Is there a serial killer in the UK?

[HurdyGurdy19]

I don't know what to think. It is social media, after all. But . . .

I've seen quite a few TikTok videos recently, all listing a large number of female deaths, all being found in or near a body of water (river, canal, lake). And all ruled as "not suspicious" by the police, even before toxicology reports have been released (if they are even released).

The first video I saw listed 14 women over a period of 30 months, but some comments were saying that there have been other deaths which haven't been reported on. Other videos mention different women.

These deaths are over the country, leading to speculation that it could be a lorry driver.

Does it seem likely, or is this the latest SM scare?

People think of serial killers as the infamous high count type they’ve seen on TV with obsessive planning, rituals, trophies etc.

The reality is more like a violent man who kills one person in one area and gets away with it. Moves to another and ends up killing another. Hannibal Lector it ain’t.

Michelle Pettie or Victoria Taylor for example?

there are quite a few more if you think back and even do a simple news search. Just because they aren’t current news doesn’t mean they haven’t happened

It’s very hard to accept a loved one has been so desperate that they would take their own life. Or has had a tragic accident It also often invalidates life insurance claims. Natural therefore that for some people it’s easier to “blame” a third party.

op I take it you aren’t that fussed about all the women murdered by their partners - not exciting or tik tok worthy ?

Michelle Pettie is being treated as unexplained I think. But how would a serial killer be operating in such a vast geographical area? From Yorkshire to Lancashire to Cheshire to Scotland. Other women who have drowned have been in other areas of the country. Why? If you’re a serial killer why not stay closer to where you live? Why are the deaths happening at different times of day/night? Why were some women spotted near the water whereas some were miles away and must have been transported there by car? There seems absolutely nothing linking them apart from them being female.

There's estimated to be two serial killers operating in the United Kingdom in any given year, according to a video I saw by Professor David Wilson recently. But you might not know about them until years later. And he's theorised that a serial killer nowadays would probably go after a more vulnerable group like homeless people, as they'd be less likely to get caught.

From what I've read of the recent cases of women disappearing by rivers and being found dead, I haven't heard of any that happened in suspicious circumstances. There are far more men who go missing by rivers every year, but women are the ones who usually get all the media attention. Aside from Jack O'Sullivan, but his family really worked hard to push his story in the media.

I just think if there was a serial killer operating near rivers, then wouldn't he be more likely to go after drunk men walking home alone after a night out? If someone's going around murdering middle aged, middle class women, I think they would be discovered quite quickly.

Apart from Claudia Lawrence.

The mother of one of the victims of Christopher Halliwell, a convicted double murderer, suggested a link to the Claudia Lawerence case, as he wanted to relocate to Yorkshire, but no evidence was found.

I remember people thinking there was a serial killer in Manchester (canal pusher ?) & I know there's been calls to investigate more serial killers in Australia (Byron bay/northern Rivers ?)

I think on the a whole there must be a fair few people who have gotten away with murder or killed a few people but the police just haven't prioritised or had the means to investigate which is quite sad.

I say the same thing every time this question is raised about people dying near water - where are the unsuccessful attempts? If there were a serial killer around who is killing people via water, then they are either very very VERY efficient or very lucky, because there is absolute no record of anyone who gets away. And you'd expect at least one case of someone who could swim getting themselves out of the water and making a police report.

This.

The sad case of the lady the other day who jogged to the shop at 4am.

We are used to hearing a lot about men’s mental health but it seems a growing number of perimenopausal and menopausal women are really struggling.

Logically, if someone was killing people (I remember rumours of a pusher of men around the Manchester canals too) by pushing them in rivers it would be very hit and miss. If a victim survived it would reveal their identity. If someone fell in and wasn’t drowning and had to be ‘finished off’ then the resulting injuries would arose police suspicions.

Sadly, there will be a serial killer in the U.K. but victims are more likely to be sex workers and have other vulnerabilities. There are plenty of one off horror stories where it sounds as though the men involved would have gone on to kill again had they not been caught relatively quickly like Wayne Couzens.

I agree there would be unsuccessful attempts if somebodys picking people at random but having been through a few instances where I've been too scared to do or say anything - like a home break in when younger where I clearly saw a man hiding under the window but didn't scream or report him even after he came back embarrassingly. I think it's not as straight forward as dismissing all cases based on it.

I think it's very unlikely that Claudia was murdered by Christopher Halliwell. The police publicly stated that they are certain there are multiple people out there who know what happened to her but are keeping silent. It seems very likely that she was killed by one or more of the men she having affairs with to silence her, and others helped cover it up.

I think it’s widely accepted that Claudia had several affairs with dodgy, married men, and one, or more of them decided to get rid of her, permanently. Without a body or witnesses, there is little the police can do.

I'm not on TikTok so no idea what's over there, but two things:

1. Loads and loads of children aren't learning how to swim so drownings are becoming much more common unfortunately.
2. On the serial killer thing, my friend a few years ago was warned about walking her dog along the canal as there was a man pushing lone women in! Barging into them - they didn't know if it was 'malicious' (like he was trying to kill them) or 'just a prank'. Anyway, she doesn't walk along the canal anymore on her own!

Yes it is thanks to the misogyny of the police. But it’s a long way from an affair to murder.

You are aware of the fact that this is MN? Discussing people's disappearances and deaths is virtually a hobby for some around here. Anyone recall Nicola Bulley's multiple threads?

You shouldn’t be giving this kind of shit your attention and brain space, let alone the oxygen of a big media site like this.

It’s true that a small number of well-researched crime podcasts by proper investigative journalists have led to the resolution of cold cases, but on the whole this content is just ghoulish ambulance chasing put out by every fucking Debbie and Darren from Whitley Bay to Wyoming - intrusive, disrespectful speculation made for clicks and likes by ill-informed idiots who’ve googled the same conspiracies as everyone else and want purely to shine a light on themselves.

You only have to watch the Netflix documentary about the Idaho student murders to see how the interference of these fools can hinder police investigations, cause enormous distress to the families and friends of victims, and even lead to the online naming and persecution of people who have nothing whatsoever to do with it.

This is the second thread I have seen on this in a couple of days.

It us unfortunately what happens when someone is intending on ending their life. Seeing someone has ended their life using x means, they may choose to do the same. That plus the increased news reporting now and being able to see news stories which once would have been confined to a regional paper or programme, it seems like there is a lot of something.

No, wise up! These deaths are normally suicides and the police will know much more about circumstances than you or bloody tik tok!!

@CloverAdrift yes statistically there would be. I'm not saying that in relation to water however, the ones I read about overwhelmingly seem to be by mistake or planned rather than the work of someone else.

A S.K. in the UK - probably

one as outlined on TikTok - nope. And stop clicking on that kind of content.
The death of women shouldn’t be seen as entertainment - and women who are murdered should be celebrated for their lives not their murderer.

I know of 3 people who have died in water in the past 5 years locally, why? Because we have beaches and a marina! One took their own life. 2 were around midnight after an evening of drinking. Several others have been rescued from the water after 11pm in that time. There’s no serial killer on the loose here unless you count alcohol!

Women are far, far more likely to be murdered by someone close to them than a random nutter or serial killer. And I doubt the police invented the narrative that she was sleeping with several men with connections to criminal activity. So, maybe the police are being misogynistic, but I think it’s more likely that this is what they genuinely believe happened.

If Claudia Lawrence was killed by a serial killer, where are the other victims? Or are people saying it’s the same person that they now think is pushing women into water?

I've accepted that it is a conspiracy theory, being built up by sleuths on Social Media. But these are the names and locations that were mentioned

Most recent is Rachel Booth. Found close to the River Mersey and River Dee
Tracy Harrison. Found River Trent, June 2025
Harriet Davies. Found River Severn, February 2025
Sisters Henrietta and Eliza Huszti. Found River Dee, January 2025.
Victoria Taylor. Found River Derwent, October 2024
Claire Driver. Found in a shallow stream near Barnsley, September 2024
Laura Stanley. Found River Mersey, March 2024
Katherine Corrie. Found River Nene, February 2024
Lucy Charles. Found River Dee, January 2024
Gaynor Lord. Found River Wensum, December 2023
Nicola Bulley. Found River Wyre, February 2023
Michelle Pettie. Found River Tweed, September 2022
Margaret Tyszkow. Found River Avon, January 2022

Many of these have clear explanations and are no way murders. Some are unexplained eg Michelle Pettie. But is someone really saying a killer is operating country-wide? And that they just happen to have targeted a significant number of women who just happened to have serious MH issues?

Sisters Henrietta and Eliza Huszti - their conduct strongly suggested suicide.

Rachel Booth - police say not suspicious. Reported missing before she was sighted in a garage so not an case of just going out for a run and popping to the shops

Claire Driver - history of drug use and severe MH issues. No suggestion of foul play.

Lucy Charles - likely to have slipped and fallen and was sitting on the riverbank drinking vodka immediately before going in.

Nicola Bulley - enough said on this but pretty clearly not murder

Gaynor Lord - coroner found she entered the water herself. Also erratic behaviour and MH history.

Margaret Tyzskow - suicide as she thought she was going to prison for benefit fraud m

If you do a list of the number of male bodies found in water in the same time period it would be pages long.

And what sort of murderer drowns women in the river in the middle of winter? They’d have to go in too you know?