Following Jay's testimony, DS Chambers recited Nilsen's formal confession to the court. [124] With Nilsen's full consent, Ronald Moss had fully prepared Nilsen's defence; five weeks before his trial, Nilsen again dismissed Moss, and opted instead to be represented by Ralph Haeems, upon whose advice Nilsen agreed to plead not guilty by diminished responsibility.[125]. [152] The interview was screened in full that evening. Initially, Nilsen had intended to plead guilty to each charge of murder at his upcoming trial. [98] The following day, he refused to allow an acquaintance to enter his property (the reason being he had begun to dismember Sinclair's body on the floor of his kitchen). In 1955, Nilsen moved to Strichen with his mum, brother and sister and new stepfather, Andrew Scott, who was a builder. Police later found shopping bags full of body parts and organs – and Nilsen admitted boiling heads in a cooking pot on his stove to dispose of the brains. [20] After three weeks at the factory, Nilsen informed his mother that he intended to join the army, where he intended to train as a chef. Nilsen attempted to strangle Ho, who managed to flee from his flat and reported the incident to police. He was searched after the discovery of the three Nilsen murders in another apartment in Muswell Hill. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. He finished his schooling in 1961 and briefly worked in a canning factory as he considered which career path he should choose. [40] Nilsen engaged Stottor in conversation, discovering the youth was depressed following a failed relationship. [7][8] When he replied that he did, he was taken into the room where his grandfather lay in an open coffin. His developed fantasies of sex with an unresistant or deceased partner unfulfilled, Nilsen compensated by imagining sexual encounters with an unconscious body as he masturbated while looking at his own prone, nude body in a mirror. Dennis Nilsen's loveless childhood was the catalyst for his murderous thoughts, he claimed before his death. [130] Upon cross-examination, the defence counsel sought to undermine Stewart's credibility, pointing to minor inconsistencies in the testimony, the fact he had consumed much alcohol on the night in question, and suggesting his memory had been selectively magnified as he had previously sold his story to the press. According to Nilsen, upon being transferred to Brixton Prison to await trial, his mood was one of "resignation and relief", with his belief being that he would be viewed, in accordance with law, as innocent until proven guilty.
Nilsen repeatedly engaged in sexual relations with an Arab youth while previously stationed in Aden. [89] For over a week following Howlett's murder, Nilsen's own neck bore the victim's finger impressions. This ultimately led to Nilsen’s arrest after a plumber was called to one of the houses due to complaints from the killer and his neighbors. He claims he later caressed and fondled his older brother Olav Jr. while he slept, leading Olav to believe his brother was gay. On several occasions, Nilsen also made tentative efforts to have his own prone body sexually interfered with by one of his colleagues. Prior to Nilsen's trial, Bowden had interviewed the defendant on sixteen separate occasions in interviews totalling over fourteen hours. But on October 31 1951, while fishing in the North Sea, Nilsen’s grandfather died of a heart attack at the age of 62.