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Stephen Port Documentary: Daniel Whitworth's family speak in BBC Three documentary

A new documentary about the victims of a perverted serial killer obsessed with having sex with unconscious men has highlighted the work their families and friends played in bringing the killer to justice.

Stephen Port drugged and murdered four men in 15 months in the same town, including 21-year-old Daniel Whitworth from Gravesend, after meeting them on various gay dating websites.

But police repeatedly refused to believe the deaths were linked and it was only when loved ones and pals started carrying out their own investigations that Port’s sick web of deceit began to unravel.

Daniel Whitworth, 21, was murdered by Port
Daniel Whitworth, 21, was murdered by Port

In a BBC Three documentary, How Police Missed the Grindr Killer, released last week, Daniel’s step-mum Mandy Pearson appears alongside people close to the other three victims.

She told filmmakers how the family reacted when police initially said Daniel had taken his own life.

She said: “We were extremely confused because Daniel was quite a happy lad. Everything was going his way. It just didn’t seem to make any sense.”

Daniel Whitworth's step-mum Mandy Pearson speaks on the BBC documentary. Picture: BBC
Daniel Whitworth's step-mum Mandy Pearson speaks on the BBC documentary. Picture: BBC

Ms Pearson revealed Daniel’s dad Adam Whitworth had raised the only child by himself and he was “the apple of his eye”.

Through tears she told the cameraman: “There are no words.”

But Ms Pearson and Mr Whitworth quickly began to spot things about the Dartford Grammar pupil’s death that made them suspicious.

BBC Three documentary How Police Missed the Grindr Killer showed Mandy Pearson looking at pictures of her late stepson Daniel Whitworth and his dad Adam. Picture: BBC
BBC Three documentary How Police Missed the Grindr Killer showed Mandy Pearson looking at pictures of her late stepson Daniel Whitworth and his dad Adam. Picture: BBC

They could not be certain the handwriting on Daniel’s alleged suicide note, later revealed to have been penned by Port, was his and they were shocked to discover there was bruising under their son’s arms, indicating he had been lifted up before he died.

At Daniel’s inquest in June 2015 it emerged the handwriting had never been properly analysed and police had failed to take DNA samples from a bed sheet his body was sitting on when it was found in a graveyard.

Serial killer Stephen Port killed men he met on Grindr
Serial killer Stephen Port killed men he met on Grindr

Port’s DNA was on police file at the time.

And when they read the words “don’t blame the guy I was with last night” in the note, and police had no idea who ‘the guy’ was, they couldn’t believe what they were hearing.

When the truth was finally revealed, Ms Pearson said: “I don’t believe they were looking for the answers.

"If they were looking they wouldn’t have had to look very far. The links were there. There links were there.

Former friend Ryan Edwards said Port liked dating young, slim men. Picture: BBC
Former friend Ryan Edwards said Port liked dating young, slim men. Picture: BBC

“For 15 months we believed Daniel had taken his own life. We were going to suicide organisations for help. Then suddenly you’re told it appears to be murder.

"How can I put into words how let down I feel by an establishment that’s there to protect the community?”

When a coroner returned an open conclusion, unable to rule out third party involvement in Daniel’s death, his family asked police to reinvestigate his death as a murder.

But Ms Pearson said they might as well have been told 'That is the conclusion of Daniel’s death. That’s your lot. Live with it.'

She added: "It’s left another family, besides our family and Gabriel’s family, and Anthony’s family, in this awful, awful position. That’s a huge mistake.”

Stephen Port. Picture: SWNS.
Stephen Port. Picture: SWNS.

Daniel’s family were not the only who became suspicious over the Met Police’s handling of the deaths of young gay men in Barking between 2012 and 2015.

Port’s first victim was 23-year-old fashion student Anthony Walgate, whose body he dumped outside his own front door before dialling 999 and telling them a man had collapsed.

Anthony’s mum Sarah questioned why police hadn’t searched her son’s computer for evidence of who he was with the night he died, or tracked his missing mobile phone, and told officers his death was suspicious.

She said: “Maybe if they’d listened to me in the first place and done any investigation whatsoever three more young boys would still be alive.”

John Pape, a friend of victim Gabriel Kovari, told the BBC he feared for his own safety. Picture: BBC
John Pape, a friend of victim Gabriel Kovari, told the BBC he feared for his own safety. Picture: BBC

At this stage police had not looked on Port’s computer either. Had they done this they would have found online searches for date rape drugs, sick videos of unconscious boys being raped and many profiles on numerous dating websites.

Anthony's mum accused police of being homophobic, saying they would have dedicated more time and effort to investigating the death of a young girl.

She added: “As they were all young gay boys they did nothing.”

Port eventually admitted hiring Anthony via male escort website sleepyboy but said he died of an accidental overdose.

In early 2015 Port was convicted of perverting course of justice and jailed for four months but released after two. Samples of his DNA were taken and kept on police file.

Gravesend chef Daniel Whitworth was among the victims. Picture: SWNS.
Gravesend chef Daniel Whitworth was among the victims. Picture: SWNS.

Two months after Anthony’s death, in summer 2014, Port killed Gabriel Kovari, 22, before telling mutual friends the younger man had moved back to his native Slovakia where he had become ill and died.

This time it was Gabriel’s friend and former flat mate John Pape who turned detective.

Almost immediately he realised two young gay men had died in similar circumstances within streets of each other and when Daniel was found dead as well he began to worry.

Mr Pape told the BBC he called a detective from Barking and Dagenham Borough Police, the division of the Met dealing with the deaths, and said: “If this is murder you have to tell me because I’m concerned for my own safety.”

He told the documentary makers: “I was assured it wasn’t murder,” adding that if police had realised the men had been murdered and issued a warning to the gay community lives could have been saved.

Dog walker Barbara Denham, who found two of the bodies, couldn't believe police didn't link the deaths, she told the documentary. Picture: BBC
Dog walker Barbara Denham, who found two of the bodies, couldn't believe police didn't link the deaths, she told the documentary. Picture: BBC

On September 3 2014 Port contacted Daniel through website FitLads and suggested they meet for coffee or a pint before going back to his flat for dinner.

Port wrote: “Just so you can get to know me a bit, so you know I’m not some psycho.”

Days later, on September 20, Daniel was found dead.

Even dog walker Barbara Denham, who discovered both Gabriel and Daniel’s bodies in the same spot in a graveyard near Port’s home, could not believe police were refusing to link the deaths.

She told the BBC: “Anybody would have thought it was suspicious.”

A neighbour and former friend of 41-year-old Port’s, Ryan Edwards, said the killer’s boyfriends were always young and slim, in their late teens or early twenties, a type known as “twink” in the gay community.

He said Port had a “peculiar childlike personality” and described a bizarre memory of the murderer sitting crossed legged on the floor at a party, playing with a toy truck.

Mr Edwards also revealed he dropped round Port’s for coffee one day and saw a clear box on the coffee table full of dozens of glass bottle, with liquid inside, and multiple bags of white powder. Port’s eyes were “red raw” and he looked like he hadn’t slept a wink, his former friend said.

Stephen Port. Picture: Met Police.
Stephen Port. Picture: Met Police.

In between meeting Daniel and killing him, Port started talking to 25-year-old Jack Taylor.

When police told Jack’s family the fiercely anti-drugs young man had died of an overdose his sisters Donna and Jen knew officers were wrong and launched their own investigation.

They told the BBC they begged police to release CCTV footage of their brother walking with a mystery man before he disappeared and finally officers agreed.

Within two days, on October 15 2015, Port had been arrested and this time he was charged with the four murders.

Donna said of the police: “As far as I’m concerned they’re as guilty as him. They should be held accountable for his death because they could have prevented it.”

"For 15 months we believed Daniel had taken his own life. We were going to suicide organisations for help. Then suddenly you’re told it appears to be murder" - Mandy Pearson

The same month as the eventual arrest, the Met Police referred itself to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) over ‘potential vulnerabilities’ in its response to the four deaths.

Seventeen officers are being investigated for possible misconduct after it was revealed there were widespread failings in Scotland Yard’s approach to crime in the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) communities.

Port drugged the men with GHB - known as “liquid ecstasy” - so he could fulfill his sexual fetishes of having sex with their unconscious bodies.

He was also found guilty of raping three other men after drugging them for sex, but cleared of two other rapes. Port was also convicted of four counts of administering a substance with intent and one of assault by penetration.

Port has since been linked to a further 58 drug-related deaths of young men and these are being re-examined.

How Police Missed the Grindr Killer is still available to view on the BBC Three website.

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