Dennis Nilsen: The Muswell Hill Killer

Dennis Nilsen, nicknamed the “Muswell Hill Killer” was an English murderer who took the lives of young men from the late 1970s to the early 1980s. “He killed, defiled and dismembered 15 young men between December 1978 and February 1983, practically under the noses of his neighbors” (Crime Investigation). Dennis Nilsen a troubled youth, was shaken by bad experiences in his life. He was “born on November 23, 1945, in Fraserburgh, Scotland. His parents' marriage was an unhappy one and as a result, he lived with his mother and siblings along with his maternal grandfather, whom Nilsen adored” (biography.com). Nilsen was very close with his grandfather but he died unexpectedly when Nilson was only six years old he saw his corpse at the funeral and

He was brought in for questioning about the incident but was not charged and was let go. In 1975 Nilsen was living with a guy named David Gallichan for two years. Nilsen said they were in a sexual relationship he David denied the whole thing. After David left, Nilsen became an alcoholic and this made him crave company and affection from others. On December 29, 1978, he met a young man at the pub and invited him to his home. When he woke up the next morning, Nilsen had the sudden idea that he didn’t want the man to leave he decided to strangle him with a tie and then drown him in a bucket of water. “He took the corpse to the bathroom to wash it and then placed the body back on his bed. He later remarked that he found the corpse beautiful” (Biography. com). He tried to have sex with the body but it was unsuccessful and spent the night sleeping next to it. Before disposing of the body by burning the remains in his backyard, he hid the body under his floorboard for 7 months. This was Nilsen first of many victims to come. “Nilsen encounter the police for the second time in October 1979, when a young student accused Nilsen of trying to strangle him during a bondage-play session. Despite the student's claims, no charges were pressed against Nilsen” (biography.

He had to stuff one of his victims under the kitchen sink. He had to spray his apartment twice a day because his neighbors were complaining about the smell. He later got rid of all the bodies by removing their clothes and dismembering them in the kitchen with a large knife. He would sometimes boil the skulls to remove the flesh and place organs in plastic bags. “He buried limbs in the garden and in the shed, and stuffed torsos into suitcases until he could burn the remains in a bonfire at the end of his garden” (biography. com). He would on occasion burn fires all day, surprisingly not making the neighbors suspicious. He tried to stop his cravings by moving to an apartment with less space but this failed and he started to flush the remains of his victims down the toilet. This proves to be a mistake and ultimately ending the killing spree. Technicians were called to check drain blockage and they found human remains this made the cops get involved to investigate. Nilsen, aware of this tried to cover his tracks but was spotted by one of the residents. On February 9, Nilsen was questioned by detective chief inspector jay at his apartment. “Jay noticed the foul odor and asked Nilsen what it was. He calmly confessed that what they were looking for was stored in bags around the apartment, which included two dismembered heads and other larger body parts” (crime investigation). Upon his arrest, Nilsen