Memories of a Murderer: The Nilsen Tapes

In prison, Dennis Nilsen tests a cassette recorder in his cell alongside two pet budgies, smoking a roll-up cigarette and reading a newspaper article. He rejects a report alleging that he pinned up a poster of Hannibal Lecter and expected to be immortalized in film, latestnetflix.com argues, dismissing the public portrayal of him as a fictional monster.

In February 1983, a drainage engineer called to clear blocked pipes at Cranley Gardens in North London uncovers human flesh and bones in a manhole. Police officer McCusker waits outside the house for the top-floor tenant, Dennis Nilsen, who returns from his job at the local Jobcentre. Nilsen admits the detectives into his attic flat, where they encounter a strong odor.

When an officer demands, "Stop messing about. Where's the rest of the body?", Nilsen points to a wardrobe containing two large, sagging bin sacks. McCusker arrests him on suspicion of murder. During the journey to the police station, when asked whether investigators are dealing with one body or two, Nilsen replies, "15 or 16."

In custody, Nilsen tells investigators that he will disclose everything. He describes bringing young men back from pubs to drink and listen to music, only to wake the following morning with a dead body beside him while claiming no memory of what happened. Because Nilsen cannot provide names for most of the men, detectives begin working backward to identify the victims.

Investigators locate the remains of only three bodies at Cranley Gardens. Nilsen reveals that the earlier killings occurred at his previous home at 195 Melrose Avenue, where he concealed corpses beneath the floorboards before burning them in garden bonfires and turning the ashes into the soil. Officers dig through the frozen ground and sift out dozens of small bone fragments.

A search of Cranley Gardens yields a tea chest containing severed limbs, including a hand whose fingerprints match police records for Stephen Sinclair, an unemployed young man from Scotland who had not been reported missing. Nilsen is formally charged and escorted to court, where reporters observe an ordinary civil servant rather than a physically imposing killer.

Journalists travel to Aberdeenshire to speak with Nilsen’s mother, who describes him as a normal, quiet boy during his youth. In his audio recordings, Nilsen recalls an isolated childhood and describes keeping his homosexuality secret amid societal and legal hostility toward gay men.

A former police colleague, Brenton, recalls Nilsen’s brief time as a constable and details an earlier incident in which a young man hurled himself through Nilsen's smashed window with severe cuts. Although Brenton viewed Nilsen as dangerous, no charges were filed after the injured man’s father refused to bring a prosecution.

Detectives identify another victim, John Howlett, after investigating patrons of West End pubs. A survivor, Martyn, recounts meeting Nilsen, going back to Melrose Avenue, and waking up to smoke with Nilsen straddled on top of him. When asked what had occurred, Nilsen answered, "You knocked the fire off the wall." Martyn left the flat and did not contact the authorities.

Remains recovered from Melrose Avenue are also identified as Graham Allen. His partner Lesley recalls his disappearance and later learns that Nilsen strangled him, seated him in an armchair for two days while continuing to go to work, and kept the body in the apartment.

From prison, Nilsen corresponds with journalist Russ Coffey, sending him tapes and autobiographical manuscripts and quoting Oscar Wilde that "'There is no such thing as a moral or amoral book.'" On the tapes, Nilsen discusses the sudden death of his grandfather Andrew Whyte during his childhood and later, under the influence of cannabis, claims that his grandfather had subjected him to abuse.

When the trial opens at the Old Bailey, Nilsen enters a plea of not guilty, leading the defense to claim diminished responsibility while the prosecution argues that he acted with clear intent and premeditation.

Survivor Carl Stottor takes the witness stand to describe being invited to Cranley Gardens, where Nilsen warned him about a broken sleeping bag zip before attempting to drown and strangle him in a bathtub while whispering, "Keep still." Stottor had reported the attack to the police at the time, but officers had dismissed his complaint.

Martyn also attends the Old Bailey proceedings to testify about waking up beneath Nilsen, choosing to give evidence in court rather than remain hidden.

The jury rejects the defense of diminished responsibility and returns majority guilty verdicts on all six counts of murder and two counts of attempted murder, finding Nilsen fully responsible for his actions.

In a later recording, Nilsen reads from a Category A prison evaluation that describes him as cold, calculating, and devoid of remorse, which he brushes aside as prejudiced. Years later, Lesley’s son Shane informs her that Nilsen has died in custody.