To ask if you’ve met an infamous criminal?

[Anon778833]

Did they seem ‘normal’? Or did you get a strange feeling about them?

.

@MsTSwift

A friend of my mothers was a dog walking friend of Dennis Nielsen. She was most surprised to see him on the news as a mass murderer. He was a quiet pleasant chap apparently they chatted most mornings. She was a forthright middle aged lady at the time so not his target victim type.

My friends sister worked with him. He bought her an electric carving knife as a wedding present.

Yes, my friends dad is one of the 'Hatton garden wheezers'. Out of prison now. Not seen her for years though. They were a very flash family and enjoyed the glitz and glamour of being wealthy and 'known' he, came clubbing with us when we were teenagers which now seems a bit weird but we didn't care at the time as they paid for everything. Her and her sisters 18th were huge lavish affairs in hotels costing 1000s - great nights !
They were rolling the biggest bottles of champagne around - the huge one. There was also pie and mash and jellied eels being served.
I was talking to him and mentioned I had my driving test that week and he told me to hire a nurses uniform and wear it as I'd then be more likely to pass!?!
Their house is very OTT - huge house, think Greek pillars in the lounge. Monogrammed swimming pool. my friend had a suite and I loved staying over. Her walk in wardrobe was amazing! He bought both my friend and her sister businesses when they were 18. I can't remember now how we fell out about 20 years ago.

PS - very nice, friendly and welcoming though. The whole family was involved in gangster activities since they were very young (SE London)

One's actions was during a psychotic episode that was reasonably apparent, one was strange but the kind of strangeness that was accepted as mild eccentricity until it became clear what they'd be doing and one was reasonably charming and not apparently criminal. Nothing that would make the last two give a feeling of unease to someone who met them.

Shouldn't diagnose outside clinical settings though I can think of at least three people I've met that in layman's terms I would describe as psychopaths whom I would be surprised if by the end of their lives, they haven't committed some form of serious criminality. I had a sustained nauseous feeling every time I had to spend time with them.

Oh, and another old friend is the neice of the infamous Richardson's - no one ever gave us any hassle when we were out! I didn't know who they were until my mum told me!

Just to counterbalance some of the Rolf Harris love on here... I spent a day with him in a work capacity when I was in my mid-twenties (this was the mid 1990s). He did something physically very inappropriate within 20 mins of meeting him. He's another one who used his fame and the power that goes with it to behave inappropriately in plain sight!

@ineedsun I knew two people who worked with him and said they genuinely went to his flat for supper. He was not so strange that his colleagues wouldn't want to socialise with him outside work. Now it may have been 'bragging' but they weren't the kind of people who would big things up.

I’d completely forgotten about it until I was watching a documentary recently called ‘Killing Escobar’. The main mercenary guy Dave Tomkins used to come in the hairdressers I worked in as a Saturday girl when I was a teenager. I washed his hair many a time!

@itsgettingwierd

Not infamous.

Very well known murder case locally as it was horrific and half the details were kept out of the public eye.

I was a lifeguard with him

I was only very young but certainly didn't get any unusual vibes from him but adults said they thought something was "off".

@itsgettingwierd I used to work with someone who murdered his ex partner - he used to be a lifeguard in previous employment - wonder if it is the same person?

I had to deal with him professionally after he had been charged with other serious crimes towards her and was out on bail and it was very difficult. He went onto murder her shortly after he had been dismissed from employment - still nags my conscience if that decision contributed to his actions

I've met quite a few in a professional capacity. The worst was Philpott. He was playing the devastated Dad at the time and we were all fussing around him and felt very sad for him. Then it came out in the news what had really happened, quite a few staff required counselling for it.

Personally, my friends ex who killed a child. Hes serving life in prison now. And my exh who is awaiting sentencing after beating a child (not one of ours).

These Krays seem to get about a lot 🙄

I met Justice Ngema - the guy who locked a nurse in his boot for 10 days. She was close to death when she was found. I had to take a statement from him when he was is prison. I knew what he'd done (obviously). He was handsome and charming and gave off no bad vibes whatsoever. Which is quite unnerving really!

I knew a lad at school who killed both his parents when he was in his early 20's. He had always seemed a bit 'different' but was very intelligent and a talented musician. He clearly had mental health issues which was what lead to the murders. So sad really.

Anyone who used Waterloo Station in the 70s and early 80s and came in and out via the Waterloo Road side entrance would pass the flower seller, who was Great Train Robber Buster Edwards.

I was acquainted with someone who murdered his mother. He seemed completely normal.

I was one of many victims of a prolific fraudster at work. He was utterly charming and spent months grooming us all.

I worked in a secure unit and met a charming man - he had killed his wife and children in a frenzied attack would never had guessed in a million years

@timetochangeagainforever it wasn’t Terry Perkins was it?

Not infamous but I used to work as a hairdresser, we used to get one guy come in and for some reason he made me feel really uneasy. He always gave off a bad vibe. He also seemed to take a liking to my colleague at the time. I really hated him being in the salon. Could never figure out why.

Few years later I was flicking through the local Chronicle and he's front page news for setting a residents bed on fire in the care home he worked at.

I met quite a few long term prisoners when they were in the process of being released into the community through a befriending scheme I used to volunteer for pre DC. Amongst those were a couple of infamous men, by then both were old and quite broken and it was hard to imagine how dangerous they had been.

The only time I really felt at risk was with very mild seeming man who told us at great length over a cup of tea how in ancient Greece paedophilia was entirely usual and our society had just become to uptight to recognise that love comes in all sorts of guises. I vomited on pavement outside when we left.

We had guidelines about visiting in pairs, not giving out our phone numbers etc, but looking back on it we were all young (18-21) mostly quite naive and a bit sheltered (it was with the uni christian union) and i'm not sure how good an idea this was in retrospect. I suspect there is no way this scheme would get off the ground today.

@AlexaShutUp

I met Prince Andrew.

Me too. On two occasions, one formal in the uk, one abroad in holiday context.

Self satisfied, unpleasant, entitled. I noticed how his every whim came first and everyone did what ever he wanted. Extraordinary. Was about 20 years ago. Another era, in many ways. I Just thought part of being royal. Which it was. He’d done nothing to warrant any of the attention, other than accident/fortune of birth.

He also looked really unhealthy - ruddy face of an alcoholic. Who knows.

@Bexxe

I worked and went on a few nights out with Jamie Reynolds, who murdered and raped a poor teenager. He seemed completely normal, he wore a floor length black coat which I always fine strange on a man, but apart from that he was quite funny. We spoke via Facebook on the day off the murder actually, he asked me to visit his house. Fortunately I didn’t go, but his victim did 😔

Fucking hell. That's scary. How did you get over that?

I met Jimmy Saville briefly and, for some reason I couldn't explain at the time, felt very disturbed and couldn't wait to get away from him.

A classmate of mine who was a cool lad - not in the popular crew, but was a nice guy and had a few friends, murdered his girlfriend in what was a psychotic episode. I remember getting a call from my best mate telling me the 'gossip' and I was shocked as he was always so polite.

In my line of work, I have to communicate with prisoners (thankfully not face to face), but one in particular who I hear from regularly makes me sick. A colleague of mine told me when I first started "don't google him". Well what did I do? Utterly sick bastard charged with many crimes towards children and I hope he never gets out (again) 🤮🤮🤮

Someone I met at evening class at college had done time in a Cat A prison. Very high security one for terrorists etc.

He was a perfectly lovely guy who was tested to go on to uni and do criminal psychology (did and works with offenders and victims alike).

If you heard he'd done time at this prison you'd think he was the worst person ever. However he totally accepted he'd done something really stupid and he'd be paying for the rest of his life in one way or another.

His sister was the victim of rape. Person known to her. Police released him without charge and he went on to do it again to her but much more violent. He went out and had too many to drink as he was really upset. Then on way home totally drunk decided to put a lit firework under the bonnet of an unoccupied police car.

Absolutely stupid and reckless and he knows this. Because it was against police it was classed as terror offence.

As someone above said it's not all black and white.