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Peter Moore (serial killer)
Welsh serial killer From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Peter Howard Moore (born 19 September 1946)[1] is a British serial killer who managed cinemas in Bagillt, Holyhead, Kinmel Bay and Denbigh in North Wales at the time of his arrest.[2] He murdered four men in 1995. Due to his trademark attire of a black shirt and tie, he was dubbed the "man in black".[3]
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Background
Moore was known in the North Wales area for his work restoring and running the Focus Films chain of cinemas.[4] In 1991, he restored and reopened his first cinema in Bagillt. He went on to reopen the Empire Cinema in Holyhead on the 24 November 1994. The cinema had been closed for three years prior to Moore's renovations.[5] On 4 August 1995 he reopened the 120 seat Futura Cinema in Denbigh.[6][7] He also operated a cinema in Blaenau Ffestiniog.[8]
Moore would buy second hand cinema equipment, and would restore it himself to keep costs down and ensure he could offer low ticket prices.[5]
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Crimes
Moore was arrested on 21 December 1995, as part of the police investigation into the murder of Anthony Davies. Davies body had been discovered on the 18 December by a dog walker on Pensarn beach. He'd been stabbed sixteen times in the abdomen, and a van similar to Moore's had been witnessed near the scene before the body's discovery.[9] Police searched his home, and found a bloody knife, and a large collection of Nazi memorabilia.[9]
Between September and December 1995, he stabbed to death and mutilated four men "for fun".[2] Moore admitted to the murders after his arrest.[10]
He also committed 39 sex attacks on men in North Wales and the Merseyside area over a 20-year period.[2][11]
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Victims
- Henry Roberts, a 56-year-old man who lived in Anglesey; stabbed to death in September 1995
- Edward Carthy, a 28-year-old man whom Moore met in a gay bar; stabbed to death in Clocaenog Forest in October 1995[2]
- Keith Randles, a 49-year-old traffic manager; stabbed to death in November 1995 on the A5 road in Anglesey
- Anthony Davies, a 40-year-old crematorium worker; stabbed to death on Pensarn Beach, Abergele in December 1995
Trial
During his trial, Moore told the jury the crimes were committed by his boyfriend, Alan Williams, whom he called Jason, a nickname that was a reference to the killer in the Friday the 13th horror films. Moore claimed Jason was a 48-year-old hotel worker who worked at the Empire Hotel in Llandudno and that they had met when Moore was cruising for sex on a beach in 1995.[10][12] Moore claimed he had been at the scenes of all the murders, but didn't participate. He claimed that the confession he had given to police was false, and that he'd done it to waste time and ensure that Jason could escape justice.[10]
On the stand he admitted to sexually assaulting men, and being involved in the gay sado-masochistic scene in Wales.[12][10]
The jury found him guilty on all counts.[13] He was sentenced to life imprisonment in November 1996 with a recommendation that he never be released.[2]
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Imprisonment
During his time in Wakefield Prison, Moore befriended fellow serial killer Harold Shipman (known to acquaintances as Fred Shipman). Shipman died of suicide in his cell in January 2004.[14]
In June 2008, Moore was told by the High Court that he would spend the rest of his life in prison.[2] On 3 March 2011, Moore challenged the ruling in the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), with a view to having his sentence quashed and such whole life order sentences outlawed throughout Europe.[15] On 17 January 2012, it was announced that his appeal had failed.[16] However, on 9 July 2013, it was announced the ECHR had ruled there had to be both a possibility of release and review to be compatible with human rights.[17]
In February 2015, the ECHR upheld the lawfulness of whole life orders, on the ground that they can be reviewed in exceptional circumstances, following a fresh challenge by murderer Arthur Hutchinson, who had been sentenced to life imprisonment for a triple murder in Sheffield more than 30 years earlier. There are around 70 prisoners in England and Wales serving whole life sentences.[18]
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Other
On 13 October 2011, it was falsely reported that Moore had died at Broadmoor hospital on 30 July 2011.[3]
Moore talked to the police and said that he knew the identity of Clocaenog Forest Man. It was reported that this theory was discounted due to conflicting dates.[19]
See also
- List of serial killers in the United Kingdom
- Colin Norris – fellow UK gay serial killer, convicted in 2008
References
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