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

life terms for three murders, but police believe he may have been responsible for up to six more.[5]

Early life

Born in

divorced him.[4]

After the divorce, Hardy spent time in

alcoholic and diabetic.[6]

Murders

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.

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] 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.[10]

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.[11]

Arrest and trial

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.[12] 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 simply replied "no comment" to every question put to him by police. He was eventually 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.[13]

Hardy was diagnosed with a

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."[14]

Death

Hardy died of pneumonia at HM Prison Frankland, County Durham, on 25 November 2020, aged 69.[15][1]

Possible links to other murders

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.[16] One of the murders Hardy was originally linked to, that of London sex worker Paula Fields whose body was dumped in the Thames in 2001, was in fact solved in 2011 when John Sweeney was convicted of her murder.[17][18]

Murder of Zoe Parker

Zoe Parker

The other Thames sex worker murder that was linked to Hardy was that of Zoe Parker, who had last been seen in

Samurai sword.[22]

Parker's incomplete body had been found on 17 December 2000, 11 days after she disappeared.[19][23] The torso was found next to Chelsea Harbour on the Thames.[22] She was 24 years old and was also known as Cathy Dennis.[23] 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.[23][24] She was said to have often started up conversations with strangers.[23] On the night she went missing she was seen with two men described as white and with dark hair.[21] One was wearing a white casual jacket, dark trousers and white trainers.[21] The other man was stocky and wearing dark clothing.[21] 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.[24]

Other cases

Two of the murders linked to Hardy occurred in

Burton-on-Trent.[17]

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.[25]

In popular culture

Hardy was the subject of an episode of Evil Up Close on the

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.

See also

References

  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. ^ "Ian Tomlinson pathologist Dr Freddy Patel struck off". BBC News. 23 August 2012. Retrieved 6 June 2013.
  11. ^ "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.
  12. ^ 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)
  13. ^ "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.
  14. ^ 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.
  15. ^ Finnigan, Sophie (22 October 2022). "Serial killer dies behind bars after contracting Covid-19 pneumonia at HMP Frankland". Chronicle Live. Retrieved 9 June 2023.
  16. ^ Bell, Rachael. "Anthony John Hardy, England's famous Camden Ripper — Connections". Trutv.com. Retrieved 17 September 2012.
  17. ^ a b c Bourgoin, Stéphane (2015). La Bible du crime (in French). MARTINIERE BL. p. 401.
  18. ^ "John Sweeney found guilty of canal murders". BBC News. 4 April 2011. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
  19. ^ a b c "Fears for Scots woman as police arrest 'bodies-in-bin' suspect". The Scotsman. 3 January 2003.
  20. ^ 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.
  21. ^ 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.
  22. ^ a b "Torso murder family appeal". BBC News. 5 January 2001. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  23. ^ 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.
  24. ^ a b "TV appeal on torso murder". BBC News. 5 December 2001. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  25. ^ "Anthony Hardy". Killers Behind Bars: The Untold Story. Season 2. Episode 4. Channel 5.
  26. ^ "New Episodes - Evil Up Close on Crime and Investigation Network". Crimeandinvestigation.co.uk. Retrieved 17 September 2012.
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