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Anthony Hardy

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Anthony Hardy
Born
Anthony John Hardy

31 May 1951
Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, England
Died25 November 2020(2020-11-25) (aged 69)[1]
HM Prison Frankland, County Durham, England
Other namesCamden Ripper
Conviction(s)Murder
Criminal penaltyWhole life tariff
Details
Victims3–8+
Span of crimes
December 2000 – December 2002
CountryUnited Kingdom
Date apprehended
2 January 2003

Anthony John Hardy[2][3] (31 May 1951 – 25 November 2020)[4] was an English serial killer who was known as the Camden Ripper for dismembering some of his victims. In November 2003, he was sentenced to three life terms for three murders, but police believe he may have been responsible for up to six more.[5]

Early life

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Born in Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire[4] Hardy had an apparently uneventful childhood and excelled in school and college. He earned an engineer's degree from Imperial College London and subsequently became the manager of a large company.[6] Hardy married and fathered three sons and one daughter; in 1982, he was arrested in Tasmania for trying to drown his wife, but the charges were later dropped.[6] In 1986, Hardy's wife, Judith, divorced him.[4]

After the divorce, Hardy spent time in mental hospitals, diagnosed with bipolar disorder.[7] He was also treated in psychiatric hospitals across London for depression, drug-induced psychosis and alcohol abuse.[4] He lived in various hostels in London, picking up convictions for theft[6] and being drunk and disorderly. He was arrested in 1998 when a prostitute accused him of raping her, but the charges were dropped due to lack of evidence. He became an alcoholic and diabetic.[6]

Murders

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In January 2002, police were called to the block of flats where Hardy lived by a neighbour complaining that someone had vandalised her front door and that she strongly suspected Hardy. When the police investigated Hardy's flat, they found a locked door and, despite his claims to the contrary, found that Hardy had a key to it. In the room the police found the naked dead body of a woman lying on a bed with cuts and bruises to her head. She was identified as Sally White, 38, a prostitute who had been living in London.

Forensic pathologist Freddy Patel subsequently concluded that White had died of a heart attack, in spite of the circumstances. Patel later came under scrutiny for this and other findings in his career, including the 2009 death of Ian Tomlinson, resulting in a suspension from the government's register of pathologists pending an inquiry.[8][9][10] In 2012, he was struck off the medical register by the General Medical Council, meaning that he can no longer practise medicine in the United Kingdom.[11]

Hardy pleaded guilty to a charge of criminal damage and claimed he had no knowledge of how White came to be in his flat due to his drinking problem. Whilst in custody Hardy was transferred to a psychiatric hospital, under section 37 of the Mental Health Act 1983, remaining there until November 2002.[12]

Arrest and trial

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On 30 December 2002, a homeless person scavenging in rubbish bins found the dismembered body parts of two women, wrapped in black plastic bin-liners.[13] The victims were identified as Bridgette MacClennan, 34, and Elizabeth Valad, 29. The investigation led to Hardy, who was arrested a week later. He had gone on the run, but was spotted by an off-duty policeman when he went to University College Hospital to collect his prescription for insulin. During a search of the grounds of the hospital, Hardy was found hiding behind bins. A fight took place as he resisted arrest, during the course of which a police officer was knocked unconscious and another officer was stabbed through the hand and had his eye dislocated from its socket. Despite suffering these injuries, the wounded police officer held Hardy until backup arrived and he was arrested at the scene. A subsequent search of his flat found evidence, including old blood stains, indicating the two women had been killed and dismembered there. Both had died over the Christmas holidays.

Under arrest, Hardy replied "no comment" to every question put to him by police. He was charged with the murders of both MacClennan and Valad, and of White, the woman whose death had originally been put down to natural causes. At his trial in November 2003 Hardy, despite his initial lack of cooperation with the police, abruptly changed his plea to guilty to all three counts of murder and was sentenced to life imprisonment. Because of Hardy's history of psychiatric problems and violent behaviour, an independent enquiry was announced into his care.[14]

Hardy was diagnosed with a personality disorder.[15] In May 2010, a High Court judge decided that Hardy should never be released from prison, placing him on the list of whole life tariff prisoners. Mr Justice Keith, sitting in London, said: "This is one of those exceptionally rare cases in which life should mean life."[15]

Death

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Hardy died of pneumonia at HM Prison Frankland, County Durham, on 25 November 2020, aged 69.[16][1]

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It was originally reported that police believed Hardy was possibly connected to the unsolved cases of two prostitutes found dismembered and dumped in the River Thames, and up to five or six other murders that bore marked similarities to the ones for which he was convicted but where not enough evidence was available directly implicating him.[17] One of the murders Hardy was originally linked to, that of London sex worker Paula Fields whose body was dumped in the Regents Canal in 2001, was solved in 2011 when John Sweeney was convicted of her murder.[18][19]

Murder of Zoe Parker

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Zoe Parker

The other Thames sex worker murder that was linked to Hardy was that of Zoe Parker, who had last been seen in Hounslow in December 2000 before her dismembered torso was found in the river.[18][20] Possible links between Hardy and the Parker case were noted in the press as soon as he was apprehended in January 2003, with detectives saying that "he is a suspect for the unsolved murders of any women whose bodies have been cut up and dumped".[20][21] The lower half of Parker's body was never found.[22] Investigators were of the opinion that the body had been cut up with something sharp like a Samurai sword.[23]

Parker's incomplete body had been found on 17 December 2000, 11 days after she disappeared.[20][24] The torso was found next to Chelsea Harbour on the Thames.[23] She was 24 years old and was also known as Cathy Dennis.[24] She travelled around west London seeking clients, moving between Isleworth, Feltham, Hounslow and sometimes the West End, and on the night she disappeared she was in Hounslow.[24][25] She was said to have often started up conversations with strangers.[24] On the night she went missing she was seen with two men described as white and with dark hair.[22] One was wearing a white casual jacket, dark trousers and white trainers.[22] The other man was stocky and wearing dark clothing.[22] Investigators also asked for a woman named Carmen or Carmel to come forward as they believed she had information on the murder, saying she was apparently a friend of Parker and came from the Hounslow or Isleworth area.[25]

Other cases

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Two of the murders linked to Hardy occurred in Nottinghamshire, near to where Hardy grew up in Burton-on-Trent.[18]

In 2013, high-profile criminologist David Wilson released a documentary on Hardy as part of his Killers Behind Bars: The Untold Story series, in which he examined claims Hardy could be linked to the murders of London sex workers Sharon Hoare in Fulham in 1991 and Christine McGovern in Walthamstow in 1995.[26]

In 2021, police investigated if Fred the Head, an unidentified decedent found in Burton upon Trent in 1971, may have been a victim of Hardy, a theory originating in a Facebook group dedicated to identifying the body.[27]

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Hardy was the subject of an episode of Evil Up Close on the Crime and Investigation Network, focusing on the 2010 decision to keep Hardy in prison for the rest of his life. The film was directed by Robert Murray and written and produced by Will Hanrahan.[28]

After Hardy was imprisoned, British rap artist Plan B released his song "Suzanne", dubbing Hardy as the 'Camden Ripper' and describing the murder of a fictional prostitute named Suzanne Smith.

Hardy is also mentioned, and his flat pointed out, in the music video "Guided tour of Camden" by Charlie Sloth.

Hardy was the subject of a Channel 4 documentary, The Hunt for the Camden Ripper, broadcast in 2004. It was narrated by Juliet Stevenson and directed by Olly Lambert.

The 30 December discovery and resulting investigation that led to Hardy's arrest is the subject of "The Camden Ripper" episode of the podcast Scotland Yard Confidential.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b James, John (3 June 2021). "Neighbours of notorious Camden Ripper reveal serial killer Anthony Hardy's strange habits". MyLondon. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
  2. ^ "Third 'bin bag' murder victim named". telegraph.co.uk. 6 January 2003.
  3. ^ "Hardy Charged With Bin Bag Murders". Archived from the original on 8 May 2016. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
  4. ^ a b c d Cobain, Ian; Tendler, Stewart. "Bad not mad Hardy tried to murder wife". thetimes.co.uk. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
  5. ^ Evans, Martin (25 November 2016). "The 70 prisoners serving whole life sentences in the UK". telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
  6. ^ a b c d [1][permanent dead link]
  7. ^ Bell, Rachael. "Anthony John Hardy, England's famous Camden Ripper". The Crime library. Archived from the original on 3 April 2014. Retrieved 17 September 2012.
  8. ^ Paul Lewis (11 April 2009). "Pathologist in Ian Tomlinson G20 death case was reprimanded over conduct". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 September 2012.
  9. ^ "Officer under investigation over Ian Tomlinson's death 'should not have been working for Met'". Telegraph.co.uk. 28 June 2010. Archived from the original on 28 June 2010. Retrieved 17 September 2012.
  10. ^ Bates, S. (15 March 2011). "GMC condemns tomlinson pathologist for murder case error". The Guardian.
  11. ^ "Ian Tomlinson pathologist Dr Freddy Patel struck off". BBC News. 23 August 2012. Retrieved 6 June 2013.
  12. ^ "Independent Review into the Care and Treatment of Mr Anthony Hardy Sept 2005" (PDF). Camden Government. Gov.UK. p. 204. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  13. ^ Foster, Peter, Graham, Bob (6 January 2003). "Man charged with three murders after bodies found in binbags". telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 16 March 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  14. ^ "Independent Review Into The Care And Treatment Of Anthony Hardy". Nclondon.nhs.uk. 27 July 2012. Archived from the original on 12 October 2007. Retrieved 17 September 2012.
  15. ^ a b Pearse, Damien (14 May 2010). "Camden Ripper: Anthony Hardy Will Never Be Released Decides Mr Justice Keith After Three Murders". Sky News. Archived from the original on 9 October 2012. Retrieved 6 June 2013.
  16. ^ Finnigan, Sophie (22 October 2022). "Serial killer dies behind bars after contracting Covid-19 pneumonia at HMP Frankland". Chronicle Live. Retrieved 9 June 2023.
  17. ^ Bell, Rachael. "Anthony John Hardy, England's famous Camden Ripper — Connections". Trutv.com. Retrieved 17 September 2012.
  18. ^ a b c Bourgoin, Stéphane (2015). La Bible du crime (in French). MARTINIERE BL. p. 401.
  19. ^ "John Sweeney found guilty of canal murders". BBC News. 4 April 2011. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
  20. ^ a b c "Fears for Scots woman as police arrest 'bodies-in-bin' suspect". The Scotsman. 3 January 2003.
  21. ^ Edwards, Jeff; Francis, Wayne (3 January 2003). "ARE THERE 12 VICTIMS?; -Bag suspect faces unsolved deaths quiz -Desperate hunt for missing tattoo woman, 25". The Mirror.
  22. ^ a b c d "Gruesome unsolved murder of Hounslow's Zoe Parker whose torso was dumped in Thames". MyLondon. 21 January 2000. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  23. ^ a b "Torso murder family appeal". BBC News. 5 January 2001. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  24. ^ a b c d Malik, Zaiba (15 December 2004). "G2: Watery grave: Once a week, somewhere along the 213 miles of the Thames, a dead body is washed ashore. But only rarely do these discoveries make the news; most simply become forgotten victims of the river. Zaiba Malik meets those who find them - and those they leave behind". The Guardian.
  25. ^ a b "TV appeal on torso murder". BBC News. 5 December 2001. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  26. ^ "Anthony Hardy". Killers Behind Bars: The Untold Story. Season 2. Episode 4. Channel 5.
  27. ^ Kreft, Helen (13 February 2021). "Murdered man might be victim of notorious serial killer". Staffordshire Live. Retrieved 23 October 2024.
  28. ^ "New Episodes - Evil Up Close on Crime and Investigation Network". Crimeandinvestigation.co.uk. Retrieved 17 September 2012.

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