True Crime With Caledonian Kitty

When I think about the music that my parents played growing up, I count myself very blessed for in amongst the classic albums of the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, there was always a Bee Gees number in there somewhere. They were brought to my attention through being a fan of Grease and Saturday Night Fever and my mum was always a huge fan of Barry Gibb and their music. To me, the Bee Gees were just as important in music history as The Beatles were, but they don't get the full recognition that they deserve. I watched a Glastonbury clip on You Tube recently and it was from a few years ago when Coldplay had a surprise guest on stage and it was none other than Barry Gibb himself. With such music royalty you'd have thought that the audience would be screaming the place down but unfortunately this particular audience were a bit lukewarm and I was angry at my laptop screen because I thought that Barry deserved a heroes welcome. 

I understand that a lot of the people in that audience are of a certain age and taste but that's no excuse, The Bee Gees were before my time but I still know who they are, but anyway, I'm sure you know the significance of how important the Bee Gees have been to the world of music. I had to begin this post talking about the Bee Gees because the person I'm focusing on in this post was the youngest of the Gibb brothers, Andy. All together there were four brothers. 

The Bee Gees were formed in 1958 as a trio, Barry, Robin and Maurice. Barry was the oldest of the Gibb brothers and each were very talented singers, songwriters and musicians in their own right. The height of the band's success was in the late 1960s through to the 1970s but they were so incredibly popular with numerous hits not only for themselves but writing for other artists that they pretty much cemented their place in music history. They continued to release songs and tour up until the sad deaths of Robin and Maurice. Maurice was only 53 when he passed away on the 12th of January 2003, after issues with his health and suffering from a cardiac arrest. Robin passed away on the 20th of May 2012 at the age of 62. He had battled a number of health conditions in the later years of his life which were connected to colon cancer. As I move along this post I will be talking more about Andy but if you are unaware of his story you've probably pretty much guessed sadly that Andy too is no longer with us. I will go into the circumstances of his death as we go on but a heartbreaking outcome all round to find that Barry is the only one left out of the four brothers who is still standing. Barry is still going strong at the remarkable age of 78 and there really is no end to that man's talent. 

So, as you can imagine, Andy being so much younger than his brothers, being born on the 5th of March 1958 in Manchester, England, there was about 8 to 9 years between him and his two brothers Robin and Maurice. Barry being the oldest was 12 years apart in age from Andy. The funny thing is that Andy and Barry were almost like twins despite the age gap, they both looked alike, acted alike and even had the same birthmark. Andy idolized Barry and wanted to be just like him. Andy's upbringing was quite a surreal one, when his three brothers began making waves the whole Gibb family went from being a working class poor family from England to a worldwide sensation. Andy was still very young but watched in awe as his brothers, particularly Barry, got so much positive attention everywhere they went, screaming girls, fancy cars, fancy clothes and a never-ending supply of money. Whenever Andy wanted a new toy he got it, his brothers made sure that he and the family never went without a single thing. 

Andy's original dream was not to follow his brothers into the world of music, he wanted to be a Doctor. Being a Doctor seemed to be what he was set on until Barry bought him a guitar and he became hooked on playing. He still hero-worshipped Barry and decided that he wanted to get into music himself. Barry, his other brothers and his parents were all very supportive and encouraged him to keep practicing. 

Barry, Robin and Maurice, despite their success, knew how hard the music industry was and the pressures that came along with fame. They did their best to shield Andy from the showbiz lifestyle but it was very difficult. Andy was determined to be a star but he was also very shy at times and didn't have the confidence like that of his brothers. He was often described as being very sensitive. As Andy got older he expressed his desire to be famous like his brothers and really wanted to be part of the Bee Gees. For some reason the option of Andy joining the Bee Gees was never entertained by the other brothers for reasons best known to them. The trio had already cemented their place in music history and they were supportive of Andy with encouraging him to keep practicing and really go for a career but they didn't want him to be part of the band. 

With the help of his parents, brothers (especially Barry), Andy was set up with a music career. Barry helped him with songwriting and was a mentor to him. His mother got a band together and acted as a manager. Things took a while to take off and there were some dramas at this time. Andy was quite careless and found himself in a number of mishaps whilst living in Australia, especially a very serious one where he was driving a new car and accidentally ran someone over, the victim was sadly left disabled for life, having lost both legs and Andy's parents reportedly freaked out when they were aware of what happened and moved him as quick as they could out of the country. 

There was numerous stops and starts with his music career and he was constantly billed as 'The Bee Gee's Youngest Brother', this irked him but at the same time he understood that it was how it was supposed to be because a lot of people still didn't know who he was. With Barry's help he recorded the now classic song 'I Just Want To Be Your Everything'. Andy didn't have the confidence in his songwriting despite Barry encouraging him to keep going because he believed that he really had something. Barry was known to be an incredible songwriter who could basically write a hit in 15 minutes, right on the spot. Not to take away from Andy's talent because he was very gifted himself but Barry pretty much helped Andy a lot with his music career, not just songwriting and advice but backing vocals, harmonies and in some cases he would sing the song and Andy would sing over the top of it. 

There had been some drama in Andy's love life with a woman he had met in Australia, she was constantly being a thorn in his side and played on his vulnerabilities. When she blackmailed him into marrying her, the Gibb family (along with his friends) didn't approve and none of the Gibb family attended the wedding. The relationship was on and off for a while before they finally called it quits but not before she dropped a bombshell that she was pregnant. At the very height of Andy's success which was in the late 1970s to early 1980s, instead of being able to sit back and enjoy finally having made it, he still faced the constant comparisons to his brothers and accusations that Barry basically gave him a career despite all he had done to work so hard. Andy wrote songs which weren't released and this further frustrated him. He was a fantastic singer with a great personality and was very talented on the guitar but he didn't have the self belief and confidence like he wasn't really ready, he certainly struggled tremendously with fame. He'd struggled with being known as 'The Bee Gees Kid' and struggled even more so when the spotlight was fully placed on him. 

The music industry stuck a label on Andy claiming he was a teen heartthrob and he wasn't too comfortable with this either knowing fine well how short such careers tended to be in the music industry. When people went to see Andy perform they thoroughly enjoyed his performances and could see that he was very passionate and giving his all. He talked about how he enjoyed performing but also said that if there were times that things were getting a bit quiet he would perform some of the Bee Gee's songs and that would bring the audience to life. When he talked about singing his brothers songs, it wasn't negative, he loved singing the songs because he really wanted to be the fourth Bee Gee. There were moments when the Bee Gees were on tour and they would bring Andy on stage and it all seemed to work out great but still they decided it best that he didn't join them permanently. Robin mentioned in an interview that he didn't want Andy to be part of the band. It's actually very sad when you think about it and confusing at the same time. I'd love to hear other people's thoughts on this. Why did the brothers decide not to have him in the band? Do you think it would have worked? 

Andy was trying to make a name for himself and he did have some success but when he tried to continue the novelty was starting to wear off. There was initially excitement around him (he actually had a very impressive start to his career with three number one singles as a new artist) because he was the youngest Gibb brother and he was very handsome but for some reason, maybe because of the style of music and the change of music styles at the time going into the 1980s, his popularity was beginning to wane especially with the death of Disco music. He became involved with a TV show called 'Solid Gold' and had also been very popular in musical theatre productions. Despite things not going quite to plan with the music career, he still had a lot of public interest and a lot of things going for him in his career, he was also dating one of the most beautiful women in the world at the time, actress Victoria Principal. You would have thought that this would have helped make things a bit better for him because he did have some success but it just wasn't in the same vein as his brothers. His was a different type of road to success but still he wasn't happy within himself. 

Andy was never a complete angel but around this time the drugs took hold of him in a big way and he was in constant bouts of depression. It began affecting his career and his relationship as well as his health. He'd been back and forth to the hospital with heart issues after one of his drug binges and it wasn't enough to scare him. Victoria Principal ended the relationship because she couldn't cope with the drug use. People did try to help him but he shut himself away from people. The show 'Solid Gold' were supportive initially but it was very difficult for them because they had to tape two shows just in case Andy didn't show up to film. He became unreliable and eventually everything dried up. 

A friend noticed that he had a lot of letters on the dashboard of his car and he refused to open them, when asked what they were he said they were from his mother. His ex-wife from Australia turned up out of the blue and called him asking him to meet their daughter. At first Andy was unsure of what exactly this woman really wanted and assumed she was looking for money but she claimed that she just wanted him to see their daughter. He finally agreed and he met them, he got on well with his daughter and bought her a bracelet planning to keep in regular contact but sadly it was never to be. 

With his music career a no-go, his TV career and relationship gone, Andy Gibb was in a very lonely place as the late 1980s approached, it was a difficult decade for him just trying to keep his head above water as depression and addiction took full hold. In 1988 according to Barry, Robin and Maurice, Andy had been through hell but had gotten clean and was in talks to make a comeback musically, he really wanted to have another shot trying something different this time. Barry was considering having Andy more involved with the Bee Gee's providing that he was 100% clean, in the past Barry had tried to persuade Maurice and Robin about Andy joining the band but there were not comfortable with that idea. This time it did look like Andy was taking some very positive steps and had managed to make one of his dreams comes true, to be able to get a pilot's license to fly a plane. Andy studied and practiced and passed with flying colours (excuse the pun) and his brothers and family were so proud of him and believed that he was really on the road to recovery this time. He was in regular contact with his brothers and celebrated his 30th birthday in London with plans to make a new album. Things were starting to look positive despite the reality that Andy was in a huge amount of debt but plans had been put in place to help manage all of that with the help of his brothers and family. On and off since the late 70s, Andy had heart problems but never told his brothers, only his parents knew and they kept it a secret. The brothers knew that Andy suffered from chronic fatigue and could fall asleep at the drop of a hat but they just put that down to him working so hard and not sleeping properly. Andy kept his health issues to himself for most of his life. 

With things looking like they were turning a positive corner with Andy looking better than he had been in a long time, just days after his birthday things took a horrific turn. Andy was experiencing heart issues, the kind that he had endured for years but this time there was crippling stomach pains too. His mother took him to the hospital and he went through various tests, Andy asked his mother ''Could I die from this?''

The situation with the stomach pains that Andy was going through ended up being the very same condition that his brother Maurice would go through many years later. When Maurice fell ill, he was rushed to hospital where the stomach pains were quickly diagnosed, he went though some surgery and his life was saved. 

Whilst Andy was at the hospital things just went from bad to worse as the Doctors tried to find out the cause of the chest and stomach pains. Andy didn't reveal to the Doctors about his long history of drug and alcohol abuse so the Doctors were confused trying to figure out what was really going on with an otherwise very healthy looking young man. Andy's health sadly continued to decline and before anyone knew what was happening he just suddenly passed away at the age of just 30. His death was determined to have been caused by Myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle) and other factors which were connected to his history of drug and alcohol abuse. His heart was so very weak and couldn't cope. This condition can be overcome depending on the severity of the inflammation and the individual's lifestyle and overall health. Andy had years of drinking and taking drugs to the extreme to the point that it all took over everything, his life, his career and his relationship. Everyone who knew him was devastated but part of them knew it was always a possibility because of how strong the addictions was. Various attempts at rehab, support etc was given, offered and tried out, nothing helped. 

An autopsy was performed on Andy and the coroner found that there was no drugs in his system, he really had been kicking the habit. The reason for his untimely death was due to the weakening of the heart muscle because of previous years of drug use. 

I've watched some interviews over the years that the Bee Gees have done and Barry always gets emotional when talking about Andy. Barry (although he wasn't to know what was going to happen) feels guilty about encouraging Andy to have a music career and wished that he had just done what he originally wanted, and that was to become a Doctor. 

It's such a shame that such a talented family have had so many heartbreaks and for Barry to see and feel the loss of each of his brothers. Despite the differences, the egos, the career problems and fighting over songwriting, attempts at solo careers and who's going to sing the lead on a certain song etc....at the end of the day, they all loved each other and they all contributed to an incredible legacy which will continue to live on and entertain for generations to come. 

I wish things had turned out different for Andy but I cannot imagine what it must have been like for someone who was not only born with quite an age gap from his brothers to those brothers being one of the biggest bands of all time. The pressure that he must have felt and the loneliness, it must've been very difficult. 

RIP Andy, Maurice and Robin. Thank you for sharing your incredible talent with us and for all of these musical masterpieces that you created. You will be remembered for all time. 

Andy's final resting place is located in Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Los Angeles. On his memorial plaque along with his name and date of birth and death, is the inscription 'An Everlasting Love' which was one of his hit songs. The song was performed by Andy and written by Barry. 

Further Reading & Sources: 

- Arrow Through The Heart: A Biography of Andy Gibb | Book by Matthew Hild

- BeeGees | Official Website

- Andy Gibb | Wikipedia

- Andy Gibb | Find A Grave

- Bee Gees | Wikipedia

- Bee Gees: Children of The World | Book by Bob Stanley

- Andy Gibb | Documentary | Our History

- Bee Gees | Documentary | Cal Vid Youtube

- Andy Gibb | Biography

I hope this post, as sad as it is gave you a bit more of an insight into the career of the life and tragic death of Andy Gibb (if you were not already familiar), the music of Andy and the Bee Gee's will live on forever. I hope you will join me next time for another post. In the meantime I hope to see you on my Socials

Stay safe until next time x

*Please be aware that there will be some details in this post that are quite disturbing. I have aimed to be as a sensitive as I can be with the details without taking away from the facts of the case. If you have any questions about this post or would like to speak to me for whatever reason about it, please feel free to email me at jocaledoniankitty@gmail.com*

I've said it before in previous cases that I have covered on this blog over the years, that some people just do not deserve the gift of children and having the privilege of being a parent. 35 year old Kelly Smith (real name Racquel 'Kelly' Smith) is one such person who unfortunately was given the role of a 'Mother' but was in no way ever what you would call 'maternal'. In fact, she saw her beautiful three children as a stone around her neck and love and affection was off the cards as far as she was concerned. 

Kelly lived with her three children in what can only be described as a dilapidated hut in Saldanha Bay which is a little place near Cape Town, South Africa, that has seen better days. A chronic drug addict from her early teens, it sadly was no rare thing to hear of Kelly trying to sell her own children to various people in order to get money for drugs. As you can imagine, the children had a hell of a life with her. 

I saw a news article pop up the other day regarding this case and I could not believe what I was reading. This case has shocked South Africa to it's core as well as the rest of the world who are aware of it. I was and am absolutely horrified to think that a mother could do such things to her own children, no matter the circumstances, living in poverty, dependent on illegal substances or whatever the situation, children should not be subjected to this type of horrendous abuse and neglect. 

I was horrified to read that Kelly had sold her 6 year old angelic looking daughter, Joshlin to a man who claimed to be a 'healer'. This stranger wanted to buy Joshlin for her skin and eyes which is unbelievable and without batting an eyelid, Kelly (with the help of her disgusting boyfriend and his friend) handed over her innocent little girl to this fiend for the pathetic sum of £800. The evil trio then went off to buy drugs. Joshlin hasn't been seen since, nobody knows if this little girl is alive or deceased. 

Since February 2024, the good people of South Africa have been keeping Joshlin in their thoughts, many searches have been conducted, information posters shared around and news reports with appeals for information have been broadcast far and wide. Money has also been kindly donated for a reward for any possible details of where she is and the never-ending hope that she will be found safe and well but as time goes on the fear grows more and more. The fact that a man claiming he was some sort of witch doctor purchased a 6 year old child for her eyes and skin leaves a feeling of utter terror at the fact that this child may no longer be alive. I have written about such people before who have abducted and murdered light skinned people so that they can use their organs and bones for food and potions. In certain parts of the world these horrific things go on and these people believe that by consuming a certain individual's remains or wearing their bones or grinding their bones up into a powder for medicines (sorry for the horrible details here) that it gives them some sort of power and healing. Light skin and eyes seems to be well desired by these types and it frightens me at the thought that this beautiful little girl who already had a tough start at life with this monster of a mother, could be subjected to a horrific end which none of us would dare to think about. 

I always try to have hope when a child goes missing and I do hope that I am wrong when it comes to Joshlin but there is a terrible feeling about all of this. Two weeks after Joshlin went missing, Kelly and her accomplices were arrested and charged with kidnapping and human trafficking. The local community were horrified and did all they could (and are still doing all they can to this day) to find out what happened to Joshlin and where she could possibly be, but nobody is unrealistic about the situation, they know the outlook is dire. 

In May of this year (2025), Kelly, her boyfriend and their accomplice were all sentenced to life in prison for human trafficking and kidnapping. The search for Joshlin is still active and the Western Cape Police Commissioner was quoted as saying that the police and the people of South Africa will not rest until they find out what happened Joshlin. During the eight week trial, Kelly and her two accomplices were reported to have shown no remorse. Kelly's other two children are now living with other relatives and are said to be in a safe and better environment. 

It is devastating to believe that there's people out there who would do this to their own children and also people out there who would harm children like this. I just can't get my head around it and I hope and pray that Joshlin is found. I know the outlook is not positive but I do hope and my heart breaks for this little girl. Joshlin has been taken into the hearts of the people of South Africa and beyond. Anyone who has come across this case has nothing but heartfelt sympathy for this little angel who didn't have a chance from the day she was born, having been born into such a hard life with an evil mother. The other children, we can but hope, will be able to have some sort of better chance at life now that they have been rescued and taken away from Kelly. 

(Kelly Smith and her accomplices. Picture credit: sabcnews.com)

This is one of those cases that stays with you and I always have difficulties when it comes to writing about children who've been murdered, abducted or their disappearances being a complete mystery. The world can be a dangerous and very cruel place but you expect your parents to love you and keep you safe, this is not always the case for some children. Joshlin and her siblings deserved so much better. 

Further Reading & Sources: 

- Kelly Smith: Article | SABC News

- Joshlin Smith: Article | BBC News

- Joshlin Smith: Article | BBC News

- Kelly Smith: Article | The Guardian

- Kelly Smith: Article | CNN

- Kelly Smith: Article | Sky News

I will be updating this post if any more news becomes available about Joshlin. I'm sure you will agree that we are all keeping her in our thoughts and prayers. 

Thank you for taking the time as always to check out my latest post, especially this one as it's quite a difficult one to get through. I hope you will share this post or whatever information and articles on Joshlin that you can find in the off chance that someone, somewhere might possibly recognise her or know something. 

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

Until next time, stay safe x

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

Thank you as always for taking the time to read my latest post and help support my work, I really appreciate it and hope you will join me in my next post. In the meantime I hope you will join me on my Socials and if you would like to buy me a coffee and help support my weekly content, you can do so here, thank you.

Stay safe x