Forgotten serial killer and UK’s longest-serving inmate could soon walk free

A serial killer who confessed to killing eleven people, including a child, a widow and a priest, could soon walk the streets freely.

Patrick Mackay, 67, who was jailed after a murder spree across London and Kent in 1975, is one of the UK’s longest-serving inmates.

An author who has looked into the killer’s gruesome history, said he has now been able to change his name and is due to be moved to an open prison.

John Lucas’ new book Britain’s Forgotten Serial Killer: The Devil’s Disciple, a detailed and dramatic account of the notorious Nazi-obsessed killer and his victims.

He said: ‘Mackay faded into obscurity in the minds of the British public, far more than other serial killers of his era.

‘In fact, he has been able to change his name and win the right to live in an open prison – the first step on the road to eventual freedom – without a shred of publicity surrounding the decision.’

Mackay was convicted of three killings and suspected of another eight.

Lucas explained: ‘Mackay was dubbed the Monster of Belgravia, the Devil’s Disciple and simply The Psychopath amid a torrent of public anger at the way he had repeatedly slipped through the grasp of the criminal justice system.

‘When the authorities added it all up, Mackay had been incarcerated, sectioned or otherwise detained at least nineteen times before he was finally brought to justice for his horrific killing spree.

‘It was a case that left the nation stunned, both by the pure brutality of Mackay’s crimes and his unrepentant evil.

‘Yet the extraordinary story of this 22-year-old Nazi-obsessive, who hacked a priest to death with an axe and killed two elderly women during a remorseless robbery campaign on the upmarket streets of West London, was all but forgotten by Christmas of 1975.

‘It had been expected to run and run. Among the unsolved cases Mackay had apparently confessed to in prison – but later denied under questioning – was the murder of a teenage nanny on a train and the heinous double killing of a widow and her four-year-old grandson.’

He added: ‘While police had taken the initial decision not to charge Mackay with those crimes, it seemed to be only a matter of time before more evidence came to light. But the charges never materialised.

‘Perhaps it was because, despite his alleged gloating to fellow prisoners, Patrick Mackay did not really kill all those people. Yet while he languishes in prison to this day – still too dangerous to be released – every one of those crimes remains unsolved.’

He was convicted of three killings. Mackay’s first identified victim was widow Isabella Griffiths, 87, who was strangled and stabbed at her home in Chelsea.

Next was Adele Price, 89, strangled at her home in Kensington. And finally, Mackay killed Father Anthony Crean, 63, in an attack using his fists, a knife and an axe, leaving the his mutilated body in a bath full of bloody water.

Although he was charged with five counts of murder, Mackay’s convictions were only for three counts of manslaughter due to diminished responsibility.

The other two cases were allowed to lie on file, meaning prosecutors believed they had enough evidence but a trial was felt not to be in the public interest.

Despite his alarming crimes and the sordid accusations surrounding Mackay, Lucas is concerned that the serial killer may soon be released from prison without the general public’s knowledge.

If he really did kill eleven people, he would be the UK’s fifth most prolific serial killer.

Lucas added: ‘Far from being one of Britain’s most notorious inmates, he is not even recognised as being the country’s longest-serving living prisoner.

‘That title was wrongly held by murderer John Massey before he was released in May 2018, even though he had been jailed seven months after Mackay in May 1976.

‘Most assume the flamboyant and infamous Charlie Bronson now holds the record, but that is not the case.

‘Instead, it is the forgotten serial killer, Patrick Mackay, who has been inside the longest.’