Latest news with #Suzanne
Irish Daily Mirror
3 hours ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Inside 'Crossbow Cannibal' flat where evil PhD student butchered sex workers
The stench was the first thing that struck the police officers as they stormed into Stephen Griffiths' compact Bradford flat - a blend of decay and burnt flesh. It didn't take long to trace the nauseating smell back to the dismembered body of a woman, who Griffiths had been seen on CCTV dragging back to his den. Suzanne Blamires, 36, had vanished from Bradford's red-light district just days before. She had been enticed home by Griffiths, who had made friends with some of the sex workers operating in the streets surrounding his flat. Suzanne was captured on the same CCTV camera fleeing in terror from his foul-smelling flat, pursued by the murderer wielding a black crossbow. After rendering her unconscious in the hallway, the beast dragged Suzanne back inside, then smirked at the camera and raised his middle finger in a derisive salute, reports the Mirror. It wasn't until the building's caretaker casually reviewed the footage on the morning of Monday, May 24, 2010 - three days later - that he noticed the altercation. It was witnessing Suzanne's final act of courage, her attempt to escape, that ultimately led to the capture of the self-proclaimed 'Crossbow Cannibal'. Griffiths, a criminology PhD student who idolised Yorkshire Ripper Peter Sutcliffe, amassed an arsenal of weapons and books about murder, nurturing dreams of becoming a serial killer. As a child, he would torment animals, ripping the wings off birds and smashing his own pet rat with a hammer. His younger siblings were subjected to violence. Griffiths designed a system whereby he would award them 'points' for annoying him. After accumulating a certain number of points, he would launch a vicious attack on them, ignoring their sobs of pain. But even they could not have predicted the twisted crimes he went on to commit against at least three women. Now, 15 years on from the Bradford murders, a new Prime Video documentary looks back at how the killer was able to get away with his crimes for so long - crimes which would have a lifelong impact on everyone involved. After the shocked caretaker and his manager called 999 to report the chilling CCTV footage, Damien Sharp, a former firearms tactical advisor with West Yorkshire Police, was tasked with planning and executing the raid to arrest Stephen Griffiths. His partner Adam Twigg was part of the ground team, poised to break down the killer's door and free the woman they hoped was still alive inside. Both men are speaking publicly about what they witnessed for the first time. "We had a collapsing time frame," says Damien. "We knew from the cameras that Suzanne hadn't left Griffiths' apartment over the weekend. The hope was that she was still alive." Firearms officer Adam and his squad broke through Griffiths' door only to find him sitting up in bed. "I gave him a gentle prod with the front of my gun to drive him to the floor," he remembers. A loaded crossbow was found near the scene, along with an array of hunting knives and shells. As officers subdued the murderer and handcuffed him, Adam knelt to inform him of his arrest. "I told him, 'Stephen, I am arresting you on suspicion of murder.' And he just looked up at me and went, 'I'm Osama bin Laden.'". Adam's team then began a thorough search of the flat for any signs of Suzanne. The discoveries they made were chilling to the core. "One of them opened the microwave and immediately shut the door again," Damien recalls, describing how he could hear his team's reactions over the radio. "He said the flat was like something out of [horror film] Seven, blood smeared everywhere and crossbow bolts embedded in the walls. The smell was horrific - sweet and rotten. It was the smell of death." Adam proceeded to check the bathroom, which the murderer had ominously referred to as 'The Slaughterhouse. '. Blood was splattered across various surfaces, and a burnt quilt in the bathtub covered what remained of a rucksack. Griffiths was attempting to destroy DNA evidence from Suzanne's dismembered body parts, which he had packed into the bag to dispose of in the nearby River Aire. "There was a sizable portion of a brain in the microwave," Adam recounts. "And there was another portion of brain on a plate, on a coffee table in the front room, next to a pair of amputated breasts." The police also seized Griffiths' laptop and digital camera, which contained a trove of disturbing images and videos. In a horrifying case, Shelley Armitage aged 31, who had vanished a month earlier on April 26, 2010, was found deceased with 'My sex slave' etched into her flesh. She had been fatally shot with a crossbow by Griffiths, who then dismembered and partly consumed her. Griffiths, tagged as a sadistic schizoid psychopath since 1991, after he slashed a shop clerk's face during a theft, is known to have ended the lives of at least three women. Susan Rushworth, 43, fell victim to his hammer attack when she went missing on June 22, 2009. He chopped up her body, using machine tools, cooked, and ate parts of her remains; her remains have not been recovered. After his conviction, the merciless killer taunted her grieving family by withholding details of his vile act. Shelley was his second casualty, Suzanne his third. In a chilling moment of courtroom drama, Griffiths declared himself the 'Crossbow Cannibal' when questioned on his identity - a claim that Dr Nicola Davies, a behavioural scientist and psychological profiler, sees as a cover for his bruised ego. Dr Davies states: "Griffiths had invested so much of his identity into becoming what he saw as the ultimate predator," adding "He had rehearsed his fantasies, studied serial killers at PhD level, and created a mythologised version of himself online. Being caught destroyed that performance and he found that intolerable. "Griffiths wanted to be a serial killer and yet he only just achieved that definition - three murders - before the brave Suzanne Blamires ensured he was caught when she escaped his flat and his crime was recorded on CCTV. The Irish Mirror's Crime Writers Michael O'Toole and Paul Healy are writing a new weekly newsletter called Crime Ireland. Click here to sign up and get it delivered to your inbox every week "For a man who saw himself as untouchable and the ultimate predator, this would have severely hurt his ego – as would the fact that he 'underperformed' in comparison to his serial killer idols." After being found guilty in 2010, Griffiths received a rare whole-life order for the killing of Susan, Shelley, and Suzanne, thus ensuring he'll spend the rest of his days locked up, with no chance of release. The presiding judge labelled him "wicked and monstrous". He has since been implicated in the deaths of three other women, but defiantly refuses to assist police in their ongoing inquiries.
Daily Record
4 hours ago
- Daily Record
Crossbow cannibal cop found severed breasts on table and brain in microwave
Stephen Griffiths was caught because one of his victims managed to briefly escape from his home, before he dragged her back and killed her. Police officers investigating a serial killer were sickened by the foul stench from a dismembered body after tracking the murderous sex fiend back to his lair. Stephen Griffiths had dragged victim Suzanne Blamires back to his flat and had been captured on CCTV abducting the sex worker. Suzanne, 36, vanished from the red-light district near Griffiths' home. He had befriended some of the sex workers who plied their trade in the streets around his flat. Suzanne was seen on the same CCTV camera running in terror out of his stinking apartment, followed by the killer - brandishing a black crossbow. After knocking her unconscious in the corridor of his Bradford home, the monster dragged Suzanne back inside, before smirking at the camera and raising his middle finger in mock salute, The Mirror reports. It was only when the building's caretaker idly watched back the footage on the morning of Monday May 24, 2010 - three days later - that he noticed the altercation. It was seeing Suzanne's final act of bravery, when she tried to get away, that finally snared the self-dubbed 'Crossbow Cannibal'. Griffiths, a criminology PhD student, who hero-worshipped Yorkshire Ripper Peter Sutcliffe, stockpiled weapons and books about murder and harboured ambitions of becoming a serial killer. As a child, he would torture animals, pulling the wings off birds and taking a hammer to his own pet rat. His younger siblings were subjected to violence. Griffiths designed a system whereby he would award them 'points' for annoying him. After accumulating a certain number of points, he would launch a vicious attack on them, ignoring their sobs of pain. But even they could not have predicted the twisted crimes he went on to commit against at least three women. Now, 15 years on from the Bradford murders, a new Prime Video documentary looks back at how the killer was able to get away with his crimes for so long - crimes which would have a lifelong impact on everyone involved. After the shocked caretaker and his manager called 999 to report the chilling CCTV footage, Damien Sharp, a former firearms tactical advisor with West Yorkshire Police, was tasked with planning and executing the raid to arrest Stephen Griffiths. His partner Adam Twigg was part of the ground team, poised to break down the killer's door and free the woman they hoped was still alive inside. Both men are speaking publicly about what they witnessed for the first time. He said: "We had a collapsing time frame. We knew from the cameras that Suzanne hadn't left Griffiths' apartment over the weekend. The hope was that she was still alive." Firearms officer Adam and his squad broke through Griffiths' door only to find him sitting up in bed. He said: "I gave him a gentle prod with the front of my gun to drive him to the floor." A loaded crossbow lay nearby, along with a cache of hunting knives and shells. Once officers got the killer on the floor and in handcuffs, Adam crouched down to read him his rights. I told him, 'Stephen, I am arresting you on suspicion of murder.' And he just looked up at me and went, 'I'm Osama bin Laden'." Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. Adam and his team set about searching the flat for any trace of Suzanne. What they found would haunt them forever. Recalling how he could hear everything his team were saying over the radio, Damien said: "One of them opened the microwave and immediately shut the door again. "He said the flat was like something out of [horror film] Seven, blood smeared everywhere and crossbow bolts embedded in the walls. The smell was horrific - sweet and rotten. It was the smell of death.' Adam went to investigate the bathroom - which the killer had proudly dubbed 'The Slaughterhouse.' Blood was splattered over the surfaces and a charred quilt covered the remnants of a rucksack in the bathtub. Griffiths was trying to dispose of DNA evidence from Suzanne's body parts, which he'd stashed inside the bag to dump in the nearby River Aire. Adam said: "There was a sizable portion of a brain in the microwave. "And there was another portion of brain on a plate, on a coffee table in the front room, next to a pair of amputated breasts." Officers also recovered Griffiths' laptop and digital camera, which had a stash of disturbing images and footage. Shelley Armitage, a 31-year-old woman who had gone missing a month previously on April 26, 2010, was seen lying dead in his bath. She had the words 'My sex slave' carved into her chest. Griffiths had shot her with his crossbow, cut up her remains and cannibalised part of her body. At least three women met their deaths at the hands of Griffiths, who had been diagnosed as a sadistic schizoid psychopath in 1991, after slashing a shop clerk's face while shoplifting goods. He murdered Susan Rushworth, 43, with a hammer after she disappeared on June 22, 2009. He had dismembered her body using machine tools, before cooking and eating some of her flesh. No trace of her remains have ever been found. After being convicted, Griffiths taunted her devastated family, by refusing to tell them what he did to her. Shelley was his second victim and Suzanne his third. In court, Griffiths proudly proclaimed himself the Crossbow Cannibal in response to being asked his name - a boast that behavioural scientist and psychological profiler Dr Nicola Davies believes was actually designed to protect his shattered ego. 'Griffiths had invested so much of his identity into becoming what he saw as the ultimate predator,' she observes. 'He had rehearsed his fantasies, studied serial killers at PhD level, and created a mythologised version of himself online. Being caught destroyed that performance and he found that intolerable. Griffiths wanted to be a serial killer. "He only just achieved that definition - three murders - before the brave Suzanne Blamires ensured he was caught when she escaped his flat and his crime was recorded on CCTV. For a man who saw himself as untouchable and the ultimate predator, this would have severely hurt his ego – as would the fact that he 'underperformed' in comparison to his serial killer idols.' After his conviction in 2010, Griffiths was handed a rare whole-life order for the murders of Susan, Shelley and Suzanne, meaning he will die behind bars without ever being released. The judge described him as 'wicked and monstrous'. He has since been linked to the murders of three other women, but has refused to cooperate with police in subsequent interviews.
Daily Mirror
8 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
He found brain in microwave and severed breasts on table in horror home
Serial killer Stephen Griffiths proudly proclaimed himself as the Crossbow Cannibal when he appeared in court charged with the murders of three women. Now as a Prime Video documentary looks back at his twisted crimes, the two police officers who caught him reveal the sickening sights inside his blood-splattered Bradford flat It was the smell that first hit the police officers as they burst through the door of Stephen Griffiths ' small Bradford flat - the scent of sweet rot and charred meat. And it wasn't long before the sickening odor was traced back to the dismembered body of a woman who Griffiths had been caught on CCTV dragging back to his lair. Suzanne Blamires, 36, had disappeared from the red-light district of Bradford days earlier. She had been lured home by Griffiths - who had befriended some of the sex workers who plied their trade in the streets around his flat. Suzanne was seen on the same CCTV camera running in terror out of his stinking apartment, followed by the killer - brandishing a black crossbow. After knocking her unconscious in the corridor, the monster dragged Suzanne back inside, before smirking at the camera and raising his middle finger in mock salute. It was only when the building's caretaker idly watched back the footage on the morning of Monday May 24, 2010 - three days later - that he noticed the altercation. It was seeing Suzanne's final act of bravery, when she tried to get away, that finally snared the self-dubbed 'Crossbow Cannibal'. Griffiths, a criminology PhD student, who hero-worshipped Yorkshire Ripper Peter Sutcliffe, stockpiled weapons and books about murder and harboured ambitions of becoming a serial killer. As a child, he would torture animals, pulling the wings off birds and taking a hammer to his own pet rat. His younger siblings were subjected to violence. Griffiths designed a system whereby he would award them 'points' for annoying him. After accumulating a certain number of points, he would launch a vicious attack on them, ignoring their sobs of pain. But even they could not have predicted the twisted crimes he went on to commit against at least three women. Now,15 years on from the Bradford murders, a new Prime Video documentary looks back at how the killer was able to get away with his crimes for so long - crimes which would have a lifelong impact on everyone involved. After the shocked caretaker and his manager called 999 to report the chilling CCTV footage, Damien Sharp, a former firearms tactical advisor with West Yorkshire Police, was tasked with planning and executing the raid to arrest Stephen Griffiths. His partner Adam Twigg was part of the ground team, poised to break down the killer's door and free the woman they hoped was still alive inside. Both men are speaking publicly about what they witnessed for the first time. 'We had a collapsing time frame,' says Damien. 'We knew from the cameras that Suzanne hadn't left Griffiths' apartment over the weekend. The hope was that she was still alive.' Firearms officer Adam and his squad broke through Griffiths' door only to find him sitting up in bed. 'I gave him a gentle prod with the front of my gun to drive him to the floor,' he remembers. A loaded crossbow lay nearby, along with a cache of hunting knives and shells. Once officers got the killer on the floor and in handcuffs, Adam crouched down to read him his rights. 'I told him, 'Stephen, I am arresting you on suspicion of murder.' And he just looked up at me and went, 'I'm Osama bin Laden.'' Adam and his team set about searching the flat for any trace of Suzanne. What they found would haunt them forever. 'One of them opened the microwave and immediately shut the door again,' says Damien, recalling how he could hear everything his team were saying over the radio. 'He said the flat was like something out of [horror film] Seven, blood smeared everywhere and crossbow bolts embedded in the walls. The smell was horrific - sweet and rotten. It was the smell of death.' Adam went to investigate the bathroom - which the killer had proudly dubbed 'The Slaughterhouse.' Blood was splattered over the surfaces and a charred quilt covered the remnants of a rucksack in the bathtub. Griffiths was trying to dispose of DNA evidence from Suzanne's body parts, which he'd stashed inside the bag to dump in the nearby River Aire. 'There was a sizable portion of a brain in the microwave,' remembers Adam. 'And there was another portion of brain on a plate, on a coffee table in the front room, next to a pair of amputated breasts.' Officers also recovered Griffiths' laptop and digital camera, which had a stash of disturbing images and footage. Shelley Armitage, a 31-year-old woman who had gone missing a month previously on April 26, 2010, was seen lying dead in his bath with the words 'My sex slave' carved into her chest. Griffiths had shot her with his crossbow, cut up her remains and cannibalised part of her body. At least three women met their deaths at the hands of Griffiths, who had been diagnosed as a sadistic schizoid psychopath in 1991, after slashing a shop clerk's face while shoplifting goods. He murdered Susan Rushworth, 43, with a hammer after she disappeared on June 22, 2009. He had dismembered her body using machine tools, before cooking and eating some of her flesh. No trace of her remains have ever been found. After being convicted, Griffiths taunted her devastated family, by refusing to tell them what he did to her. Shelley was his second victim and Suzanne his third. In court, Griffiths proudly proclaimed himself the Crossbow Cannibal in response to being asked his name - a boast that behavioural scientist and psychological profiler Dr Nicola Davies believes was actually designed to protect his shattered ego. 'Griffiths had invested so much of his identity into becoming what he saw as the ultimate predator,' she observes. 'He had rehearsed his fantasies, studied serial killers at PhD level, and created a mythologised version of himself online. Being caught destroyed that performance and he found that intolerable. 'Griffiths wanted to be a serial killer and yet he only just achieved that definition - three murders - before the brave Suzanne Blamires ensured he was caught when she escaped his flat and his crime was recorded on CCTV. 'For a man who saw himself as untouchable and the ultimate predator, this would have severely hurt his ego – as would the fact that he 'underperformed' in comparison to his serial killer idols.' After his conviction in 2010, Griffiths was handed a rare whole-life order for the murders of Susan, Shelley and Suzanne, meaning he will die behind bars without ever being released. The judge described him as 'wicked and monstrous'. He has since been linked to the murders of three other women, but has refused to cooperate with police in subsequent interviews.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Suzanne Somers' widow Alan Hamel dating her Hollywood Wives co-star Joanna Cassidy
Suzanne Somers' widow Alan Hamel is dating the late actress' Hollywood Wives co-star Joanna Cassidy. The Three's Company star had been married to producer Alan, 88, for 36 years when she passed away on October 15 2023, at the age of 76, following a battle with breast cancer. However, almost two years on from her death, Alan has a new woman in his life in Joanna, 79, who starred alongside his late wife in the miniseries based on the 1983 novel of the same name by Jackie Collins. Confirming his new romance with the New York Post's Page Six column, he admitted: 'I don't know where this relationship is going." The new couple were photographed arm-in-arm in Malibu on Monday (23.06.25). Alan added: 'I have known Joanna Cassidy for over 45 years. 'Joanna was a guest star on [daytime talk show] 'The Alan Hamel Show' in Canada in the '70s. She was a great guest and it was a dynamic show, and we liked each other, not romantically, but mainly with respect. Both of us were married at the time.' Alan previously recalled that despite his and Suzanne's "mad fights", they would never put a stop to their love. He told Page Six: "For the first few years of our love affair, we fought like mad dogs. But we always returned to our passionate love for one another. After one of our fights, Suzanne said to me, 'No matter how bad it gets, let's never break up.' And we never did." The TV host recalled that he and Suzanne would always hold hands when they were asleep and he would spend the early morning just admiring her before she woke up. He said: "We always went to sleep every night holding hands, and in the morning I would always awaken a few minutes before Suzanne and I would just lie there, staring at her beautiful face." Meanwhile, Alan previously revealed that he had been getting signs from Suzanne and eventually accepted that she was "safe" in the afterlife. He told Fox News Digital: "One day I'm in the kitchen with my family, and all of a sudden, Suzanne's favorite song comes on the audio system; the audio system wasn't even turned on. It's a Latin song, and it's written and performed by someone no one's ever heard of. It's a song we used to dance to in the kitchen. It just came on all by itself. And then, when it was over, that was it. The audio system stayed off. "Later that day, the fireplace started by itself. "It stayed on for an hour and then it turned off. "Then one day, a hummingbird flew into our house. It goes to our little breakfast nook where there's a photograph of Suzanne and me where we're looking at each other. The hummingbird hovers in between our two faces. Then it flies up and sits on top of the photo. "A few weeks later, I opened all the doors and windows and I saw the same hummingbird – they all have very distinctive colorings… I walked over and extended my hands. The hummingbird jumps into my hands, and she tucks in her little feet. All I felt was her belly. She felt safe."
The Herald Scotland
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Herald Scotland
Ghosts and a lot more on offer in a century spanning soap opera
Festival Theatre, Edinburgh Ghosts and a whole lot more are in the house in Ali Milles' overloaded thriller, resurrected by the Original Theatre company following a truncated run in 2020 cut short by lockdown. It begins simply enough, as the spirited Laura arrives at her family home in the hills with her older lover Suzanne in tow. Before the pair can settle in, unreconstructed family ghillie David arrives to check out the cottage hasn't been occupied by interlopers. Other former residents soon make their presence felt, however, as what started out as a retreat for Laura and Suzanne becomes an almighty confrontation. Read More: As time slips back and forth between Liza Goddard's Enid all the way up to Laura's own mother, history repeats itself by way of several generations of dangerous liaisons and secret affairs that make up a century spanning soap opera. Throw in some free thinking talk of witches and selkies, and as the rocking chair springs into unoccupied life you wonder what Scots myth is likely to make it through lighting designer Chris Davey's washes of Highland skies and come through the door of designer Adrian Linford's dilapidated cottage set next. The five-strong cast of Alastair Whatley's production that picks up from Philip Franks' original direction are game enough as they are led by Gracie Follows as Laura, with Caroline Harker doubling up in Freudian fashion as both Laura's girlfriend and her mum. Assorted men-folk are played by Gray O'Brien and Simon Roberts, with only Goddard standing alone as Enid. Like the similarly set The Haunting of Alice Gilfrey at Oran Mor a few weeks ago, one can't help but think of Inside Number 9's meticulously observed pastiches. There are some serious things going on here, but in a play that is essentially about Laura's purging of old demons, they need space to breathe beyond the hammy horror.
