S14 Ep14: The Dennis Nilsen Story Pt 2
Blood Ties Podcast
Peter Shevlin
4.4 • 668 Ratings
🗓️ 13 May 2026
⏱️ 32 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Part 2 of this Blood Ties special with Geoffrey and Molly Wansell. Confronting one of Britain’s most chilling killers: Dennis Nilsen. Calm, calculated, and hiding in plain sight, he murdered at least twelve young men between 1978 and 1983. Luring victims back to his North London flats, he strangled them, then carried out grotesque rituals, keeping bodies for days, even weeks, before dismembering and disposing of them. It is a story that still shocks.
Dubbed the Muswell Hill Murderer, Nilsen was finally caught and convicted at the Old Bailey, sentenced to life, later a whole life term. But the question remains: how did he get away with it for so long?
Geoffrey and Molly Wansell dig into the detail, the failures, and the psychology behind the headlines, asking what made Nilsen who he was, and why nobody stopped him sooner.
CREDITS:
Presenters: Geoffrey and Molly Wansell
Producer: Peter Shevlin https://pod60.com/
Artwork: George Leigh
Music: Dan Wansell
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This week on Blood Ties. |
| 0:14.0 | He moves house to 23D Cranley Gardens. |
| 0:19.5 | And in March, 1982, |
| 0:23.1 | kills John Howlett, who is 23. |
| 0:33.2 | Once again, strangled as he slept, |
| 0:36.1 | and then his head is held under water in the bath for five minutes. |
| 0:50.3 | He's dismembered, |
| 0:52.3 | and parts of the body are flushed down the loo. I'm Molly Wonsall. |
| 1:18.6 | And I'm Geoffrey Wonsall. |
| 1:20.6 | We're a father and daughter, as those of you who listened to Blood Ties in the past will remember, |
| 1:24.6 | and we meet every week and often our conversation has turned to murder, |
| 1:29.0 | which is why we originally launched Blood Ties and why we've now decided to bring it back in its new, |
| 1:35.3 | fresher form. |
| 1:36.2 | We're really excited to be back, and we would love it if you could also check out our Patreon. |
| 1:41.2 | Just search Blood Ties on Patreon. |
| 1:43.2 | Thanks so much. |
| 1:44.0 | Thank you. Thank you. |
| 1:50.3 | Hi everyone. Welcome back to the Blood Ties podcast. I'm Molly Wansel and I'm here with my father, |
| 1:55.0 | Jeffrey Wansel. Hello everyone. Welcome back to Blood Ties 2.0. We're delighted you're listening. |
| 2:00.3 | We're delighted that you listen to some of the old episodes |
| 2:02.6 | because this is an archive, an intro to an archive one, |
| 2:06.8 | on Dennis Nielsen, who killed, we think, 15 people, certainly, |
... |
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