So, in today's post, we will be talking about the murders committed by spree killer Anthony Arkwright in August 1988.
Attention! The content of this article or section may seem obscene or offensive to some readers.
Childhood
From a young age, Arkwright didn't have what you would call a normal upbringing. As a child, he was abandoned with his 5 siblings by his mother and lived in care and children's home. His father was a miner, but there were rumours that he was the product of incest between his mother and grandfather.
He would eventually turn to a life of crime and was given a 30-month youth custody sentence for burglary and disorder. He also started to boast that he would become famous like Jack the Ripper and Peter Sutcliffe.
The Crimes
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| Wath upon Dearne Town Centre. Image credit: SE4300 @ Geograph |
Friday, August 26th 1988
At 21 years old he was working at a scrapyard in Mexborough, but due to problems with his attendance, he was fired. When he was fired it triggered the beginning of his 56-hour killing spree.
The spree began on August 26th at 16:30 and he started by visiting his grandfathers' allotment. He attacked him with a knife and stabbed him in the neck. In the attack, he severed an artery which knocked him unconscious almost instantly.
While he was out cold Arkwright grabbed an axe and a lump hammer and hit him over the head and shattered his skull. He hid the body in a shed.
Afterwards, he went to local pubs in the area, drank and started to hint about his crime, such as "it's been murder on the allotment."
Saturday, August 27th 1988
The second murder took place at 3am on the 27th of August. He entered the home of his neighbour, Raymond Ford. Ford was an unemployed teacher that was bullied by Arkwright, and when he burgled items from his flat he reported him to the police.
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Arkwright wanted revenge.
He entered Ford's flat completely naked at 3am wearing only a devil mask, stabbed Ford 250 times all over his body breaking several ribs. He also appeared to be gutted and dismembered in a way that resembled Jack the Ripper.
The police arrested Arkwright for burgling Ford's flat, but his body would not be found for another 3 days.
Sunday, August 28th 1988
A similar scene was found at Denman Road in Wath on the 28th of August. Marcus Law lived on Denman Road in a bungalow and was in a wheelchair after a motorcycle accident. After the police released him Arkwright went out drinking again.
In the early hours, Arkwright entered the bungalow and stabbed Marcus 70 times. What he did after this was absolutely despicable, and I have not provided the full description of the injuries because of that.
He stuffed cigarettes in his mouth, ears and eye sockets after trying to gut him. He said he did this because Marcus always 'scrounged' cigarettes off others. When he left the bungalow he bumped into Marcus' mother and commented on her son's suicide while smirking.
When she visited her son's bungalow she found him dead.
The Arrest and Trial
The police started talking to neighbours and went to speak to Ford, as he had reported Arkwright for burglary prior to the murder. However, when they got there they discovered his dead body and realised they were now dealing with a double murder.
Arkwright was arrested and admitted to killing 4 people. He was suspected of murdering his grandfather's housekeeper, Elsa Konradaite. However, this was not proven and was never taken to court.
The police found all of the remaining bodies and he made up another to gain control of the situation. This resulted in more searches being done in lakes and drainage ditches.
While awaiting trial Arkwright smeared human excrement on the walls in an attempt to prove he was insane and was angry that he was not getting the attention he expected. He was transferred to a Rampton Secure Hospital for further observation but was deemed fit to stand trial.
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| Sheffield Crown Court. Image credit: Bencherlite |
He stood trial at Sheffield Crown Court in 1988 and was found guilty and given life with a recommendation to serve 25 years.
His case was reviewed in 1998 and he was given a full life sentence and is one of the few prisoners that are deemed too dangerous to be released, which includes the likes of Ian Brady and Rose West.
He decided to appeal the decision but it was rejected as the whole life tariff was deemed lawful.
Final Thoughts
Allegedly a psychiatrist said that he was the "sanest person in the building" when he was at Rampton. Which means he must have known what he was doing at the time of the murders.
It also seems to be about revenge for him, and what he did to those people was disgusting I'm sure we can all agree based on the descriptions. I'm sorry I left a lot of it out, but it did not feel right to share the specifics of what happened to the victims. I hope you understand. In my opinion, based on what I have read, he does not deserve to be released from prison.
What are your thoughts on Anthony Arkwright and the crimes he committed? Let me know in the comments.
