True Crime With Caledonian Kitty

In terms of horrific toxic relationships, I have written about a few of them on this blog, one case which I still receive messages about to this day, is the shocking story of master manipulator and cruel murderer Tracie Andrews whom, after months of harassment and stalking, had murdered her partner Lee in the early 1990's and set it all up to look like a road rage attack, giving false support to his family before the truth came to light. This particular case that I'm focusing on in this blog is a recent one and it is both disturbing and heartbreaking to realise that the victim in this case was alive at this very time last year. When it comes to narcissistic abuse in a relationship it can be traumatic on a physical and psychological level and as I have previously stated many times on this blog over the years, it's not just women who fall victim to this type of traumatic experience and abusive relationship, men go through it too. 

In the past there was a lot of negative and close-minded attitudes towards men who were victims of domestic abuse because for some strange reason some people once believed that men could not be victims. As we've seen that is not the case, we've had numerous horrible examples of the abuse that men have also faced at the hands of a partner. We've seen cases where these men have been abused physically, mentally and had their lives taken. 

This case of extreme narcissistic abuse which I'm talking about in this post came to the ultimate head in horrific fashion in the early hours of Christmas morning last year (2024). But to get the full picture I have to share a bit about the background of this complex situation. So, Kirsty Carless (who also went by the name of Kirsty Cribb) got together with Louis Price back in 2021 and at first it was a lot like these typical beginnings of controlling relationships where at first it's all roses, constant sex, passion and couldn't keep away from each other and text messages back and forth. They were both clearly presenting an image of each other to one another that was palatable and displaying the highlights of each other's personalities which one would expect in the early stages. 

However, both of them came to the relationship with quite a bit of baggage and history. Although both were young (Louis was a couple of years younger than Kirsty) They both had kids from previous relationships who did not live with them, Kirsty had been married in the past and they both had dabbled with substance misuse. Louis was known as being a happy go lucky type lad who enjoyed fishing and football. He was close to his parents and family and would often go away with them for breaks. Kirsty had a bit of a reputation for flying off the handle when she was married and also living beyond her means. Both of them were stubborn and liked their own way but as time went on the passion and the so-called honeymoon period was starting to wear off. There had been infidelities on both parts and by all accounts the relationship had run it's course but the pair had become stuck in this cycle of arguments - break-up - sex and this would continue. People around them who knew them well were fed up with it and it was no unusual sight to see them shouting at each other in the street. So from 2021 to 2024 they had this constant back and forth where things would be great between them and then it would turn sour but there was a element of the physical and psychological abuse that they would get off on and both were just as bad as each other. It was clear that they were not good for each other but they just couldn't stay away from each other either. 

Both Kirsty and Louis would have periods of time when they were together and then they would see other people but would still sleep together so the confusion was real to anyone who was close to them and the fact that they both had kids too. A lot went on considering they had only been together for a few years and at one point Louis lived with Kirsty which proved to be difficult for both of them. Instead of living together cementing their relationship all it did was make things worse because the arguments just intensified and Kirsty was becoming more and more controlling. They both liked to go out partying, they both liked to drink and they both liked attention from the opposite sex but still wanted each other to remain faithful and devoted to each other, in other words, I can go out and get drunk, sleep with someone else but you have to stay at home, remain devoted to me and never look at anyone else or talk to anyone else. This was Kirsty's line of thinking, she wanted everything her way and she was probably the worst out of the pair of them for the cheating. 

Fast forward to 2024 and this back and forth carry-on of who's cheating on who this time and who's texting who with constant conflict between the pair of them was turning into violent altercations. Louis wasn't physically abusive to Kirsty he was able to keep his cool but Kirsty began to physically assault Louis and it was becoming a regular thing. After a huge argument Kirsty had grabbed Louis and tried to strangle him, she also poured bleach onto his clothes. The police were informed of this and Kirsty was arrested and put on bail with conditions that she stay away from Louis. 

It was clear that they couldn't live together anymore and they'd been seeing other people on the down low so they tried to break-up (or their version of breaking up). A woman that Louis had previously been seeing had just given birth to a little baby girl which now made him the father of six children he was also reportedly seeing someone. Kirsty was going out with friends, partying and having one-night stands but was still obsessed with what was happening in Louis's life. When he moved out of her house he moved back in with his parents but Kirsty had a copy of his parent's house key which Louis didn't know about. 

On the night of Christmas Eve, Louis was alone in his parents house as they were having a holiday in the Maldives. Kirsty was out partying, getting drunk and taking cocaine. She met a guy and spent some time with him before going back to his house where they had sex, reportedly three times. At some point during the night a friend of Kirsty's sent her a message with a screenshot. Apparently Louis had created a Tinder profile (Tinder is an online dating site) and Kirsty went crazy with jealousy despite the fact that she'd just been sleeping with a random guy she met in a bar. 

Her sick obsession with controlling Louis was in overdrive and she called him a total of 45 times in the space of 30 minutes. She proceeded to bombard him with text messages telling him to answer her and that she hated him and wanted him dead. When she was back at her house she went onto her computer to get a closer look at Louis's dating profile and the anger insider her just brewed and brewed. She went into the kitchen and grabbed a knife and called a taxi. 

When she got into the taxi she called her mother and didn't say anything about what she was going to do or anything about Louis, but she did say that whatever happened that night, she wanted her mother to know that she loved her. Kirsty told the taxi driver to take her to Louis's parent's house which was located in the quiet Staffordshire village of Norton Canes. By now it was the early hours of Christmas morning and when the taxi pulled up outside she told the driver that she would only be a few minutes and to wait for her. 

Kirsty then got into the house and went upstairs towards the spare room looking for Louis. When she found the spare room empty she walked back down stairs to which she startled Louis. Without any words being said and no doubt Louis being in total fear and shock, Kirsty (33) chased 31 year old Louis with the 12 inch knife before finally catching up with him and plunging it into his chest. The blade horrifically penetrated his rib, lung and heart killing him almost instantly. She placed the blade on the kitchen counter and casually walked out to the taxi, it all happened so fast, literally within minutes and the driver of the cab had not seen or heard a thing. 

Louis had no time to defend himself from her, she literally came down the stairs and saw him, attacking him with the knife instantly. Louis was eventually found in the conservatory of his parent's house and he was pronounced deceased at 3:46 am on Christmas morning by paramedics. His poor parents were contacted and rushed back to the UK as soon as they could. Kirsty Carless was promptly arrested and tried to plead ignorant but the police knew she was guilty and she was well known to them for her abusive behaviour previously. Louis was considered to be at high risk from Kirsty but for some reason no proper protection was put in place which has always bothered me about bail conditions and restraining orders, it's just pieces of paper. Kirsty should have been tagged and it may or may not have made a difference but if there was some way to alert the police that she was travelling to that location and also an alert to Louis himself then maybe the terrible circumstances that this horrific story escalated to may not have gotten that far. It was obvious that Kirsty was an unstable woman, they saw her unfit to look after her own children and knew she was a ticking time bomb but sadly not enough was done here to protect others. 

Kirsty's mugshot was a site to behold, looking like she'd been dragged through a hedge backwards and love bites on display on her neck. She also had a very disturbing, calm, almost serene look about her. This was an individual who had just taken a man's life very up-close and personal with a 12 inch knife. There was no sign of tears, guilt, remorse or fear at all. 

The community in which Louis and his family lived were shocked and upset at the news of what had happened especially at a time of year when people were celebrating Christmas. Louis's parents were known to be very hardworking and polite people. Louis was described as having a big heart and time for everybody. People said that despite his personal struggles he always had a smile for other people and loved his children, especially his baby daughter who couldn't stop talking about. 

Kirsty Carless was found guilty of the premeditated murder of Louis price and sentenced to 25 years in prison at Stafford Crown Court on the 31st of July 2025 so at the time of me writing this post, that was just weeks ago. If Kirsty serves her full term and doesn't die behind bars she will be in her late 50's when she is released. 

This story is one that is so tragic and confusing in so many ways because here you have two people who have an addiction to each other but it's a very, very toxic addiction. I think that Louis was beginning to break free of it all and the final straw may have been when she strangled him. In the past he would let things slide but this time he had gotten the police involved. He'd had enough and she knew it. Whatever the situation with the pair of them being as bad as each other at times, it's clear that Louis, for the most part, was terrified of Kirsty and was tangled up in this abusive relationship where he suffered greatly and ended up losing his life. She murdered him because she knew she no longer had control over him. He no longer gave into her, got the police involved and ignored her calls that terrible night. She saw him as a possession and although she felt the right to live her life as she pleased she was not going to allow him to live his and again it comes back to that terrible phrase we so often hear repeated but it is the truth.....If she couldn't have him, nobody could. 

RIP Louis, your life was cut short way too soon. My heart goes out to you, your parents, children and family. May you rest in peace. 

I will include some support and advice websites and helplines for men and women below. 

Helpful Websites & Support:

- Domestic Abuse Support | IDAS Website

- Men's Advice Line | RESPECT

- DA Support For Men | Mankind

- DV Support | Gov.UK

Further Reading & Sources:

- Kirsty Carless | Staffordshire Police

- Kirsty Carless: Article | Sky News

- Crown Prosecution Service

- Kirsty Carless | ITVx

- Kirsty Carless: Article | Mirror

- Kirsty Carless | Article | BBC News

As always, thank you for taking the time to read my latest post, I know it was another difficult one to get through but I appreciate you taking the time and all of your support. I hope you will join me again next time (I post every Sunday evening) here on my blog and in the meantime, elsewhere on my Social Media Platforms. If you would like to keep updated when my posts are available or would like to buy me a coffee to help support my work, check out my Buy Me A Coffee page. 

Until next time, please keep safe x

*As always, I have tried to be as sensitive as I can be when stating the facts in this article. If you have any concerns about anything I have included here, please feel free to contact me via email or by the contact form on the right-hand side of this blog, thank you*

This shocking real life story was told to me many years ago back in my hometown (Dumbarton, Scotland) and it shocked me then, as it still does to this day. As a child growing up in such a small town it always seemed to be the sort of place that, although it had it's good parts, like a lot of places, it had it's bad parts too.....and the same with people, mostly good but some were bad...very bad and in the case of Thomas McCulloch....beyond evil. 

Having been writing about true crime for a number of years now, I have to admit that I had forgotten to actually write about this case which is strange as you'd expect me to remember especially as it involved my hometown but here we are. I hope you will continue to join me in this post on this shocking story.

If you're from my hometown, the name 'Thomas McCulloch' will not be unfamiliar to you, in fact....a chill may run down your spine at the mere mention of the guy and the horrible memories that the mere mention of his name brings back. As kids, we heard stories about Thomas McCulloch and you never knew whether to believe those stories or not. I decided to delve back into the whole story of Thomas McCulloch again recently to bring you the real story of Dumbarton's very own 'Axe Murderer'. 

It wasn't that long ago that some of the local people in my hometown were feeling very nervous because they had been informed that a convicted killer (who had previously been deemed 'Criminally insane' and an 'incurable psychopath) was going to be moving into the town after years spent locked up, many of them in solitary confinement because he was deemed too psychotic and dangerous. Even at the age of 60 he could still put the fear of God in people just by hearing his name. Thomas McCulloch was originally from Dumbarton and although having spent many years away from the place he made no secret that his desire upon his release was to return home.

The fact that he was even being considered for release was a complete shock as many remember when Thomas and his lover, Robert Mone escaped from a psychiatric hospital (the infamous 'Carstairs') in 1976 having planned the whole thing using weapons, the pair were able to climb over a barbed wired fence after killing a member of staff at the hospital and a fellow patient (who's ear Thomas had cut off because he wanted to keep it as a souvenir). A police officer was also killed. They broke into a family's house and held the terrified people hostage before making off with the family car and being chased by the police. The police finally caught up with them and they were remanded back into custody. Both men, especially Thomas were expected to serve life in prison as many people believed that he should die behind bars after his original crime which saw him placed in Carstairs in the first place. 

Thomas, who had a history of violent and erratic behaviour was originally locked up in the psychiatric hospital because he had attempted to murder two hotel staff over a disagreement over a buttered bread roll. Apparently he wasn't happy that the chef had not buttered his roll properly and in his crazed mind, he thought that this warranted the poor man being shot in the face and the manageress being shot in the shoulder. It was a miracle that both of the victims survived the ordeal obviously the pair of them left with injuries and no doubt PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) because who would be able to see that coming, especially in a hotel. 

Robert Mone was quite the monster himself having previously caused utter terror at Dundee School back in 1967. Robert had taken over a classroom and held the terrified teacher and young pupils hostage before firing the gun and killing a 26 year old teacher who was pregnant. It was also later revealed that he had sexually assaulted one of the young pupils and had a history of disgusting abuse towards children. 

When the evil pair were sent to the psychiatric hospital they seemed to just click together and shared a very disturbing bond which saw them planning their escape for around 3 months. They had managed to collect a number of weapons during this time. 

So, with all of that terrifying history, it's no wonder that hearing that this man might be released back into the public, it would cause sheer panic. There was a lot of upset over this, the possibility that he would be released and sent to my hometown but the locals were able to breathe a sigh of relief when it was announced that he wouldn't be getting out of prison or returning to Dumbarton.....for now.

Well, back in 2010 he was released quietly for the first time and actually set up home back in Dumbarton (which is quite frightening how sneaky all of this was done) it wasn't long before he was discovered and local people started a campaign to have him removed. He was hounded out of the town and for his own safety he was taken back into custody. I have to tell you (if you don't already know) that he has since been released but not to my hometown, apparently he was released in 2013 under one of the conditions that he live with his new partner, a woman, in an apartment in Dundee. He was 65 years old at the time of his release which was some time ago so it is unclear if he is still there or if he is even alive?

Thomas was supposed to die behind bars but he was a lot more calculated than people took him for, he put in appeal after appeal and knew how to work the system to ensure that he would get released. Robert on the other hand couldn't keep out of trouble behind bars and had managed to ruin his own chances of getting out at the same time as Thomas due to getting into a fight with a fellow prisoner. I've tried to find out what the situation is with Robert Mone but I can find any details of him being released so I assume he's still behind bars or he's deceased. In a lot of cases these types of monsters die in prison and a lot of the time nobody reports it because usually (and quite rightly) nobody cares but sometimes people do want to know what happened to these monsters, especially if the worst scenario happens like.....they get released to your neighbourhood! Well done to the people of my hometown for standing their ground (as they always do) and keeping everyone safe by shining a light that a monster was hidden in plain sight. 

These two individuals were beyond evil, you can't even say who was the lesser of the two evils because they were and are both dangerous, sick monsters who should never see the light of day. I think it's a disgrace that someone as sick and sadistic as Thomas McCulloch is able to spend his later years in comfort living in Dundee with that crazy woman that he's shacked up with because let's be honest here, who moves in with a psychotic axe murderer who cuts off people's ears? She won't be right in the head either to be associated with such a horrendous individual. 

With such unbelievable details of this story I'm surprised that movies have not been made about these sick murderers, you'd think there would be a stack of documentaries out there about them. No doubt after my article goes live, this story will shock some of the members of the true crime community to talk about it and cover the crimes of the evil Thomas McCulloch and Robert Mone. 

If you have made it this far in this post, thank you, I really appreciate it. I know this was quite a disturbing read but I do hope that you found it easy to follow and come away with more knowledge about this case and these two monsters. 

Further Reading & Sources: 

- Thomas McCulloch: Article | Daily Record

- Thomas McCulloch: Article | BBC News

- Thomas McCulloch: Article | Aberdeen Live

- Thomas McCulloch: Article | The Times

- Dundee School Shooting | Wikipedia

- Thomas McCulloch & Robert Mone: Article | Scotsman

- Carstairs State Psychiatric Hospital | Wikipedia

- Dumbarton | Wikipedia

- Robert Mone: Article | The Courier

RIP to those who lost their lives at the evil hands of Thomas McCulloch and Robert Mone. Thoughts are also with the survivors and the relatives of the victims. 

As always, I hope you will join me again next time and in the meantime, I hope to see you on my Socials. If you enjoy my weekly posts and would like to buy me a coffee to help support my work, you can do so here!!, Thank you!! Until next time, stay safe x 

One of the important aspects of writing about true crime for me personally is the fact that not only do people tell me that they have learned about a case through my blog (or learned more about a case they thought they knew a lot about, through my work) but the fact that my writing (along with others in the true crime community) can put a case under the spotlight, especially what is classed as a 'historical case'. I've always said that it doesn't matter if someone has been missing for 10 days or 10 years or 20 years, it is still important and the relatives deserve to know what happened to their loved ones as well as the possibility (because miracles can happen) that the missing person can be found alive and well. Unfortunately we do have occasions where a long lost individual is eventually found but not alive and in a lot of cases, only partial remains are left. Sometimes there's no answers, sometimes we do get answers, nobody can ever predict the outcome of these heartbreaking situations. 

Recently I have been looking into some missing persons cases and one that has remained a mystery up to this very day is the sudden disappearance of 16 year old Kevin Hicks. Kevin, who is (I am going to say 'is' because out of respect for Kevin and his family I will not refer to him in the past tense until it is official that, that is the case) from a close family and lived with his mother Terry, father Derek and sister Alexandra, vanished without a trace on the evening of the 2nd of March 1986. 

Kevin, who at 16 reminded me of a young Stuart Adamson from the Scottish rock band 'Big Country' (I wonder if anyone ever told him that) was living in an area south of London known as Addiscombe in Croydon at the time of his disappearance. He had a great relationship with his sister Alexandra although they did have the normal squabbles that siblings often have, they got on most of the time and were quite close in age, people would often mistake them for being twins. Kevin took his studies seriously and Alexandra would later joke that she was the rebellious one out of the pair of them, preferring to go out with her friends whereas Kevin would always respect his parent's wishes and complete his homework as soon as he got home from school. He was quite the amateur chef and would often be playing around in the kitchen trying out different dishes and baking cakes. 

His parents would help support his love of cooking by helping him out with the ingredients and letting him have the kitchen to himself whenever the mood took him to make something. The night of 2nd of March 1986, which was a Sunday evening, the Hicks children were doing their usual Sunday night routine, organising their stuff for school in the morning. At some point Kevin remembered he needed some eggs for a class and and exam the next day. It was around 8:30 pm and although it was a bit of an annoyance he took just £1 and decided he was going to just nip to the local grocery store which would've taken about 5 minutes. 

When he walked out of the door, his family could not have foreseen what was to happen next. Five minutes soon passed...then 10 minutes.....then 30 minutes....then 2 hours, where was Kevin? Thinking there was a logical explanation, Kevin's concerned parents tried to convince themselves that Kevin must've bumped into a friend on the walk to the grocery store and decided to go to their house. This was the days before mobile phones (which we often knock but to be honest, mobile phones have been a real asset in certain true crime cases, sometimes being the key piece of evidence that has solved a particular crime) so there was no way of knowing, all you could do is sit and hope and when time had gotten on then it was time for phone calls to police, friends and neighbours. Kevin and Alexandra's parents always told them that if they didn't have any money for a public call box to always use reverse charge call. 

Derek and Terry were growing more and more concerned so Derek headed out in search of his son and found nothing, when the police were informed they're initial response infuriated the Hicks family and quite rightly so. The police claimed that Kevin had not been gone long enough for an alarm to be raised, they also mentioned that he was 16 years old as if that made any difference, 16 years old is still a child. Terry and Derek were ate their wits end making phone calls to other members of their family as well as Kevin's friends in the hope that someone would have information. They also made the daunting task of calling the local hospitals hoping to find an answer but at the same time praying that Kevin hadn't been involved in a terrible accident.

Days turned into weeks, weeks turned into months and Terry would constantly look out the window towards the route that Kevin took that evening, obsessed with the thought that at any minute Kevin could just appear and walk through the door. 

With no leads and nothing to go on, the police were finding themselves hitting a brick wall and it wasn't long before the desperation to get some sort of conclusion to the case drove them to start intimidating Kevin's sister Alexandra. The poor girl was trying to get through the constant worry about where her brother was and she was being quizzed constantly by adults who believed she knew more information than she was letting on. Alex was in the same boat as everyone else, she hadn't a clue where Kevin was and spent many a night lying in bed awake worried sick. Terry and Derek were getting more and more desperate that they (obviously not thinking clearly at the time due to all the stress and worry) began hounding Alexandra for some answers. 

Kevin's disappearance didn't only shock the Hicks family, it shocked the neighbourhood as well as his school as he was thought of quite highly by his teachers and those who knew him. Kevin wasn't a troubled boy and there were no red flags, signs of anything unusual going on or secret friends to anyone's knowledge. He was just a normal kid and nothing was out of the ordinary before he left that spring night. Searches took place and Alexandra later spoke of how she was upset that she wasn't allowed to take part but being young at the time, I can understand her parents wanting to protect her. I imagine taking part in a search for a missing child to be one of the most difficult and brave things to do, not only is it emotionally and physically exhausting but you don't know what the outcome is going to be. It would have been utterly devastating if Alexandra had stumbled across something she shouldn't have, it could have traumatized her for life. 

During the search, Kevin's grandfather found what looked like a pile of black trash bags and everyone was terrified as you can imagine. On further inspection the bags just turned out to be trash and for a brief moment in a never ending cycle of panic and worry, there was a huge sigh of relief. The police had contacted the owners of the grocery store and requested to view the CCTV tapes. The grocery store owners told the police that the cameras were not in operation and merely just for display. They also said that they had seen Kevin come into the store, buy some eggs and then leave without incident. Everything appeared to be normal and nobody was with him.

Soon months turned into years and the police began to get more and more distant and their focus on the case was starting to lack. The Hicks family and their friends never gave up hope and continued to do what they could to keep awareness of Kevin's disappearance in the public eye. Terry and Derek appeared on TV and interviews as well as Crimewatch (a popular TV show which focused on true crime, missing people and unsolved cases). 

Then the unbelievable happened....the years turned into decades with still nothing to go on. It' is Kevin's 55th birthday this year and it's been nearly 40 years since he went missing. Terry, sadly never having the answers of what happened to Kevin or where he was, passed away. In an interview Alexandra claimed that she and her father had been counting bouquets of flowers that had been left in tribute to Terry at her funeral. When they returned the next day, they noticed that there was a bouquet of flowers that were not there before. Alexandra believes that they could have possibly been left by Kevin. 

Alexandra hangs on to the hope that he is still alive and thinks that he may have ended up in the Navy as a chef as it wasn't as difficult to get into the forces back then as it is now. But would that make sense? to leave your family all of these years with heartbreaking unanswered questions and never-ending worry? Some investigators believe that Kevin was sadly abducted and murdered, there are so many theories out there about what happened to him but it all remains a very sad mystery. Derek sadly passed away leaving Alexandra to take on the heavy task of trying to keep the flame alive for her brother. She refused to declare him deceased after the 10 year mark and has continued to have hope ever since that she will have answers.

With the latest technology, Alexandra has worked hard to take her search for her brother to online apps and forums hoping that someone somewhere will remember something or quite possibly recognise the photograph of Kevin and might know someone at work who looks like him, just anything, any piece of information, no matter how small could do so much. 

I have included a list of links below as well as other details if there is anyone out there who has any piece of information, no matter how small. You may have heard someone talk about Kevin who thinks that they might have seen him that night or heard about his whereabouts since. If you feel scared to contact authorities for whatever reason, feel free to message me anonymously and I will pass the information on. Let's hope and pray that Alexandra can get the answers she so desperately needs and we do hope by some miracle that this has a positive ending but being nearly 40 years and the circumstances in which Kevin vanished, in my opinion, it looks like an abduction. I just can't imagine that he would put his family through all of this intentionally and for both of his parents to pass away and there to be no word or contact from him. What are your thoughts? Please leave them below in the comment section or email me in confidence at jocaledoniankitty@gmail.com

Further Reading & Sources:

- Kevin Hicks | Missing People

- Kevin Hicks | Informing Britain

- Kevin Hicks: Article | The Sun

- Kevin Hicks: Article | BBC News

- Kevin Hicks | Crime Corner

- Alexandra Hicks | X

- Alexandra Hicks | Bournemouth Echo

- Croydon | Wikipedia

Kevin Hicks was last seen on the night of the 2nd of March 1986 in Croydon, London. He was wearing a white, black and red Lacoste bomber jacket, jeans and white Hi-Tec trainers. 

If you have any information please contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 (you can choose to be anonymous on this call). 

You can also phone or text Missing People on 116 000 or email them in confidence (quoting ref: 92-000027) or email 116@missingpeople.org.uk 

Let's hope we have some news either from Kevin himself or about Kevin soon. Thank you for taking the time to read my latest post, I really appreciate it. Until next time, please stay safe and I hope to see you on my socials x

*Please be aware that the details that I will be sharing in this post will be disturbing. I will try as always to be as sensitive as I can be with the details without taking away the facts of the case. Please feel free to email me at jocaledoniankitty@gmail.com if you have any questions or specific comments regarding this post*

The picture you see at the beginning of this post is the true face of evil and it belongs to that of a sick monster by the name of Sidney Cooke otherwise known as 'Hissing Sid' or the leader of the infamous paedophile ring 'The Dirty Dozen'. He was the ringleader of other sick and perverted monsters who carried out numerous abductions, r*pes and murders of young, vulnerable boys around London as well as elsewhere in the UK from the 1960s all the way through to the 1980s. The reason he is no longer committing cruel and evil crimes towards children is because he is currently rotting behind bars where he belongs. Having him off the streets and locked away is a positive thing but it's unfortunate that he is still alive and living off of the tax payers money at the ripe old age of 98! It's hard to believe that one of the worst and most sadistic predatory paedophile's that Britain has ever seen has made it to the age of 98 especially with his sickening lifestyle he had led as a free man for decades. 

In the UK just hearing the name 'Sidney Cooke' just sends a chill down many a spine but outside of the UK there may be people who are unaware of his crimes, after all we sadly live in a world where every country has it's demons and monsters who commit all sorts of atrocities. In every country around the world they will sadly have their own version of Sidney Cooke. 

In this post, as stated at the beginning, I will be sharing disturbing details that will make your blood boil especially as Sidney Cooke and his accomplices never expressed remorse for their crimes, in fact they would brag, celebrate, tell anyone who would listen (or be forced to listen) over and over again about what they had done and what they would like to do if they ever made it out of prison. The likes of Sidney Cooke are utterly terrifying because this monster who has no remorse, is addicted to sexually abusing young boys to the point where the assaults are so severe, traumatic and brutal that the young victim dies before being disposed of like a piece of trash with the help of other men he had bonded with. No matter the age of Sidney Cooke he would never stop being a danger to children and enlisted the help of others to join in on his crimes. 

To this day it is still unclear how many deaths of young boys that Sidney Cooke and his accomplices are responsible for as the gang's crimes came to light in the 1980s. Sidney made no secret of how he enjoyed his evil acts against defenceless children and if he wasn't bragging to the police about previous incidences, he was telling whoever he shared a jail cell with, about the graphic details of numerous crimes. It seemed Sidney enjoyed reliving these horrific attacks and murders where the majority took place in the run down area of Kingsmead estate in Hackney, East London. Here he had set up a flat with other paedophiles and it was here that vulnerable boys would go through hell, some were homeless runaways, some were rent boys and others were abducted by the gang from a fairground as Sidney worked there on one of the amusements. Sidney would use his job at this fairground to lure young boys and they would either be abducted or lured back to the flat at Kingsmead with promises of sweets, alcohol and money. 

Sidney and his evil gang would take the boys back to the flat and subject them to horrific sexual assaults that would last hours, sometimes days. They later claimed that some of these boys were let go after the sick men were finished with the abuse but quite a number of young boys who are thought to be linked to the gang have never been found. There are some cases of missing boys who vanished around the time that Sidney and his gang were operating in London but there is no evidence or remains of any of these missing boys to convict the gang, only gossip from cellmates who claim that Sidney and other members of the gang confessed to murdering numerous boys. 

One of the boys, Jason Swift was only 14 years old when he was sleeping rough on the streets of London. His family begged him to come home but for whatever reason he chose not to return although he did say that he had plans to return to his family. It was revealed that Jason had been doing some sex work in exchange for money. The handsome young boy was soon spotted by Sidney and co and taken back to the flat where each member of the gang agreed to pay Jason £5 to have sex with him. They gave the boy alcohol and drugs then proceeded to take turns and the whole horrific ordeal went on for days, they just constantly abused him until his body couldn't take it anymore and he died. The horrible details (and I'm trying to be as sensitive as I can be here) of Jason being forcefully held down by these men, the brutality of it all was just sickening and the stuff of nightmares. When Jason was deceased (death was later determined to be by strangulation according to a coroner's report) they wrapped him up and carried his body out of the flat and this was said to have been a regular occurrence, the gang being seen carrying out what looked like a rolled up piece of rug or carpet and placing it in a car. Jason's body was later found in a shallow grave just outside of London. 

The paedophile gang led by Sidney Cooke were said to have included Robert Oliver, Lennie Smith, Leslie Bailey, Steven Barrell, (with close links to two prolific paedophiles) Bill Malcolm and former Scoutmaster Brian Turner. Over the years various names have been linked to Sidney Cooke, even serial killer couple Fred and Rose West (Sidney was born on the 18th of April 1927 in Stroud, Gloucestershire where the Wests were from) as well as certain politicians but that's a whole other rabbit hole to go down and I want to focus on this part of the story in this post. 

Leslie Bailey had been arrested and jailed for his part in the abuse of a young boy and whilst in prison he bragged about the gang's sickening activities at that den of horror involving these poor boys. Word got back to investigators that Leslie was bragging and they wanted to see if he would reveal to then some of the details especially as they had a series of missing children on their books and one they were interested in talking to him about was six year old Barry Lewis. The police believed that the murders of Jason Swift and Barry Lewis were connected as both boys were found near to each other and just days apart. To their surprise, Leslie spilled the horrific details and told the police that Barry abducted by the gang and subjected to a horrific sexual assault where he had been drugged and passed around each of the gang members until he was near death. After these monsters had finished these sickening act they conducted the same routine with Barry, wrapped his body up and took him out to the car but this time the plan had a problem. Barry had managed to suddenly move and it was soon clear he was alive and began to try and sit up in the car. Leslie confessed that he had murdered Barry as the child cried and screamed for his mother, Leslie suffocated the six year old child, his body later disposed of in the same manner as Jason's. 

Now the rest of the gang were under the spotlight for not only Barry's horrific abuse and murder but Leslie's other information that he shared with the police about Jason. The investigators now knew that the murders of the two boys were linked and by the same perpetrators. One of the appalling facts about this case is the way in which authorities handled the murder of Jason Swift. Originally the gang were charged with murder and quite rightly so but they couldn't prove who was the one who murdered Jason as each of them had a part to play in his demise, shockingly their sentences were changed to manslaughter and Sidney Cooke went from being given 19 years (which was disgusting for the horrendous r*pe and murder of a child and not to mention he was suspected of numerous child murders, authorities just didn't have the evidence) which was bad enough but worst was to come when he ended up just serving nine years and was out again on the streets. The murder of Jason was painted as this homosexual orgy that went wrong partly due to the fact that Jason had been working the streets (so there may have been some judgement there) and had been seen with the gang previously. 

A high profile missing case involving the sudden disappearance of a seven year old boy by the name of Mark Tildesley was brought up in Leslie Bailey's conversations with the police. He claimed that Mark had fallen victim to Sidney and the gang (this was later confirmed by other gang members). Another known paedophile Lennie Smith along with Sidney Cooke was named as the killers of the young boy but due to the fact the other accusers were also part of the gang and paedophiles themselves, authorities claimed that their word could not be taken seriously especially with the lack of evidence. Leslie was the only one who confessed to being part of Mark's murder but for some reason he got the book thrown at him and was sentenced to two life sentences. He died in prison in 1993 after being murdered by two cellmates. 

(Mark Tildesley. Picture credit: Wikipedia)

Sidney Cooke was released in 1998 to public outcry and during this time the police had re-opened various unsolved cases of young boys disappearing around the time that the gang were active. Sidney got arrested again in 1999 he was found guilty of the sexual abuse of two brothers and given a five year term, when this five year term was up he was refused parole. Since then he had continued to be refused parole because he is deemed a danger to children and he himself has admitted that if he is released he will abuse more children. It seems he does not want to be released from prison as he enjoys boasting to investigators of his crimes with not a shred of remorse. He has also told the police that he knows where Mark Tildesley is buried but he refuses to reveal the location. 

Just recently (in June 2025 at time of me writing this post) he was denied parole for the twelfth time and has been the victim of an attack by a fellow prisoner. Sidney was bashed in the face a few times with a metal flask. 

It's heartbreaking and infuriating to know that Sidney Cooke and his evil associates could be responsible for over 20 r*pes and murders of innocent young boys but proper justice will never be seen by those poor boys families due to mishandling of investigations and lack of evidence. I think going by the timeline of the missing boys, their profiles, the areas that they went missing it fits in with how the gang operated but Sidney Cooke who was the proven leader of all of this sickening hell, has hinted at all of these suspected cases and continued to play games with the authorities. At 98 years of age he has nothing to lose, he knows he is going to die in prison and he simply does not care, he never cared. He doesn't have one shred of decency in him just to tell the loved ones of Mark Tildesley where his remains are buried, he is 100% rotten to the core. 

Isn't it sickening that we have amazing people who pass away at a young age due to a terrible illness or they have their lives taken as in the case of these poor young boys, but some unimaginable monsters like Sidney Cooke are still alive, at this point he is just an oxygen thief as well as a waste of tax payers money. Imagine at the age of 98 still being a cold-hearted creature who still lives off the memories of the pain, cruelty and suffering that you inflicted on defenceless young boys. One wonders if Sidney ever has a moment (I highly doubt it to be honest) where he has a moment of fear when he thinks about the moment he dies and what is on the other side for him. I hope he lives in fear but you know he would never reveal that, he continues to be the monster he always was and the fact that authorities are keeping him locked up is about time they did something right for a change. We are all fed up of seeing dangerous people being given light sentences in the UK or sometimes no sentence at all and we are all fed up of people being locked up for the most pathetic of reasons. 

These horrible men the so-called 'Dirty-Dozen' (what a pathetic term to call them and it sort of downplays how evil and twisted they really were) are responsible for wiping out so many young lives due to their own sickening depravity and some of the members of this gang had been sexually abused themselves in their childhoods. You would think they would turn out differently having known the pain that a child goes though in such horrible, traumatic situations but not these types of perverts, they are abused themselves and they go on to abuse others. I just want to make it clear here that not all victims of childhood sexual abuse go on to be abusers, some survivors go on to help others and become amazing people. These people who took part in this gang were just pure monsters and sometimes there's just no answers for the evil in this world. But as I mentioned before at the start of this post, we live with the sad fact and reality that there is hundreds of Sidney Cooke's out there in the world and I don't say that to give everyone fear, I say that as a harsh reality. Literally in this world you have to have eyes on the back of your head, keep yourself and your loved ones as safe as you possibly can. 

You often hear people saying that back in their day things were better, safer, kids could play outside etc but I sit here as someone who has written about hundreds upon hundreds of cases from the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, right up to the present day and when it comes to child safety and people's safety in general, we still had some of the most horrific murderers and child predators back then, we just hear about it more now because of modern technology. 

I wish the families of these boys has answers, will Sidney Cooke ever change his cold, black heart and give these families some closure and peace, even on his death bed? I hate to say it but I doubt it. He's like another Ian Brady & Myra Hindley he'll take his sick secrets to his unmarked grave. 

RIP to Jason, Barry, Mark and all of the lost boys who have never been identified, who never will be identified and who have yet to be identified. Maybe one day someone's remains will be found and a grieving family will finally find some peace but in the meantime we pray for them and out hearts go out to them. 

Further Reading & Resources:

- Sidney Cooke: Article | The Sun

- Deaths of Children | Islington Survivors

- Mark Tildesley | Wikipedia

- Sidney Cooke | BBC News

- Kingsmead Estate: Article | The Guardian

- Sidney Cooke | Wikipedia

- Sidney Cooke: Article | Daily Mail 

- Jason Swift: Article | Islington Gazette

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Stay safe x

It's been nearly 18 years since the baby faced and bright young boy, Andrew Gosden stepped off the train in London's King's Cross station never to be seen again. A few moments of him walking through the station, recorded on CCTV cameras is all that is available to his family, investigators and the public. As the years have gone by, nobody is closer to any answers and as one can imagine, his parents, sister and wider family continue to endure the pain of not knowing where he is or what has happened to him? Is he alive (as we all hope) or has something terrible happened? It's a horrible situation to be in and as a parent with a missing child I cannot imagine how that must feel.

It may have been close to 18 years that Andrew vanished but to his family, it feels like yesterday, and as a sympathetic stranger, I take heart in knowing that so many people still care about Andrew's whereabouts to this day, the information posters are still up in public places, his pictures and story are all over the internet and nobody has forgotten about him, which can sadly be the situation with some missing persons cases who have been gone for a considerable amount of time. I have always said that people should never give up hope because we have seen the miracle of some cases where someone has been found decades later, it is possible and it can happen. 

So many children go missing every year and some are returned safe and well to their families, some are saved from horrendous situations and some are still out there somewhere with their loved ones left behind not only missing them terribly but imagining the worst. One of the heartbreaking aspects to Andrew's story is that we are no longer looking for a child, we are now looking for an adult. He was just 14 years old back in 2007 when he disappeared but he looked so much younger and was often mistaken for being 12. Andrew is from a loving home and the fact that his family have been completely devoted to finding out what really happened says a lot about their never-ending love for their beloved 'Roo' as he is affectionately known. 

In some missing persons cases after a period of time has passed, the family of the individual who are suffering year after year with no answers sometimes get to a point where, for example a decade has passed and there's no closure and despite every avenue gone down, there is no answer and so the missing person is often declared deceased. Despite the fact that we are nearly crossing the 18 year mark, Andrew's family are not giving up and the various interviews they have done have been very truthful and open about how this nightmare has deeply affected their lives to the point that Andrew's father has suffered with his mental health and considered ending his life on more than one occasion, thank goodness he is still with us. 

Andrew's home life was quite a relaxed one and he wanted for nothing when it came to his parents. There was no traumatic events or problems at home for him to want to run away but the events of the next day left a list of questions that have never been answered. On the morning of the 14th of September 2007, Andrew got up for school but he was acting a bit grouchy on this particular morning which was slightly unusual because he was usually a very self-motivated and upbeat person in the mornings but his parents just took this to mean that he must not have had much sleep the night before. He seemed fine once he'd properly woken up, gotten ready and headed out of the front door to go to school (which had just recently started up again after the summer holidays), all seemed fine. 

Andrew's parents went to work as usual and that morning seemed just like any other morning, however, Andrew returned to the house a bit later and took off his uniform and changed into a black pair of trousers and a Slipknot t-shirt. He took a few items with him in a black backpack but not clothes or anything that you would take if you were planning a trip or to leave somewhere. He took a handheld video game but left the charger at home which indicated that either he forgot the charger or didn't think he would need it because he may have planned to return later? He went to a cash machine at some point and drew out £200. 

His next known movements were to Doncaster train station where he purchased a one-way ticket to London's King's Cross station. The lady at the ticket office told him that he could have a return for just an extra 50p but he refused. He got on to the train and when he reached London't King's Cross, the CCTV camera had been able to capture his last known movements but that is all. He arrived at the station at 11:20 am and the time stamp on the CCTV camera where he was last seen as he got off of the train was 11:25 am, since then, it all remains a compete mystery as to what happened next. On the camera footage he is alone and nobody is talking to him. 

Andrew didn't take a phone (to anyone's knowledge) and leading up to his disappearance there seemed to be an issue with him and phones. He had a habit of losing mobile phones and on the third occasion his parents offered to buy him a new one but he refused it. Despite what is noted as being the correct contents of what was in Andrew's bag, how do we know for sure? I think he had a secret phone that he kept private from his parents but I could be wrong. Although everything seemed fine in the run up to the 14th of September, his parents did notice that Andrew had requested to walk home from school which raised a few eyebrows but his parents assumed it would be fine. The time it would take him to walk from his school to his home would be approximately and hour and a half. That is strange for a kid who's been at school all day and then having the energy to want to walk home for an hour and a half. Some kids just can't wait to get in the door, grab some food and get on the internet but Andrew wanted to walk home despite the time and length of the journey. 

At first his parents hadn't realised that he had not been to school and that he was not in the house. They saw the school uniform when they returned home from work themselves and assumed that he was somewhere in the house. It quickly became clear that he wasn't there and the authorities were contacted. Despite an investigation, information posters and appeals and the dedication of Andrew's parents, family, neighbours and friends, nothing more is known about what happened to Andrew. In 2021 two men were arrested and  accused of human trafficking and kidnap, police believed they had been involved with Andrew's disappearance. This shocking development in the case stunned everyone but the two men were released from police custody due to lack of evidence and no more was said about it. 

In 2025 we are nowhere near to any answers and it seems so bizarre that in a huge city like London, nobody has any information whatsoever. There have been suspected sightings over the years but they turned out to be mistaken. So where is Andrew? When he stepped off of that train in King's Cross station where did he go? Did he meet someone? Apparently Andrew wasn't a fan of the internet, didn't play his games online with anyone else, didn't own a phone (to his parents knowledge) and the computer in the family home was checked and there was no suspicious activity. 

Theories have continued to go around and around that Andrew was running away to start a new life, other people believe he was going to take his own life which is very sad and one can't imagine him choosing to do that and not leave a letter for his family but none of us know the truth. Some people think that he was meeting someone or had been kidnapped. There was also the theory that he may have decided to visit some relatives that lived in London but those relatives said that he never contacted them or visited them. The mystery remains and it's really heartbreaking because so many years have gone by and there is nothing. 

Andrew's parents have expressed that he was bright academically but didn't talk much about his life at school and although very intelligent, he wasn't streetwise and quite quiet, preferring to be by himself just playing video games and reading. For him to get on a train on his own from Doncaster to the big, bustling city of London and in particular the iconic King's Cross Station (which sees 50 million commuters pass through it every year from all over the UK and the world) is completely out of character. The station itself is huge and very busy, the city of London is huge and like a maze, if you're on your own and don't know where you're going it can be quite dangerous (even more so now but even back in 2007).

All we can do is continue to talk about Andrew, give his family our support, share information and never give up hope. Let's pray there are some answers soon and that he is still with us. 

- Help Us To Find Andrew | Website

- Andrew Gosden | Missing People

- Disappearance of Andrew Gosden | Wikipedia

- Andrew Gosden: Discussion Thread | Reddit

- Andrew Gosden: Article | BBC News

- Andrew Gosden: Article | Examiner Live

- Andrew Gosden: Article | BBC News

- Andrew Gosden: Article | Big Issue

- Andrew Gosden: Article | Yahoo

- Doncaster Railway Station | Wikipedia

- London King's Cross Railway Station | Wikipedia

- South Yorkshire Police | Website

- Andrew Gosden - CCTV Footage

- Kevin Gosden Interview

Thank you for taking the time to read my post and I hope you will join me for my next one. In the meantime, I hope you will join me on my Socials

Stay safe until next time x 

(Bruce Johnston Sr. Picture credit: philadelphia.today)

*Please be aware that I will be talking about some sensitive subjects in this post to do with murder and sexual assault. I will try to be as sensitive as I can be with the details without taking way from the facts of this case* 

When it comes to iconic movies of the 1980's especially where thrillers are concerned, At Close Range is right up there as a classic. With Christopher Walken and Sean Penn at the head of a brilliant cast it's no surprising that the film has continued to be a firm favourite. Christopher Walken is just brilliant in everything he does and he can play such sinister roles where he can leave you literally on the edge of your seat, feeling uncomfortable, waiting for him to just explode in a fit of anger but then he will surprise you by suddenly smiling. He is a remarkable actor and is considered to be one of the greatest actors in cinema history. Sean Penn is also a fantastic, versatile actor. But, as much as I would like to go on about how incredible this movie is, it's not a review post (leave that to my Letterboxd account). This post is about the true story that inspired this movie. 

A lot of people are surprised to find that the movie is based on a true story, they can't quite believe it but it is true, well.....most of it. Investigators who worked on the case were contacted during the making of the movie and they refused to be involved with it because they didn't agree with some of the content, especially with how Sean Penn's character was portrayed as a somewhat sympathetic individual. 

At Close Range focuses on the real life case of the notorious Johnston gang (names and certain details in the movie were changed but for the most part the story is accurate) which was founded and led by Bruce Alfred Johnston Sr alongside his brothers, Norman and David, the trio also had long term associates who were part of their gang and as a collective they were something of a criminal mastermind, these guys were no small town crooks who did a bit of shoplifting here and there. These guys were safe code crackers, alarm dismantlers (I don't even know if that is an official word but I'm leaving it in because I know you will know what I mean by that), experts in antiques, firearms, picking locks, stealing cars and mechanics. They also knew the value and quality of precious metals, diamonds and coins. They could tell if certain piece of jewelry was fake or valuable. They also knew about the value of certain car parts, farming equipment including tractors and also knew how to make bombs, When it came to theft and avoiding proper justice these guys were unbelievable so it's no wonder a movie was made about them and to this very day people are fascinated by this incredible story. 

This gang who reportedly never paid for a thing through honest hard work, had built a criminal enterprise that went on for the best part of 20 years having been active in the 1960's and 1970's in their local area of Chester County, USA before branching out to other states. During their crime hey day they single handedly were responsible for most of the crime that had gone on in their local area as well as across state lines. When Bruce Sr estranged sons (Bruce Jr and James Johnstone aka 'Jimmy') became involved with him they went on to create their own gang which was nicknamed 'The Kiddie Gang'. Bruce Sr acted as a mentor to the boys and encouraged them to round up a few of their friends to join them, Bruce Sr, his brothers and associates agreed to teach the boys how to steal and crack codes in return for whatever money was made to be divided up between the Kiddie gang and Bruce Sr (the majority of the money going to Bruce Sr).

Bruce Jr and Jimmy Johnston had no proper relationship with their father Bruce Sr for the majority of their upbringing. They were raised by their mother who remarried. Bruce Sr and their mother had been divorced for many years and Bruce Sr was pretty much an absent father with a notorious reputation. The Johnston gang were well known to the police and the local community but they ruled by fear. If anyone dare say a bad word against them or even try to complain to the police the gang would take action against that particular individual. 

Things did fall apart eventually for Bruce Sr, his brother and his associates in very dramatic fashion as you may know from the movie. This criminal business that had been in operation for decades came to an even more horrific end that was even more shocking than anyone could have anticipated. Bruce Jr (who was 19) and his brother Jimmy (18) were very close but found themselves out of work, no direction in life and no proper guidance. It was Bruce Jr's idea to contact his father out of the blue, they knew the rumours about him and both Bruce Jr and Jimmy were curious. When they finally did arrange a meeting with their father they were completely in awe of the money and lifestyle that Bruce Sr was living in. Bruce Sr appeared to be a man of leisure who almost moved around like he was a celebrity, people would say hello to him at the local bars where he would buy people drinks like money was no object and he appeared to be very charismatic (as long as you didn't get on the wrong side of him). Bruce was sharply dressed, had nice shoes, jewelry and cars, when he pulled out his wallet it was stacked with notes, the boys saw all of this and desired the same. 

In the beginning Bruce Sr wasn't so sure about letting the boys in to his world, he was very careful about who he trusted and even lied to the boys in the beginning that everything he made and owned was completely his own. He would put the boys through tests to see if they were loyal and would keep their mouths shut if the cops ever approached them. When they had gotten to the point where Bruce Sr felt that they had shown their loyalty to him he decided that he he would let his guard down and teach them 'The Family Business'. 

The Johnston gang were able to evade proper justice for so many years because of their methods of intimidating and threatening witnesses. If they found out that someone had been talking to the cops that person would find themselves getting a phone call at 3 am warning them to keep their mouth shut or a device or bullet would somehow magic it's way into that person's car with them or their family members in it. The threatening calls and intimidation always worked and it drove the police crazy. The number of times that the police felt that they finally had them they would lose them again. There was some time spend in jail here and there but only small jail terms and all that did was put a little break in between their crime sprees. The moment any of the gang left the prison gates they were back to business. 

After the shocking murder of two cops who were keeping an eye on the gang occurred, police surveillance on Bruce Sr, his brothers and their associates stepped up full gear. Investigators believed that if they fully committed themselves to keeping an eye on every move that Bruce Sr and co made, they themselves would catch them in the act and be witnesses themselves to the thefts. In their minds, as the witnesses would be cops there would be no way they could intimidate them into staying silent and this would be the perfect way to have them locked up for a very long time if not for good. 

As the end of the 1970's approached it was all starting to fall apart for Bruce Sr and his associates. The kiddie gang had been doing well after a shaky start but they did bring in some money for Bruce Sr however there was a problem for the Johnston gang, Bruce Jr had fallen in love with a local girl named Robin Miller who was only 15 years old. Robin lived with her mother on a farm and was a very bright, well spoken and sharp witted young girl who wasn't afraid to speak her mind. She was quite popular not only at school but with the locals and Bruce Jr was completely smitten with her. There was an age gap as he was 19 at the time and both were from very different backgrounds but the young couple seemed to be happy and Bruce Jr showered Robin with gifts which included gold necklaces and her mother would ask her where these expensive pieces of jewelry came from. 

Robin would of course cover for Bruce Jr but she didn't agree with what he was doing and she herself had heard about the Johnston gang and knew that they had a bad reputation. Bruce Jr, being under the spell of his father at that time tried to convince her that his father was not at all like he was being portrayed. I think it's important to include here that Bruce Sr and the rest of the Johnston gang did have members of the community that kept quiet for them not just out of fear but because they would actually buy the stolen goods from the gang. Bruce Sr would loan people money, give people certain items for cheaper than they would normally have to pay and in some cases if he was feeling generous, he'd give them two tractors for the price of one (depending on the value and condition of the said tractors of course).

Robin eventually met Bruce Sr and it was clear from the start that Bruce Sr saw the young girl as a threat to the family business, he saw her as an outsider and someone who talked too much. Her bubbly personality and intelligence worried him especially as he could see how smitten Bruce Jr was with her. If she was to speak to the wrong person or tell a friend or if Bruce Jr told her the family secrets that would be the gang finished and he couldn't let that happen. 

Despite Robin trying to convince Bruce Jr to leave the kiddie gang and be on the straight and narrow, Bruce Jr found himself torn between her, the lifestyle and his father. Bruce Jr enjoyed the money that came with it all and realised that he would have to get a real job and then there was the consequences of getting on the wrong side of his father who not only taught him the role but gave him money, cars and treated him to delicious food at fancy restaurants. It was a difficult decision to make. With everything going on it was no surprise that Bruce Jr found himself getting caught for theft and put in jail for a short spell. Bruce Sr was furious and blamed his son's involvement with Robin as being the reason why he was starting to get careless. 

With Bruce Jr behind bars the cops were hoping that he would be the key to bringing down the Johnston criminal empire but Bruce Jr kept his word to his father and stayed silent. Robin and Bruce Jr would write to each other whilst he was locked up and this also made Bruce Sr nervous about what Robin could be possibly writing in these letters, he knew investigators were trying to get information out of Bruce Jr and that everything was being watched. 

Bruce Sr came up with a plan to scare Robin away from his son and is a very sadistic way told her that he could take her to see Bruce Jr, knowing how she was missing him so much and getting to the jail to visit him wasn't easy for her. Of course Robin jumped at the chance to go and visit her boyfriend but when Bruce Sr and another male associate picked up Robin, that wasn't what they had in mind. When Robin was in the vehicle the two men put on a pretence that all was well and that they were all going to see Bruce Jr. Bruce Sr pulled out some alcohol and began drinking alongside the other man. They both pressured the young girl to drink and to drink fast, being as small as she was it didn't take much time for her to be affected by the alcohol. They never went to visit Bruce Jr, the sick pair sexually assaulted the frightened young girl and warned her to stay away from Bruce Jr or expect more of the same. 

A month after this horrific ordeal Robin bravely plucked up the courage and wrote a letter to Bruce Jr telling him everything that had happened. Bruce Jr was enraged and sickened as anyone would be, he decided that he was going to give the cops what they wanted which was everything on his father, his uncles and their associates. 

It wasn't all plain sailing though because although the cops knew Bruce Sr and the gang were responsible for various crimes, they needed evidence, more witnesses and soon one by one the kiddie gang were in their sights to be questioned. What resulted in this was bloodshed, at the orders of Bruce Sr and even mostly carried out by him, members of the Kiddie gang (including his own son Jimmy) were shot in the back of the head and buried in a ditch. Bruce Jr and Robin were still alive and there were issues around Bruce Jr being placed on the witness protection program. Robin's mother later tried to sue the police department but the waters were murky in this situation because Bruce Jr would not follow the rules that had been given to him by the cops and one of those rules was to keep distance from Robin which he refused to do.

Both Robin and Bruce Jr were very naive being so young and because the police were involved they may have thought that because Bruce Sr and the others were being watched by the cops that it may have been safe for them to just carry on about their lives. However, this was a gang who had been in operation for decades and knew all the sneaky ways to go about things, Bruce Sr might not have been the one who pulled the trigger but he would find someone, pay them the right price and they would, and that's what sadly happened. 

After a day of spending time having fun at a park, Bruce Jr and Robin pulled up outside her home on the night of August 30th 1978. Their plan was to run away together but it wasn't to be because even before the pair had tried to exit the car they were set upon by a wave of bullets. Bruce Jr had been shot around 8 times and Robin had been shot in the face. The pair had managed to crawl out of the car and get into the house where they ended up in Robin's bedroom. Robin was bleeding profusely, Bruce Jr was barely hanging on and felt helpless having been shot numerous times in his head and chest, he could see that Robin was slowly slipping away. When emergency services arrived it was clear that no more could be done for Robin, she was just 15 years old. 

In the hospital, Doctors worked tirelessly to keep Bruce Jr alive and it was later revealed that members of the Johnston gang had actually tried to get into the hospital to basically finish the job. The gang wanted Robin and Bruce Jr dead so there would be nobody left to tell the truth. Bruce Jr was made of stronger stuff and managed to hang on much to the shock of Bruce Sr and co. The cops finally had the Johnston gang right where they wanted them and these dangerous men were finally put behind bars.

I would love to say that Bruce Jr despite the horrendous trauma and ordeal had somehow made a new life for himself but sadly, so far it hasn't been the case. Bruce Jr himself, even without his father in the picture can not turn himself away from a life of crime and time in prison has become a way of life for him. As I mentioned before, part of the reason people connected in this case were not happy with the way that Sean Penn portrayed the character based on Bruce Jr (although it was an incredible performance) was that Bruce Jr was no angel, he wasn't a complete monster like his father but he still did unforgivable things and continued to do so throughout his life. 

No excuses to be made but Bruce Jr has been through a lot of traumatic events in his life and no doubt found out the shocking and heartbreaking details of his close brother's death. It was revealed that Jimmy was shot but was still alive when he was thrown into the ditch and buried by his own father and accomplices. 

As for the members of the infamous Johnston gang, well some became informers and broke deals in exchange for information, some had been murdered and the three figure heads of the whole operation (that the cops were hell-bent on getting), were finally brought to justice. Bruce Sr was convicted of the murders of Robin Miller, Gary Crouch, James Sampson , Duane Lincoln and for the murder of his son Jimmy and the attempted murder of his son Bruce Jr. He was sentenced to six consecutive life sentences. He died on August the 8th 2002 at the age of 63 from liver disease. His brothers, Norman and David were were both convicted of the murders of their nephew Jimmy, Robin Miller, Wayne Sampson and Duane Lincoln. both of them were sentenced to four life sentences. 

Norman Johnston is still alive and had managed to escape prison for a short period of time in 1999. He is now in a different prison continuing his sentence. David Johnston, according to some reports passed away in prison in 2015 but not much has been reported about that. If anyone knows any details about the circumstances of his death please leave them below in the comments section if you wish. 

In another sick twist to this unbelievable story, when Bruce Sr passed away his body was buried in Fremont Union Cemetery in Nottingham, Chester County, the exact place where Robin Miller was laid to rest. Robin has a modest grave which from time to time has flowers but Bruce Sr's grave is nowhere to be seen by those who have tried to find it for whatever reason, it has been revealed that he was placed in an unmarked grave. 

The Johnston gang had made millions of dollars in their long lasting era of crime which spanned decades, the majority of the money and items stolen were never recovered. 

With this case, it seems the only person who was completely innocent, who never put a foot wrong was Robin, just a 15 year old girl with her whole life ahead of her, being involved with the bad boy from the wrong side of the tracks. Being so young, naive and in love there was no way that she could have possibly prevented events from happening, she was just a child at the end of the day and the young Johnston brothers, Bruce Jr and Jimmy were just two mixed up young boys, no proper guidance, no money and nobody to show them a decent road to go down. The same could be said about the other young boys that got mixed up in this mess. These kids were not involved with the Johnston gang for that long but Bruce Sr and co were movers and shakers who were fast paced, that's how they got away with it for so long, they'd commit crime after crime after crime and never miss a beat. Bruce Sr was a horrible influence and a very terrible and powerful man who had control over a lot of people. And how many more deaths were the Johnston gang really responsible for? 20 years of crime, how many people were silenced with threats and how many people were silenced for good? I guess that's part if the reason people still talk about this case at the time of me writing this post (2025).

RIP to Robin, Jimmy Johnston and the young boys who may have fallen into that life but who knows what could have happened once the Johnston gang were put behind bars, things may have changed for the better? we will never know but I still pay my respects, obviously first and foremost to young Robin.

Further Reading & Sources: 

- Bruce Johnston Sr | Wikipedia

- Jailing The Johnston Gang | Book by Bruce Mowday

- Interview With Dave Richter

- Johnston Court Documents | Justia US Law

- Robin Marie Miller | Find A Grave

- Chester County | Wikipedia

- Fremont Cemetery | Wikipedia

- At Close Range | IMDB 

As always, if you have made it this far in this post, I am so extremely grateful and appreciative for your time. As mentioned before, I love this movie and I can't go without mentioning the incredible song by the Queen herself, Madonna. 'Live To Tell' is a haunting musical masterpiece and even back then when it was put on the soundtrack to the film, Madonna was putting her foot down. At the time the makers of the movie wanted Madonna on the soundtrack as they believed it would be a good fit plus she was married to Sean Penn at the time. The studio would not allow it but Madonna took charge and actually wrote the lyrics on the spot and the song itself has a special place in people's hearts to this day. 

I hope you will join me inn my next post, in the meantime, I hope to see you on my socials 

Stay safe x