackay: Article | The Mirror

Patrick Mackay: Article | The Standard

RIP to the all of the victims of Patrick Mackay, the ones we know about, the many suspected victims and the ones who were never identified and thoughts also to the survivors and their families. 

Patrick Mackay was and is an evil individual and I'm pleased that he has been kept behind bars. He has never shown any remorse or explanation for his crimes. As the author of the book, Britain's Forgotten Serial killer  (John Lucas) has previously said, Patrick has no remorse for anyone but himself and how the murders affected him not for the pain and suffering he caused. 

Thank you for joining me in this disturbing fifth instalment of my Serial Killer Series. please follow my new Instagram: @TrueCrimeWithCK where I will be posting all things related to serial killers and true crime. For all of my official social media platforms and other content, please click here

Stay safe x

1 comment:

  1. There are serial killers that are terrifying to read about. There are murders who's actions will chill you to the bone. And than...

    There is Patrick Mackay... this guy makes all other serial killers look like cuddly teddy bears and good neighbors!

    Another brilliant and blood-curdling addition to the Serial Killer series and as always brilliantly written.

    ReplyDelete