LONDON – A man who dubbed himself the “crossbow cannibal” in court was jailed for life after he pleaded guilty yesterday to the gruesome murder of three women who worked as prostitutes in northern England.
Criminology student Stephen Griffiths (40), admitted killing Suzanne Blamires (36), Shelley Armitage (31) and Susan Rushworth (43), at his home in Bradford, which he turned into a “slaughterhouse”.
“The circumstances of these murders are so wicked and monstrous they leave me in no doubt the defendant should be kept in prison for the rest of his life,” said the judge, Justice Peter Openshaw. “He has never said he regretted his actions or said in even the most perfunctory way he was sorry.”
Prosecutor Robert Smith told Leeds Crown Court that a caretaker whose job it was to review closed circuit TV filmed at the apartment block where Griffiths lived saw Ms Blamires running out of the killer’s home with him in pursuit in May this year.
She was later seen being dragged on the floor by Griffiths, who had something in his hand, the prosecutor added. The court was told the woman was shot with a crossbow before Griffiths gestured to the CCTV camera, the Press Association reported.
The former public schoolboy, obsessed with serial killers, admitted to killing Ms Blamires in the flat and dismembering her body by hand. Power tools had been used on the other victims.
“It was just a slaughterhouse in the bathtub,” Griffiths told police. He claimed to have eaten parts of the body of Ms Blamires. “That’s part of the magic,” he told police, adding he was studying for a PhD in homicide.
He sat motionless in the dock as the court heard further gruesome details. Mr Smith said 81 different parts of Ms Blamires’s body were found in or by the River Aire in Shipley. A broken knife and crossbow bolt were embedded in her severed head.
The court was told Griffiths had a number of disturbing videos and images, including one of Ms Armitage dead in the bath.
When arrested, Griffiths said: “I’m Osama bin Laden”, and told officers on another occasion: “I’ve killed a lot more than Suzanne Blamires – I’ve killed loads.”
The head of the police investigation said they were not yet connecting Griffiths with any other missing person inquiries.
Ms Blamires’s mother Suzanne said: “Quite simply, no family deserves what we have gone through. All of these girls were people’s daughters, and much loved human beings.”
Ms Armitage’s mother Gill said: “Her death will haunt us for the rest of our lives.” – (Reuters)