Patrick Mackay
Patrick Mackay | |
|---|---|
| Born | Patrick David Mackay 25 September 1952 Middlesex, England |
| Other names |
|
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
| Conviction | Manslaughter (1975) |
| Criminal penalty | Life imprisonment, 20-years minimum term |
| Details | |
| Victims | 3–11 |
Span of crimes | February 1974 – March 1975 |
| Country | United Kingdom |
Date apprehended | March 1975 |
David Groves, better known by his birth name Patrick David Mackay (born 25 September 1952), is a British serial killer who is believed to be one of the United Kingdom's most prolific serial murderers.
He was convicted of three counts of manslaughter and two additional cases which were left to lie on file. Detectives said he confessed in remand to the murders of six more people across London, Essex and Kent in England between 1973 and 1975. All of them were found to match existing unsolved murders.
Officially diagnosed as a psychopath at the age of fifteen, Mackay has been repeatedly denied parole since 1995 on the basis that he is considered too dangerous for release, although since 2017 he has been incarcerated in open prison conditions with day release provisions. In 2020, authorities launched fresh inquiries into his suspected murders, but they were unable to find sufficient evidence. Former Dartford MP Gareth Johnson has repeatedly voiced his concerns over Mackay's potential release. In July 2022, it was revealed that Mackay's case had been referred to the Parole Board again.