True Crime With Caledonian Kitty

Child killers, Predators, Sexual Sadists, Abusers, Necrophiliacs, Liars, Con Artists, Psychologically and Physically violent men...the list goes on, the six monsters pictured above, are the focus of my latest post. In the news recently we have learned that disgraced former rockstar, Ian Watkins was brutally murdered whilst serving 12 years into his 29 year sentence, he was 48 years old. The monster was stabbed to death on the morning of 11th of October 2025 by a fellow inmate at the notorious Wakefield Prison in West Yorkshire. Due to the number of highly dangerous individuals who call this daunting place 'home', it has earned the nickname over the years 'The Monsters Mansion'.

 I have written about Ian Watkins previously on this blog. Some posts you might be interested in are: The Sick & Twisted Story of Former Rockstar, Ian Watkins and From Red Carpet To Prison Cell. You may also be interested in my post about Wakefield prison which you can find here.

As well as the death of Ian Watkins, who pretty much had a target on his back from day one (there had been attempts on his life before), we have also seen the announcement of the death of horrific child killer Ian Huntley, otherwise known as The Soham murderer who was responsible for the deaths of two 10 year old girls, Holly and Jessica. The fiend had tricked the two girls into his home, both Holly and Jessica admired his partner Maxine Carr who had worked as a teaching assistant at their school. Ian murdered the two young girls and disposed of their bodies (I go into more details about the whole case in my previous post: The Evil Crimes & Lies of Ian Huntley), he then tried to portray himself as a concerned member of the community, lied to the police and Maxine Carr covered for him. Eventually the truth was brought to light, the girls remains were found and it was heartbreaking, nobody could believe what had happened. Ian Huntley was put behind bars being given two whole life sentences. Maxine Carr got it easy, having served 21 months of a three year sentence. She is now out and about living her life under a different name. 

Ian Huntley didn't have it easy behind bars, so many people knew what he had done, it was a high profile case, had been splashed across the news and newspapers for weeks and months. Documentaries were on TV about it, books and articles published, there was no escaping what he had done and quite rightly so, he deserved to be punished. His fellow inmates were well educated on Ian Huntley's crimes and they were just waiting for their moment. 

Like Ian Watkins, he had suffered quite a few vicious attacks whilst behind bars, hospital visits were common and there was moments when it looked like he was on the brink of death but somehow managed to survive....not this time though. Just the other day (I'm writing this post in March of 2026) it was announced that Ian had been brutally attacked, he was rushed to hospital and was reported to be in a coma. After a few days his life support machine was switched off on the Friday and his death was announced officially to the public on the 7th of March 2026. On social media, when both the deaths of Ian Watkins and Ian Huntley were announced, there was jubilation, not a shred of sympathy and to be honest, nor should there have been, the sympathy should be saved for the victims of these evil individuals. 

With the sudden deaths of Watkins and Huntley together with hearing about how another monster, Wayne Couzens is currently shaking in his boots (Wayne was a disgraced former police officer who abducted Marketing Executive, Sarah Everard on the 3rd of March 2021. He sexually assaulted and murdered Sarah before disposing of her remains. I sadly wrote about the case from the moment that Sarah was first reported missing, you can follow the timeline as well as more about the case in my post: The Kidnap And Murder of Sarah Everard), he is reportedly terrified because there are a number of prisoners who are hoping to get their hands on him. 

For Wayne Couzens, not only is he hated for being a sick, cold-hearted murderer, but he was also a policeman so the hatred for him is off the scale, he's a marked man and he knows it. He is currently serving a whole life term meaning he will never leave prison alive, so he has a long time to find out if he's going to die from natural causes or at the hands of others. For such an evil individual I think of nothing better than to know that he feels like he has to constantly look over his shoulder. He took a beautiful young woman away from her family and subjected her to a horrendous ordeal before he cruelly took her life, I have no sympathy for him. 

I have been told that a lot of these murders that are happening with high profile offenders are due to others being paid (for example: money for the prison canteen, phone calls etc for prisoners who are on a long term sentence). When a prisoner faces a long stretch or there's no sign that they will be leaving prison, they feel like they have nothing to lose so they are more likely to commit more offences behind bars. They are also in need of money especially if they don't have regular support from outside. In prison you still have to work and pay for things like snacks, calls etc. Some prisoners will offer protection in exchange for money, others will trade food and the rumours are rife that some will make attempts on someone's life for the right price. 

So Kyle Bevan was another monster with a target on his back and it was only a matter of time before he found himself at the mercy of three prisoners (allegedly). The three accused were due to stand trial in June of last year but there's been no word since so I assume the trial must have been delayed because there's no further information about it, but like I said before, I don't think anyone really cares. Kyle Bevan was serving a sentence at Wakefield Prison after being convicted of the murder of his partner's two year old daughter, Lola James. The little girl's mother was no better, she was also a waste of space who neglected and abused this little angel faced child. Lola had 101 external injuries all over her body, endless cuts and bruises from head to toe. She had catastrophic internal injuries and severe brain damage consistent with someone being thrown from a 10 storey balcony or being in the impact of a horrific high-speed car crash. He was sentenced to life with a minimum of 28 years. 

The poor and evil excuse for a mother, Sinead James, was given just 6 years. Kyle Bevan was found dead on the 5th of November 2025, the investigation into the full circumstances of his death is ongoing but knowing that three people were involved, I can't imagine that he got off lightly on the way to hell. A small bit of justice for what he had done to little Lola. 

Jeffrey's case was another one of those 'stuff of nightmares' stories that was so horrible and unbelievable that you'd be forgiven if you thought it all never happened at all, it was all just too horrific, 17 (possibly more) young men and boys murdered and dismembered. Remains found in his apartment, some of the victims eaten...the whole gruesome nine yards of it was insane, I go into all the horrible details in my previous post about him but as you know, he was convicted obviously and sentenced to 16 consecutive life terms so he was never going to leave prison alive but somebody wanted to end things sooner for Jeffrey and that was Christopher Scarver. 

Christopher was an African-American man who beat Jeffrey and another inmate, with a metal bar in the gymnasium. Jeffrey died an hour after he was found and the other man had managed to hang on for two days before he passed away. With Christopher being African-American and most of Jeffrey's victims being African-American, some believed that it was some sort of karma and justice for what Jeffrey had done to those young men and boys. Jeffrey was murdered on the 28th of November 1994. He was 34 years old. 

Bulger led a very dangerous life and was finally captured in 2011 at the age of 81. He was sentenced to two consecutive life terms plus five years to be spent in a federal prison. It wasn't an easy time for him in prison with the reputation he had as a police informant or as they called it 'rat'. When you're involved in that lifestyle and you are committed to it, one of the worst things you could ever do is break code and share information with the police. Whitey Bulger was notorious in his hay day as being one of the most feared gangsters, there was so many people he had done wrong in the past and for being exposed as someone who backstabbed others, he was a sitting duck no matter what age he was, his enemies didn't care that he was now just a frail old man. 

On the 30th of October 2018 just 12 hours after he had been transferred to USP Hazelton in West Virginia. 89 year old Whitey Bulger was brutally attacked as he sat helpless, frail and confined to his wheelchair. His attackers didn't hold back, they beat him to the point he was unrecognizable, with a padlock inside a sock. They also tried to gouge out his eyes. It was gruesome, blood was everywhere and it was a very horrific attack on an elderly man. There was no mercy and no sympathy, even at the age of 89, being an old man in very poor health to begin with, Whitey Bulger couldn't escape the demons of his past and the wrongs he had done to others. 

I have yet to cover the full story of Whitey Bulger and his crimes but if you would like me to talk about him in a future post, please let me know in the comments below or email me (jocaledoniankitty@gmail.com).

With the amount of victims and the way Robert disposed of the remains, how can they say it was not premeditated? It seems the 'justice' system in Canada is also quite questionable. As you have probably gathered by the fact that I've included him here, Robert is no longer of this earth, he's in hell (hopefully). On the 19th of May 2024, Robert had been attacked by a fellow inmate. On hearing the commotion, a prison officer rushed to the scene and tried to separate Robert and his attacker, before anyone knew what was happening, the prisoner attacking Robert, managed to grab a broom stick, broke the handle and with such force, shoved it into Robert's face. More prison officers arrived and managed to restrain the man while other officers rushed Robert to the hospital. He was officially pronounced dead on the 31st of May 2024. 

Donald pleaded guilty to to 37 of the murders he was charged with (and evidence could be provided for) avoided the death penalty. His sickening murder spree of innocent hospital patients reportedly began in 1970 right up until 1987 when he was arrested. He confessed to everything and was sentenced to 28 consecutive life sentences. Donald Harvey was 64 years old when he was brutally beaten in his cell by fellow prisoner James Elliott on the 28th of March 2017. Donald was rushed to hospital but died two days later. He was officially pronounced dead on the 30th of March 2017. James Elliott was sentenced to 25 years to life, on top of the sentence he was already serving. 

So, this was quite a long post and I appreciate it you have made it this far. I hope that you found this post informative and as I mentioned before with some of the cases that I haven't written a stand alone article on, please let me know if you would like me to cover that particular case. 

Each Individual that I have mentioned in this post has a horrific story behind them and it just goes to show that if you go around hurting people, taking people's lives, being a heartless and sick monster, it doesn't matter if you're 34 or 89, karma will come back around. Donald Harvey was 64 when he was murdered, Ian Huntley was 52 and Whitey Bulger was 89, nobody cares about the ages or vulnerability of these monsters and that is something that people like them should bare in mind. If they are lucky enough not to face the death penalty and are handed a life sentence it should not be a walk in the park for them. In my opinion they should spend the rest of their lives uncomfortable, anxious, always looking over their shoulder and thinking about what they've done to people, what evil they have caused. These monsters are behind bars for a reason and whatever befalls them whilst they serve these sentences it's just tough, no sympathy, like I said before.....sympathy is only for the innocent people and children they murdered and harmed. 

My heart goes out to all of the victims of the monsters mentioned in this post, to which there is sadly so many but they are never forgotten and the sadness for what they went through and the fact that they are no longer with us, never fades. I also think of the families and friends of all of the victims, to lose someone close to you is always difficult but to know they died in horrific circumstances is something that I could never imagine, it must be one of the most horrendous things to ever deal with and I admire their strength.

Further Reading & Sources:  

- Bevan & James Sentencing | Judiciary Court Documents

- Kyle Bevan: Article | BBC News

- Kyle Bevan: Article | DYFED Police

- Kyle Bevan: Article | The Guardian

- Kyle Bevan: Article | Sky News

- The Life & Gruesome Crimes of Jeffrey Dahmer: Part One | True Crime With Caledonian Kitty

- The Life & Gruesome Crimes of Jeffrey Dahmer: Part Two | True Crime With Caledonian Kitty

- Jeffrey Dahmer | Wikipedia

- Inside The Mind of Jeffrey Dahmer | Book by Christopher Berry-Dee 

- Serial Killer Groupies | True Crime With Caledonian Kitty

- Whitey Bulger | The Mob Museum

- Black Mass: Whitey Bulger, The FBI & A Devil's Deal | Book by Dick Lehr & Gerard O'Neil

- James 'Whitey' Bulger | FBI Most Wanted Files (Archive)

- Whitey Bulger: Article | BBC News

- Whitey Bulger | Wikipedia

- Robert Pickton | IMDB

- Serial Killers (Archives) | True Crime With Caledonian Kitty

- Robert Pickton | Court Documents

- Robert Pickton: Article | The Guardian

- On The Farm: Robert William Pickton | Book by Erin Moon & Stevie Cameron

- Donald Harvey: Article | NY Times

- Donald Harvey | Wikipedia

- Donald Harvey | Murderpedia

- Wayne Couzens: Article | BBC News

- The Sarah Everard Case | True Crime With Caledonian Kitty

- Sarah Everard | Wikipedia

- Wayne Couzens | Met Police

- The Legacy of Sarah Everard | Centre For Women's Justice

- Wakefield Prison | Wikipedia 

- Beyond Evil: Inside The Twisted Mind of Ian Huntley | Book by Nathan Yates

- The Evil Crimes & Lies of Ian Huntley | True Crime With Caledonian Kitty

- The Sick & Twisted Story of Former Rockstar Ian Watkins | True Crime With Caledonian Kitty

Thank you again for checking out my latest post and I hope you will join me in the next one. As you may know, I always aim to have a post up on Sunday evenings or just a little bit before. Follow me on my socials to ensure you never miss a post and don't forget to come and say hi. All of my social media links can be found here

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As always, please stay safe...until next time x

You often hear people of a certain age say that things were much better back in the day, situations were much safer, you could send your kids out to play in the street and nothing bad would happen. Well, I think it's a common thing to look back over years gone by with rose-tinted glasses and believe that everything was all good and safe, but the truth is, it wasn't. I've been writing about serial killers and true crime on this blog since 2019 and before that, I studied Criminology and grew up reading and learning about the dark side of life and history. I don't think there's ever been a time when we have been 100% safe, just look as far back as the infamous Jack The Ripper case in the 1800's. 

I don't think there's a difference in the level of evil that's out there today then what was out there decades ago, our forensics have become more advanced and we are able to find more missing persons due to improved technology. I always say to keep yourself safe but the truth is, anyone can be a victim of crime at any time, any place. I've written about so many serial killers and I'm in the process of writing my first book as we speak. Each case of the serial killer has been horrific to research and in this particular post I have unfortunately delved into the dark and twisted crimes of Dean Corll (also known as The Candy Man or The Pied Piper). This post is not for the faint-hearted and it was a difficult case to research for me despite the countless books and newspaper articles I had at my disposal, the details of the murders were a lot to take but again, I always say that the victims deserve to have their stories told, the evil perpetrators exposed and also for police incompetence to be discussed to ensure that the wrongful handling of a particular case never happens again.

In the early 1970's Dean Corll together with the help of two young male accomplices (who he had groomed), had been responsible for the sickening rape, torture and murder of young boys and men (ages 13 to 20) in Houston, Texas. All of the boys were enticed to whichever home Corll happened to be living at the time, by his two young accomplices, Elmer Wayne Henley and David Owen Brooks. Elmer and David would be promised money and gifts as well as beer and cigarettes for their part in procuring the boys, most of which were known to them and in many cases, actual friends of theirs. 

Dean Corll would move every two months in an attempt to keep his sickening and evil hobby a secret. His confirmed victim count was said to be 29 but authorities believe he could be responsible for the deaths of up to 42 young men and boys. The majority of Corll's victims were from the same area of Texas known as Houston Heights, at the time the boys who disappeared where dismissed as just runaways despite their distraught families trying to explain to the police that their sons were not the type to just run away from home. A lot of these boys were on their way to a swimming pool or their part time jobs. One parent pointed out that her son would not have run away with just his swimming trunks and some spare change in his pocket. None of these boys had run away despite the quick judgements and assumptions from the cops. These boys were actually led to their heartbreaking demise by people they thought they could trust, boys of similar age to them that they knew, their so-called friends Elmer and David. 

Elmer and David would go out looking for unsuspecting victims to take back to Dean Corll who was a grown man with an obsession with young boys, blood and sadistic torture. Dean would award them with money and gifts, sometimes Elmer and David would take part in tying the victims up or committing assault. Dean was very much in control and his victims would be tied to a torture board where he would subject them to the most horrendous sexual assaults and torture before he killed them. Sometimes photographs would be taken of the victims. Dean would keep his victim's keys as trophies and reminders of his evil crimes. He was known to bite his victims genitals extremely hard to the point they were bitten off. He would perform disgusting and degrading sexual acts on the victims as well as pulling out their pubic hair one by one. He would gag the victims and turn music up loud to drown out the screams of agony. On one horrific occasion, two young brothers were both tied up and Dean had both boys handcuffed to his torture board, side by side with one wrist handcuffed. With the wrist that each boy had free, David forced them to beat each other to death and told them whoever survived would be set free. Both boys began punching each other as hard as they could to the point that they were both covered in blood. The sickening ordeal ended when Dean got fed up watching the boys and decided to strangled them to death. Dean would also enjoy castrating his victims and he would either do this with his teeth or with a weapon and then he would enlist the help of his two young accomplices who would help him wrap the bodies in plastic sheeting and help get rid of the remains, he would ensure that his victims were buried alongside a bag which contained their private parts that Dean had chewed or cut off. 

With so many boys going missing and the police quick to call them runaways, the parents tried to lean on each other for support and conducted their own searches for their children. 

Both Elmer and David were from poor families who were struggling to make ends meet and they looked up to Dean. Dean had been born on the 24th of December 1939 to a doting mother, Mary and strict father, Arnold. He had been a sickly child who struggled with his confidence and trying to strike up friendships with the other kids. At that point there was no red flags of what he was to become. As he grew up he realised more and more that he was actually attracted to other boys. He had a stint in the Army and his curious thoughts about his sexuality finally came to a conclusion that he was infact, gay. His Mother Mary was very homophobic. The family had run a successful candy business and Dean was very much part of that, his nickname around town was 'Candy Man' due to the fact that he liked to hand out candy to the children. David was popular in the community because of his generosity with candy for the children, but also because he came across as a really nice, hardworking man. Nobody could imagine what was really behind those evil eyes. 

Dean's sick reign of horror would last for three years but before he had the help of Elmer and David, investigators (and myself) believe that he had been killing long before that so nobody knows for sure the exact number of deaths that he is responsible for. 

In August of 1973, Dean Corll's sickening crimes were to come to an ultimate end when he was shot dead by one of his accomplices Elmer. On the 8th of August, Elmer brought back two friends to Dean's house and he was reportedly furious because Elmer had brought a girl there. Dean had set up Elmer and his two friends by plying them with alcohol, marijuana and acrylic paint that he would inhale as well as encouraging others to do so. Eventually Elmer and his friends had passed out and Dean had been watching them the whole time, waiting to make his move.

Dean had bound and gagged all three of them, still in a rage about Elmer bringing a girl to the house. He began to torture the girl and Elmer's friend. As all this was going on, Elmer tried to plead with Dean and persuaded him to untie him so that he could join in with the torture and assaults. What resulted next was a confrontation between Elmer and Dean, Elmer pointed a gun at Dean's head, Dean mocked him and said that he didn't have what it took to kill him. Elmer fired the gun but it didn't have the desired effect at first. Elmer fired the gun a few times more and Dean stumbled to his knees, falling to the ground and into the hallway where he died instantly. Dean was 33 years old at the time of his death.

Elmer untied his two friends and the police were called, when they arrived, Elmer confessed to everything. At first the police were struggling to believe what Elmer was saying was true because it all sounded so nightmarish but when he mentioned the names of some of the victims they began to take him seriously. When he took them to the burial sites of the victims and the remains exhumed, they realised that he had been telling them the whole truth. All the boys that Elmer mentioned were on a missing persons list.

David finally confessed that he had been involved and had a part in three of the murders of the young boys. Elmer confessed to being partly responsible for helping with the murders of nine boys, he also described himself as a psychopath who admired Dean in the beginning and described some of his experiences with him as 'exciting'. 

They both stood trial separately, both were found guilty for their parts in the murders. Elmer was found guilty and charged with six life terms of ninety-nine years to run alongside one another. He tried to appeal this and a re-trial took place but it resulted in the same outcome. David was only charged and convicted of the murder of one boy, he received a life sentence. David passed away at the age of 65 due to complications of Covid-19 in May of 2020. Elmer Wayne Henley is still alive and serving his sentence, unlike David who was quiet and didn't want to draw too much attention to himself whilst behind bars, Elmer has spoken about Dean and his crimes in interviews, he is also a keen painter who sells his art work (and handmade jewelry) through a friend on Facebook. Elmer believes he may never get out of prison and is at peace with that. 

We may never know the true number of victims that Dean Corll horrendously murdered, so many young boys classed as runaways never to be seen again. They are still out there and their families are still without answers, it a real heartbreak. 

This case is one of the most disturbing and sickening in American history. It's terrifying to read the details of this case and imagine Dean Corll paying these two boys to basically bring their friends to him so he could torture, sexually assault and murder them, all for the sake of $200 and gifts. Those innocent victims wouldn't have had a care in the world thinking that they were just going to hang out with their friends but the reality was so horrific and evil. I'm aware that these two boys were groomed and abused by Dean themselves but the fact that they were quite happy to lure innocent boys to their ultimate suffering, torture and cruel, painful deaths is something that is beyond evil in itself. Those two boys joined in on some of the torture and watched as the victims were murdered, they would then go home and act normal like nothing happened. I see them as part of it all, there was plenty of opportunities for them to tell someone, contact the police or the families, they actively took part and that's so disturbing,

Thank you so much as always if you have made it this far in the post, I really appreciate it. I would like to take a little moment in this post to remember the poor young boys who's lives were so cruelly and heartlessly stolen (and also thinking of those still out there, yet to be identified):

RIP Jeffrey Konen, James Glass, Danny Yates, Donald Waldrop, Jerry Waldrop, Randell Harvey, David Hilligiest, Gregory Malley Winkle, Ruben Watson Haney, Willard ''Rusty'' Branch Jr, Frank Aguirre, Mark Scott, Johnny Delone, Billy Baulch, Steven Sickman, Wally Jay Simoneaux. Richard Hembree, Richard Kepner, Joseph Lyles, Billy Ray Lawrence, Ray Blackburn, Homer Garcia, John Sellars, Michael ''Tony'' Baulch, Marty Jones, Charles Cary Cobble and James Dreymala.

Further Reading & Sources: 

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

- Dean Corll: The True Story of The Houston Mass Murders | Book by Jack Rosewood

- Dean Corll | Murderpedia

- Dean Corll | Wikipedia

- Dean Corll: Article || ABC13 News

- Houston, Texas | Wikipedia

- The Encyclopedia of Serial Killers | Book by Michael Newton

(Brian Blackwell. Picture credit: Liverpool Echo)

*Please be aware that some of the details shared in this post will be quite disturbing. If you have any comments about this post that you would like to share with me in confidence, please email me at jocaledoniankitty@gmail.com.

When Brian Blackwell was born, his parents Sydney and Jacqueline could not have been more over the moon. He was to become their only child together (although Sydney had two grown up children from a previous relationship who didn't live with him) but they completely adored him and had worked so hard to give him everything he wanted and needed. Brian was born into a loving family home of two very intelligent and successful parents. Jacqueline had been an antiques dealer and his father, Sydney had (who's nickname amongst friends and relatives was 'Brain') been an accountant. Brian lived with his parents in an affluent area of Merseyside, Liverpool known as Melling. 

As a child, Brian wanted for nothing, his parents saw to it that he had everything he set his eyes on. As Brian got older it was clear that he had a talent for tennis and was doing really well at school. He was really bright and his parents couldn't have been more proud of him. His teachers were impressed with him and he had a good circle of friends around him, everything looked like the future was bright for Brian Blackwell but underneath his perfect son image was something sinister lurking. Some people would say he was just a spoilt brat, others believe it to be pressure his parents were beginning to place on to him, but Brian began to distance himself from his parents and arguments were becoming a regular occurrence. As he moved into his teenage years, Brian would later claim that his parents were becoming more controlling to the point of suffocation. He had dreams of studying medicine and going to University but there was constant arguments on which university Brian was going to go to. Brian wanted one thing and it seemed like his parents wanted the other and at the end of the day he had to go along with what they said because they paid the bills and he didn't want to disrespect them. 

Brian's relationship with his parents began to further widen when he met and fell in love with a girl called Amal (I haven't included any pictures of Amal in this post because I feel that it wouldn't be fair to her. Amal had no knowledge of what Brian Blackwell was going to do or was any part of what he had eventually gone on to do. I'm sure the relationship with him as well as everything that happened, have affected her deeply and caused her no end of trauma. I hope she's doing well today). Amal was the beautiful daughter of a Doctor. To say 18 year old Brian was besotted with Amal is an understatement, she was just as in love with him and the pair seemed to be inseparable. Brian did whatever he could to impress Amal and that involved him telling little lies at first but soon enough he was telling her the most ridiculous stories about how he was being sought after and sponsored by professional tennis companies. He told her he was about to hit the big time and bought her incredibly expensive gifts. Amal and her mother were shocked about these expensive gifts and Amal's mother was suspicious but Brian gave them a story that he was doing these professional tennis tournaments and they were going to make him a star despite the fact that in reality, Brian could only play a decent game of tennis, he wasn't a seasoned professional but in his head he was. 

He began living in a dream world where he was a rich, successful sportsman with Amal by his side. The reality was that his parents were trying to direct his education, his career and romantic life. Arguments between Brian and his parents reached boiling point when they found out that he'd been using their money to buy very expensive jewelry, dinners at posh restaurants and a car for Amal. Brian was trying to portray to Amal that he was a successful sportsman and showered her with expensive things secretly using his parents' bank cards. 

His spending was getting out of control and his parents found out what he'd been doing and threatened to put a stop to everything. On the lead up to the 25th of July 2004, Brian had been promising Amal the trip of a lifetime to America where they were going to live like celebrities whilst he did his tennis tournament. He booked two tickets for business class which was flagged up straight away to his parents. What exactly happened with his parents nobody knows except Brian, but his parents confronted him about him stealing their money and they knew that he had booked two expensive plane tickets. His parents were not going to let him go and they were not going to give him money that they felt was best used for his college career. 

Some small parts of this case do remind me of The Menendez Brothers which I wrote about here on this blog in May of 2023. 

On the 25th of July 2004 after Jacqueline and Sydney confronted Brian about stealing their money and forbidding him from going to America, Brian flew into a rage and hit his father over the head with a clawhammer, he then proceeded to stab his own 72 year old, elderly father repeatedly with a carving knife. The scene was horrific, blood all over the place and hearing all of the commotion, his terrified mother came rushing into the room to see her husband covered in blood on the floor and she screamed out, asking what he had done. Brian grabbed his mother and began stabbing her repeatedly. Both of his parents laid on the floor in a pool of their own blood whilst Brian scrambled around packing a suitcase and organising money from his parent's bank accounts so that he and Amal could still go to America and have the trip of a lifetime. 

Once his suitcases were ready, Brian Blackwell closed the door behind him and put the key in the lock, knowing fine well that his parent's bodies were laid just a few feet away beginning to decompose. Brian rushed to be with Amal and pretended like nothing happened as he sat with the girl of his dreams, sipping champagne in business class which his parent's stolen money paid for. 

Brian and Amal were in America for a couple of weeks and money was no object. They stayed at the best hotels, drank champagne and had dinner in expensive restaurants, had rides in helicopters, visited famous landmarks and shopped like crazy in every designer store you could think of. Amal was dressed from head to toe in designer clothing and accessories, Brian was the same. At one point they had spent over $7000 on room service whilst they stayed in the presidential suit of a hotel. 

They had a video camera and recorded various points of the holiday. Amal was having the time of her life with who she thought was the perfect guy. Brian smiled in the pictures, laughed and joked in the videos and in the whole time he was with Amal he was upbeat, happy, not a care in the world but the whole time he had murdered his parents and their bodies were just left like trash on the floor in their home. 

Amal was oblivious to everything, she was only 18 herself and believed everything he had said. In her mind, he had all of this money so he must have been a successful tennis player. 

So Amal and Brian continued on with their romantic holiday but there was always going to be that moment when they would have to return home and that time had come. 

Brian was beginning to get a bit nervous on the plane back to England. Suddenly in his mind, the party was over and now he was trying to figure out how he was going to cover all of this up and get rid of his parent's bodies. When he got home, he went inside the property where his parents had been lying for a couple of weeks and the condition of the bodies was utterly horrendous. Brian was able to ignore the bodies and the blood on the floor and had the nerve to take a bottle of wine from his Dad's collection to give to Amal's mother. He spent some time staying at Amal's house and never once did he display any sign of upset or worry. He claimed that his parents had gone away on holiday and he would go back and forth to his parent's house to collect clothes and other items, all the while he would pass their bodies as they laid there and the smell and the flies were becoming overpowering. It's a horrible description of the scene but that's exactly how it was. 

Another frightening fact about this chilling case and an insight into the dark mind of Brian Blackwell is that he was so evil that he could not only steal money from his parents but also murder them in a very brutal and gruesome way, he could spend days on holiday smiling, having fun, spending their money without a care in the world and then return back to England, see the state of his deceased parents and the house...and still carry on his sick performance. Thinking about Amal and her mother during this time, one wonders how it must have been for them looking back over these horrendous events. To think that the whole time Amal had been around this sick and evil person and that he had been staying in their home whilst his parents bodies were still in that house for weeks and weeks. 

Brian was still trying to come up with some sort of plan to get rid of his parent's bodies. He knew he would have a gruesome task on his hands of attempting to remove the bodies because they had decomposed so badly that there was so much fluid on the floor, He tried to find a bunch of young guys who he had heard were from the wrong side of the tracks (if you know what I mean) and offered them money to burn the house down, he claimed the home belonged to a drug dealer. The young guys didn't believe him and suspected that because of his nice clothes and posh accent, he must be an undercover policeman so they refused to help him. Brian was at a loss of what to do. It seemed that all he cared about truly was not losing Amal at all costs. His plans on what to do next were suddenly taken out of his hands when a nosy neighbour (and thank goodness sometimes for nosy neighbours) noticed that there was a pile of letters piling up at the Blackwell house. 

Instead of the neighbour taking the word of Brian that his parents had just not returned yet from holiday, this neighbour together with a friend decided to get a closer look at the house and tried to push some of the letters through the letterbox. On further inspection they noticed a horrendous smell coming from the letterbox and there was so many maggots and flies crawling all over everything. Utterly horrified as you can imagine, they had a look at both windows of the house and saw flies all over the place. When they looked inside they saw what looked like a big mass of dark liquid and endless flies. The police were called and the gruesome discovery was made. 

Brian played the part of the shocked and devastated son but he was fooling nobody. He thought he was smarter than the police but the game was up, they knew what he did and why he did it. Brian ended up bursting out into tears, confessing and claiming that he didn't know it was that 'easy' for someone to die. All of this despite the fact that he hit his own 72 year old father over the head with a clawhammer and stabbed him repeatedly over and over and over again. He then turned his attentions to his mother and did the same to her. What he did to them was overkill, it was rage and he left them on the floor covered in blood. He then used their money to fund a holiday for himself and his girlfriend whilst his parents (who did everything for him) laid on the floor whilst flies and maggots covered them. What sort of mind does that? No care, no remorse, no tears at all. The only time Brian Blackwell cried was when he'd confessed and he knew that he was heading to the slammer and there was no way in hell Amal was going to be seeing him again. 

So he was found guilty obviously and sentenced to life imprisonment. The judge at his trial even commented that it would 'unlikely ever be safe to release him'' (Brian was also diagnosed with Narcissistic Personality Disorder). Fast forward to 2026 and I have to inform you the sickening news that Brian Blackwell was released on parole in 2016 and has been out there somewhere all this time. Nobody knows where he is but it's frightening to know that a person who was capable of doing what he did to his own parents and his actions afterwards is beyond words. I can't get my head around the fact that he did what he did and then went back to the house several times whilst the bodies were in the state that they were with flies crawling everywhere and he was able to return to Amal's family home and have dinner with her and her parents like nothing happened. 

Brian Blackwell is around 40 years old now, still young to have a real go at life and who knows what he's been up to all these years but is it really justice? Life should mean life should it not? He murdered two people, stole from them and his care-free actions after the murders and he's no longer in prison? Does it seem fair to you? It doesn't seem fair to me. I think about the Menendez brothers and some of the similarities between the cases. With the Menendez brothers there was proof of physical, sexual and emotional abuse. Witnesses, even family members came forward to say that the boys had been through a lot with their father. They have been in prison for over 35 years with no sign of being released. What do you think should have happened with Brian Blackwell? Should he still be behind bars or do you think he has served enough time? Let me know in the comments below or email me in confidence at jocaledoniankitty@gmail.com 

RIP Sydney and Jacqueline. 

Further Reading & Sources:

- Brian Blackwell: Article | The Guardian

- Brian Blackwell: Article | Liverpool Echo

- Brian Blackwell | Wikipedia

- Brian Blackwell | Crime + Investigation

- Narcissistic Personality Disorder | Mayo clinic

- Brian Blackwell | ITV

Thank you as always for joining me in another disturbing true crime case. I hope you will check out my next post, in the meantime I hope to see you on my Socials

Please stay safe, until next time x

*Please be aware that the details shared in this post are quite disturbing. I have tried, as always to share the details in a sensitive manner without taking away from the facts of the case. If you have any comments about this post, please leave them below or email me in confidence at jocaledoniankitty@gmail.com*

Fiona Beal was known by her colleagues and young pupils as a friendly, funny and outgoing teacher who always had time for everyone. She could be the life and soul of the party when she was with her friends and work colleagues, and a primary school teacher who really knew how to keep the kids entertained. She was always known to be professional with such a passion for her job and a real caring approach to the children that she taught, nobody really had a bad word to say about her. 

So on the 8th of March of 2022, people close to Fiona (50) were becoming very concerned about her over recent weeks and months. She had been acting strange and at first it seemed that she was going through some sort of burn-out but she had recently told friends that her long-term relationship with her younger partner (42 year old Nicholas Billingham) had broken down and he'd moved out of their home to be with another woman. The breakdown of this relationship of 17 years had appeared to have taken it's toll on Fiona and her behaviour was concerning.

After a string of text messages from Fiona which sounded very much like she was attempting to take her own life, concerned friends and relatives had contacted the police to do a welfare check and shockingly they found that she had been in the bathtub of a holiday home, alone and had attempted to end her life. The police did their best to support her and took her to the hospital where she made a full recovery. Everyone was relieved that the police had gotten there in time. However, when a search was done of the holiday home, a diary was found which the police had looked through as a way to try and understand her mental state as well as thinking about handing it over to mental health professionals who would be able to better support Fiona. What they found in the diary was shocking, they were expecting some personal thoughts from a woman who was depressed but what they found was a woman who had documented her turbulent relationship with a younger man and the fact that she had murdered him. 

The more investigators delved into the diary, the more disturbing details emerged with every page. Nicholas (who worked as a builder and had lived at a house in Northampton, England with Fiona) had been reported missing by relatives four months earlier after he had apparently ran off with another woman who he'd been seeing behind Fiona's back. Fiona had told everyone that knew the couple that things had continued to sour between the pair and Nicholas just left her to start a new life. Despite the fact that Nicholas had infidelities in the relationship before, nobody could understand why he would suddenly leave his job which he very much enjoyed and had stopped all contact with family and friends. 

For a short time after Nicholas had apparently left Fiona, there was text messages to friends and family from his phone which indicated that he had been suffering with ill health due to Covid. Then other excuses would be sent about how he had left Fiona for a new life. The situation puzzled everyone and nobody knew what to make of any of it. Fiona continued to go to work after her so-called break up with Nicholas and had even decided to redecorate the house. Her friends saw this as a way for Fiona to try and move on. Fiona had told friends that she had tried to contact Nicholas about selling the house and he would send back very rude messages telling her to leave him alone. 

For months, Fiona continued to go to work and would invite people over for dinner, including Nicholas's own mother. Fiona appeared to have been holding everything together despite the end of her relationship but the realty was, she was struggling and for all the wrong reasons because it wasn't just a straight-forward break-up. 

The pressure became too much for Fiona Beal, she couldn't keep the act up, people were asking too many questions all the time. There was also the fact that Nicholas's work van was found just around the corner, why wouldn't he take that with him? She sank into a deep depression and had to get away from the house. She decided that she wanted to end her own life, the guilt became way too much to carry. 

In the diary which the police had shared with Doctors in the hospital and the mental health team, detailed how just months earlier, Fiona had decided that she had, had enough of (what she called) Nicholas's abuse. With every page she described how Nicholas would drag her down piece by piece. He would apparently make fun of her weight, her looks and her cooking. She said he would put her down in every single way you could imagine and he would also spit in her face during sex. Fiona claimed that he had destroyed her confidence and self esteem to the point that he would cheat on her time and again but she would just put up with it because he made her feel worthless and told her that nobody else would want her. Being older than he was he would often make nasty comments about her appearance. To say the relationship was truly toxic, is an understatement. 

Instead of walking away from the relationship, Fiona claimed that her self-worth had been completely destroyed so she felt stuck and started to fall into a fantasy world of thoughts where she would get revenge somehow. She created a character called 'Tulip 22'. Tulip 22 was the side of Fiona that did have the confidence and was also powerful. She felt in control when she tapped into her 'Tulip 22' side. In the diary she had detailed how she had set up Nicholas by running him a relaxing bath with promises of a romantic, sensual evening. She made it clear that she was in the mood for sex and wanted to play one of their role-playing games, As much as a rat-bag that Nicholas reportedly was (other people did confirm that he had the habit of ending up in bed with other women and had put Fiona down in front of others in the past) he wasn't going to turn down the offer of a night of passion. After his bath he went into the bedroom and Fiona had set it all up for him to be blindfolded and tied to the bed which he was happy to go along with. 

A night of passion was not what Fiona had in mind, as soon as he was on the bed, tied and blindfolded....she plunged a knife deep into his neck killing him within a matter of seconds, blood was all over the place, it was horrific. Fiona didn't waste any time attempting to clean up the crime scene and try to cover her tracks. Relatives and friends were told not to come near the house because the pair had Covid and were told by Doctors to self-isolate. She wrapped up Nicholas's body and buried him in the garden, she told everyone she was giving the house and garden a makeover. She dragged the blood-soaked mattress down to the cellar and left it there. She used Nicholas's phone to text colleagues and relatives to give the disturbing appearance that he was still alive. She also used his phone to text herself to make it look like they were having an argument and that he was telling her to 'F*ck Off' and leave him alone. 

For months nobody suspected anything was wrong, they believed the story that Fiona had told them, that Nicholas had run of with another woman, people actually felt sorry for Fiona. Nobody who knew her could believe she would be capable of such a horrendous crime and to do that to someone you have been in a relationship with for 17 years is just unbelievable. 

An excerpt of Fiona's diary was as follows: 

October 2021. ''He spat on me and threatened me during sex. I knew then that … [X] ..had been telling the truth. I thought about laving but the things he said and did fueled [sic] my dark side – I call her Tulip 22, she’s reckless, fearless and efficient! Ruthless. I started plotting as Tulip 22 after he’d gone to bed. I could no longer sleep in the bed due to my breathing being so loud or I moved too much or I was snoring or etc, etc, I would go downstairs after sex and even when I was unwell. 

I got used to sleeping downstairs and waited for him to go to bed and then got high and let Tulip 22 out. I knew I couldn’t let him get away with it. Halloween sealed it. He was vile. I sat on the kitchen floor and wept as I witnesses the abuse I had allowed to happen. I allowed so much bad to happen. That night I planned. Covid rules meant I had a guaranteed 10 day isolation period from positive symptoms. I called Clair on the Monday and said we’d tested positive and had symptoms. He went to work. Tulip 22 smoked and planned. I’d planned it mentally so many times before. The knife cut my dressing gown pocket Mon. Nov 1st …… I had smoked all day. I had a bath. I left the water in. 

He had been pushing for sex. I encouraged the bath with the incentive of sex afterwards. While he was in the bath I kept the knife in my dressing gown pocket and then hid it in the drawer next to the bed. I brought a chisel, bin bag and cable ties up too. I got him to wear an eye mask. It was harder than I thought it would be. Hiding his body was bad. Moving a body is much more difficult than it looks on TV. I started to believe the cover story. Flashes interrupted…..''

The diary was the smoking gun and it was obvious that Fiona could no longer handle the lies and the knowledge of what she had done. The only regret she seemed to have was that she didn't leave Nicholas sooner. Even after she had brutally killed him and buried his body in the garden under rubble like he was a piece of trash on a dump site, there was no shred of remorse or sadness just anger at how he had treated her. She blamed him for everything, said that he had drove her to it. She believed he was fully responsible for the person that she had become. She wished that she had left him but she felt powerless because she took on board all the things he had said to her. 

Fiona confessed to the murder of Nicholas Billingham and was sentenced to a minimum of 20 years. She said that his last words to her was 'Why?'

Nicholas's mother admitted that her son was no angel and had made mistakes but did not deserve what had happened to him. As well as losing her beloved son, she had to deal with the fact that his body had been buried in the garden and had laid there for 4 months. She thought back to the many times that she would drop in to visit Fiona for a coffee, even though she was under the belief that Nicholas was no longer with Fiona, they kept a friendly relationship. It deeply traumatized his mother (as it would to anyone) that she was basically standing a few feet away from her deceased son and had no idea, plus she had trusted this woman that she thought she had known for 17 years who turned out to be a cold-murderer. 

RIP to Nicholas Billingham & thoughts go out to his family and friends. 

Further Reading & Sources:

- The Murder of Nicholas Billingham | The Crown Prosecution Service

- Fiona Beal: Article | BBC News

- Killer In The House: Documentary | ITVX

- DCI Adam Pendlebury | Case Discussion Segment

- Public Statements After Verdict | Sky News

- Sentencing Remarks | Judiciary UK

This case was not only a heavily disturbing story but another example of how the female can be just as deadly as the male. Fiona was a very well-liked primary school teacher who sang songs with little children and would be a shoulder to cry on with friends. She was respected, admired and was approachable but no matter how lovely someone may appear, you never know what is going on and in this case, she could have walked away. Investigators say that her writings in her diary about being abused and not being able to leave are exaggerated. They claim that Fiona had plenty of opportunities to leave Nicholas, there were plenty of relatives and friends she could have turned to and stayed with. She also had money, a car and other means to escape if she really wanted to. There was no history of violence reported to the police. I have to point out that I'm aware that people can be psychologically controlled by someone to the point that they feel they can't leave, even if they do have access to a car etc. I'm also very much aware that just because there is no history of domestic violence on police record, that doesn't mean that there is no history of domestic violence. We know that the majority of cases are sadly not reported to the police. 

If you are experiencing psychological or physical abuse in your relationship, please try and reach out for help (I know it's extremely difficult and frightening but please know that you are not alone and feel free to reach out to me if that helps, I will keep everything confidential, you can email me at jocaledoniankitty@gmail.com and if you're in trouble and need help, in the email just say that you are a big fan of my blog and would love to take part in my quiz about true crime. I will do what I can to help). If you can get access to a phone or computer, please reach out to the following if you can:

In the UK:

Refuge (24 Hour Free Helpline) 0808 2000 247 / https://www.nationaldahelpline.org.uk/

Woman's Aid: https://womensaid.org.uk/information-support/

Victim Support: 08 08 16 89 111 / https://www.victimsupport.org.uk/crime-info/types-crime/domestic-abuse/

In the USA:

National Domestic Violence Hotline: Message: 88788 or call (800) 799-7233 / https://www.thehotline.org/

Worldwide: 

List of Worldwide Domestic Abuse Helplines

Such a horrific story and I appreciate it if you have made it this far in the post. I hope you will join me in the next one In the meantime, I hope you see you on my Socials

Take care and stay safe until next time....

So if you've clicked on this post, the chances are that you have watched the much anticipated documentary on Netflix, The Investigation of Lucy Letby. You may already be aware that I have written about Lucy's case a couple of times before, and to say it was a very long, drawn out investigation and trial...is an understatement, with so many stops and starts along the way.

If you're not already familiar with this case or have not read my blogs about it, please check out: 

Lucy Letby: Nurse Accused of Baby Deaths...But is She Really Guilty?

Nurses Who Kill: Beverley Allitt .....And Lucy Letby?

Like so many people with this heartbreaking and very disturbing case, I have been back and forth with opinions about it. This documentary gave us a bit more insight into the timeline of events and what was going on behind the scenes, whilst we all looked at our TV screens in horror, at the thought of someone murdering innocent babies in a Hospital setting. 

One of the toughest job's in the world is being a parent and having to go through a pregnancy with this little life growing inside you is the stuff that miracles are made of. I can imagine a Mother of a newborn child sitting in hospital after giving birth with the feeling of relief that the labour was over, and that her baby was in safe hands, being checked over by the Nurses and Doctors. It's an incredibly vulnerable position to be in and it's very important that a Mother is given the proper care and support she needs as well as the newborn baby. In this case we saw babies who all of a sudden started to deteriorate very quickly out of nowhere and apparently when these poor babies had met their end, there seemed to be the common factor that Lucy Letby was always present. 

As you know in the beginning at the hospital in question (Countess of Chester) parents often trusted the medical staff to look after their babies, but one by one these little angels were passing away and nobody could understand it. There was a lot of evidence pointing in the direction of Lucy Letby after an investigation had been made. She was eventually arrested, convicted and sentenced to 15 life sentences. As horrific as this case has been, the conclusion to the trial should have been the end of it all, but opinions were divided and it's continued to this very day. 

After I had published my posts, I was being sent emails and messages with various information about Lucy Letby. There is a strong number of people who are in support of her having a re-trial. I have to be honest and say that I thought in the beginning that this was appalling and disrespectful to the victims and their families. I was being asked to sign petitions and write about her supposed 'innocence' on my blog. 

After following this case for the past few years and watching this documentary some things have been made clear to me and it is a fact that she did not have a fair trial but do I think she is innocent? In the documentary you could see in the police camera footage Lucy's demeanour whilst they were in her house. I remember thinking how child-like she was and almost acting like a scared or confused teenage girl. At one point during her arrest she naively asked the police if they were going to search her house and then requested if she could cuddle her cat. 

Call it shock but her reaction to everything that was happening was quite interesting for someone who had been accused of the deaths of a number of babies. You'd expect there to be a lot of emotion, screaming, protests of innocence. Lucy just had this whole aura of the game being up for her. When she cuddled her cat it made me wonder because Lucy like a lot of us saw her cats as her babies, her children, and it was like she knew that she wasn't going to be coming back. If you were 100% innocent, you'd say goodbye to your Cats or your Dogs but usually in a quick manner because you knew you'd be seeing them later. 

Lucy is very close to her parents and in my opinion they babied her for a lot of her life. So she was a fully grown adult woman with a responsible role but her parents were still at her beck and call. I'm not an expert but it almost seemed that there was two sides to Lucy, the side that she had shown her parents, relatives and friends, and the other side that was on that hospital ward. To her parents, relatives and friends, she was a gentle character so it was extremely hard for them to believe that there was the possibility that she could have an evil streak in her. In her police interrogation sessions, she would lie about certain things, for example having 250 personal medical documents which contained details about her alleged victims, she claimed she just put them in her pocket and forget to get rid of them. She claimed to not have a shredder in the house but the police found one in working order in one of her rooms. 

She claimed not to have known about a certain baby's death and medical history but she had notes about the child in her diary as well as medical documents. Another thing that flagged up to me was when she told investigators that she was distraught that she had been let go from the medical unit and that colleagues had suspected that she had been the cause of the deaths. She said she felt guilty that she had possibly been responsible for what had happened to them. She still claimed that she was innocent but she was blaming herself and anything that she had written down on papers in her house was because she was feeling depressed and felt that her colleagues were against her. A therapist reportedly advised her to write down her feelings as a way to off-load. 

In the documentary we heard from other experts who claim that there is a huge possibility that Lucy is innocent and they believe that she should have a re-trial. To the experts that believe Lucy to be guilty, they say that these certain experts are only able to produce theories and not actual evidence to support what they're saying.

Expert witnesses were not called for the defence during Lucy's trial which is puzzling but maybe her team thought that she was without hope? A lot of evidence pointed towards Lucy, do I think she is guilty? I can't say 100% for sure, she could be guilty for some of the heartbreaking deaths of some of the babies but there might be a cover-up to protect other colleagues who could have also been responsible? So many questions and so little answers. The answers we have gotten, a lot of them don't make any sense. As painful as it is and my heart goes out to all of the victims, the parents and their families....I think there should be a re-trial and the presentation of the defence's arguments and explanations together with actual evidence that could explain the other possible reasons for the deaths of these little babies. 

Another thought in my mind was the possibility that Lucy had a split personality disorder, the angelic side that she had shown to her parents and those close to her. Then the other side who could possibly be responsible for carrying out these horrific murders but almost being in a trance whilst she carried her crimes out. So to her, she may have felt like someone else was harming these poor babies? As part of a possible re-trial it would also be interesting to have a few opinions about Lucy's actual mental state. 

I think the documentary was interesting and did throw up some pieces of information which may have not been available to the public before. But I can see from online socials, emails and talking to relatives that there is very much still that divide of opinion. I think there should be a re-trial where everything is laid on the table, both sides of the argument for and against together with evidence so that Lucy has a fair trial. This may reveal that she was indeed 100% guilty of everything she was accused of or she could be guilty of some of the deaths. Which could also open up a can of worms because investigations would have to be held into her colleagues and could possibly reveal that other people were also responsible for the deaths but this is just me speculating not saying that this is the case. The fact is that as painful as it is, the victims, their parents and their families have to know the 100% truth of what happened and who was possibly responsible? It would also put to bed the endless speculation and public pressure for answers. 

This was a case that threw everything into the spotlight and highlighted the struggles that we have within the NHS. Staff are very much overworked and underpaid that's been the unfortunate fact for years. Sometimes it's all about hitting targets, covering up scandals, making money and protecting pensions and reputations. 

I don't know what the outcome of this documentary will mean for Lucy Letby, the public demand for a re-trial is there so it all depends. I know that I will be continuing to follow any new developments but my heart always goes out to the babies and their parents. 

What are your true thoughts after watching the documentary? Are your views the same or have they changed? Let me know in the comments below or email me in confidence at jocaledoniankitty@gmail.com 

I hope to see you elsewhere on my socials, you can find all of my links here

As always, please stay safe and I hope you will join me for the next post x