12 – The murders of Colin Ireland: The Gay Slayer

Mens Rea: A true crime podcast

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True Crime, Society & Culture

4.7 • 1.4K Ratings

🗓️ 18 March 2018

⏱️ 51 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

As spring changed to summer in London 1993, a man stalked his prey at the Coleherne Pub in Earls Court. He targeted gay men, particularly those interested in BDSM, as he knew that they were a vulnerable group with poor relations with the policing authorities. Colin Ireland tricked 5 men into taking him back to their homes, where he brutally attacked them. He then waited to hear about his crimes in the paper. Because Colin Ireland killed for no other reason than his desire to make something of himself. His journey for fame and notoriety, to make a mark, cost 5 lives and terrorised the London Gay scene. This is the story of the Gay Slayer. Find us on Facebook or Twitter! With thanks to our supporters on Patreon! If you would like to support the podcast, head on over to Patreon.com. Podcast Promos: Based on a True Crime and True Crime Island Shout out to: Mirths and Monsters Podcast Theme Music: Quinn’s Song: The Dance Begins by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Sources: Molly Rose Pike, “Jobless divorcee dubbed the ‘gay slayer’ made a New Year’s resolution to become a famous SERIAL KILLER (and used true crime books as a how-to guide), TV documentary reveals” http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-5070423/Colin-Ireland-serial-killer-gay-men-famous.html 13 November 2017 Emily Allen, “’Gay slayer’ Colin Ireland who tortured homosexual men to death dies in jail” http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2104572/Serial-killer-Colin-Ireland-tortured-gay-men-death-dies-jail.html 22 February 2012 Carey Latimore “Colin Ireland Infamous Murders: Crimes of Prejudice” from CrimeandInvestigation.co.uk, as referenced on http://murderpedia.org/male.I/i/ireland-colin.htm (last accessed 22 February 2018) Mark Pulman, “The Gay Slayer” http://www.crimemagazine.com/gay-slayer (last accessed 22 Feb 2018) 12 August 2013 R v Brown [1993] UKHL 19, [1994] 1 AC 212 Lawrence v. Texas 539 U.S. 558 [2003] NewNowNext Staff, “Tom Cruise Was Nearly Murdered By A Serial Killer Targeting Gay Men” http://www.newnownext.com/tom-cruise-was-nearly-murdered-by-gay-slayer-in-1993-national-enquirer/12/2014/ 12 December 2014 Fergus Mason, The Gay Slayer: The Life of Colin Ireland Serial Killer (Absolute Crime Books, 2014) Purchase here

Transcript

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0:00.0	You're listening to the mens rea podcast and this is the story of Colin Ireland. Oh, oh, oh, oh. Oh, oh. Today the Pembroke pub on the old Brompton Road in Kensington is a three-story brick building, offering
0:46.6	craft beers and a seasonal menu. It boasts a roof garden terrace for summers spent drinking cold cider in the sun, and slouchy
0:55.7	Chesterfield couches for cozying up with a group of friends for drinks and chats over their
1:00.4	gourmet bar snacks. Its decor is modern, crisp, clean, and a little bit shabby
1:06.8	sheik and the fact that there's been a pub operating there since the mid-1800s. But the young modern smart casual after work crowd has not always
1:17.2	been its regular clientele in that period. It was once named the Cole Hearn. It started out as a Victorian Workman's Pub, but in the 1950s it morphed into a gay bar given its proximity to the London theatres. Over the next 20 years or those involved in BDSM. It got a reputation which it fostered
1:42.4	of being seedy.
1:45.0	Its windows were either blacked out with paint or plastered with advertisements of gigs and
1:50.0	club nights and each floor was thick with cigarette smoke. Its loud and slightly menacing
1:56.5	atmosphere provided a level of anonymity to its visitors and many gay and not yet out celebrities would frequent the pub for this very reason.
2:05.0	Well-known clientele included people such as Rupert Everett, Freddie Mercury, and Anthony Perkins.
2:12.0	It was grotty and reb Perkins. It was grotty and rebellious and a bit dangerous feeling.
2:19.9	A code of sorts had been imported from the gay scene in San Francisco, whereby the patrons of the pub
2:25.5	identified their particular kink by wearing a coloured handkerchief. It identified what they were into
2:32.3	and what role they wanted to play, whether they were
2:35.6	tops or bottoms.
2:38.1	Colin Ireland was born in Darford, Kent on March 16, 1954.
2:44.3	Dartford is basically a little satellite of London.
2:47.3	It lost much of its industry to the capital during the Industrial Revolution, and this was reflected
2:52.2	in people's lifestyles.
2:54.4	Most people headed to London to find work.
2:58.8	Colin's father abandoned his 17-year-old mother shortly after he was born. His early life was unstable. They moved
	...

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