Daniel Gonzalez

Background

Daniel Gonzalez (1980 - 9 August 2007) was an offender who was sentenced to life in prison and later committed suicide in prison. He was inspired by horror films.

His mother previously wrote a letter to her MP criticising the fact that a serious incident had to occur before he could receive mental help. In her letter, she rhetorically asked, "...does my son have to commit murder to get help?"

Reporters tried to say that he feigned mental illness long before the murders. He did in fact suffer for many years. Gonzalez compared his ambition and actions to horror film characters and wanted to become a notorious serial killer.

He was said to be inspired by horror films such as A Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th to become a "famous serial killer". He went on a drug-fueled stabbing spree, attacking the elderly and infirm. He wrote about his experiences in letters to himself as Zippy, his past nickname. His letters said how much he enjoyed the murders " ...one of the best things I've done in my life ", and how similar he was to Freddy Krueger.

Gonzalez had schizophrenia and an anti-social personality disorder. A consultant forensic psychiatrist, Edward Petch, told jurors he first saw Gonzalez when he was admitted there. Edward Petch said:

“I have never seen anything like this. “The degree of disturbance was without parallel in my experience. “This man was at further risk of extreme unprovoked violence. He would attack and punch and sometimes self-harm. “I’ve never seen anyone bite himself with the ferocity he did. It was a serious attempt on his life.”

He terrified other patients by re-enacting how he knifed his victims, four of whom died. He tried to kill himself by chewing veins and arteries in his arm. It was also heard at the Old Bailey that he attacked his mum and gran, grabbing their hair when they visited.

Broadmoor, Berks was mentioned as a psychiatric hospital where such killers as Yorkshire Ripper Peter Sutcliffe and Moors murderer Ian Brady had been home.

The offence

Gonzalez killed four people and injured two others during a three-day killing spree across London and Sussex in September 2004. During the trial, the court heard that Gonzalez had set out on a mission to kill at least 10 people and become famous as a serial killer.

He was described as a drug-crazed, cold-blooded murderer who was not suffering from mental illness as he claimed. He was said to have stabbed victims because he wanted to be like horror film character Freddy Krueger.

Gonzalez stabbed victims with different knives for the attacks. He used a hockey mask, a la Jason Voorhees, when he stabbed Marie Harding.

Victims and attack details included the following:

• On September 15, 2004, Gonzalez told 61 year old Peter King who was walking his dog with his wife in Hilsea, Portsmouth that he was going to kill him. Peter King fought him off and Gonzalez fled to Hove.
• After this, Gonzalez stabbed 76 year old Marie Harding in Hove while wearing a hockey mask.
• Gonzalez returned to his home in Woking.
• He traveled to Tottenham, where he drank until the early hours of the morning. At 5:30 AM, he left 46 year old Kevin Molloy for dead after stabbing him in the face, neck and torso with a pair of large knives stolen from a department store.
• At 7:00 AM, he made a forced entry into the Hornsey house of Koumis Constantino, but was fought off after stabbing his arm.
• At 8:00 AM, Gonzalez was in Highgate, where he randomly tried to gain access to houses. He murdered a geriatric couple, the Robinsons. He claimed the experience was "orgasmic".
• Gonzalez was arrested at a tube station after a decorator saw him naked and covered in blood in the Robinson's house.

Some trial-related characterisation and statements included:

• He saw the Columbine killers as heroes and intended to perpetrate a similar crime to theirs.
• Prosecutor Richard Horwell said:

  "We suggest that Gonzalez is a psychopath who killed because of the callous, cold person that he is,"
  "He wanted to kill for his own personal pleasure."

• Detective Chief Inspector Dave Cobb said:

  "Gonzalez admitted he was an individual intent on killing. He was clever and manipulative and did not want to accept responsibility for what he had done,"
  "He wanted to be remembered as a famous serial killer, but I hope he is forgotten and that we only remember his victims and the families that survive them."

• Gonzalez told detectives he went on the rampage because he was bored, saying:

  "I watched horror movies and that all the time, fantasy and not real and that,"
  "I just thought about doing it, man -- what would it be like just to be maybe Freddy Krueger or something like that, just for one day."

• When arrested and described at sentencing, Judge Ann Goddard recommended that in his case "life should mean life".
• After he later confessed, Gonzalez said:

  "I am sorry. I just want to get locked up. In fact I should go into the electric chair."

• When Gonzalez settled into life at Broadmoor, he told a psychiatrist:

  "I think I will be out in eight to 10 years."

• During interviews and narrative about later events, Gonzalez told police that he felt he was on a mission to kill as many people as possible. He said:

  "I was walking down these alleyways with a knife, waiting to carve up someone. The knife was six inches long. It was like a butcher's knife used to carve up bits of meat. I was going to the first place I could to kill someone." "I felt I was on a mission to kill as many people as possible."

• He also said:
• He denied murder counts but admitted manslaughter, and he told police he was a schizophrenic and had been under the command of voices.

Investigation and arrest

Hearing voices was mentioned in relation to Gonzalez’s account. He had admitted two counts of attempted murder, had denied murder, and said he was a schizophrenic and had been under the command of voices. Police called his murders "shocking and brutal".

A prosecutor, Richard Horwell, said that "the excuse of being under the control of voices is often fabricated – it is a caricature of mental illness. He has fabricated such symptoms in the past."

An account of the arrest timeline and earlier investigation included the following time-and-event detail:

• 15 September 2004, 1.20pm GMT — Gonzalez got off a train at Worthing, bought a knife, and planned to kill. The knife was later said to have never been found.
• 15 September 2004, 11:30 GMT — Gonzalez attacked a couple with a steak knife on a pathway in Portsmouth; Peter King suffered non-life threatening injuries.
• 15 September 2004, 16:20 GMT — the body of Marie Harding was found on a footpath in Southwick, near Worthing in West Sussex. She died from stab wounds to the neck and back.
• 17 September 2004, 05:30 GMT — the body of Kevin Molloy was found in Tottenham High Road, north London; he died of stab wounds to the chest inflicted with a knife stolen from a department store.
• 17 September 2004, 07:00 GMT — Koumis Constantinou confronted a man armed with a large kitchen knife in his home in north London; he was stabbed and bitten by Gonzalez, who ran off only when Mr Constantinou's wife ran outside screaming for help.
• 17 September 2004, 08:05 GMT — police were called to a house in Makepeace Road, north London, where the bodies of Derek and Jean Robinson had been found; they were pronounced dead at the scene.
• 17 September 2004, 12:00 GMT — Gonzalez was arrested at Tottenham Court Road tube station after buying a ticket with a bloodstained £20 note.

It was said that Gonzalez armed himself with different knives for the attacks.

Trial

Gonzalez tried to claim that he was not guilty by reason of insanity, although this was rejected.

In the trial, a jury at the Old Bailey took just over an hour to find him guilty of murder. It was also stated that he was found guilty of murdering four strangers during a three-day rampage through southern England.

Gonzalez was found guilty of murdering four people and he had admitted attempted murders. Specifically, he was convicted by a jury of murdering two women and two men and knifing two other men in random attacks over three days in September 2004. His defence had claimed he was suffering from auditory hallucinations, with voices commanding him to kill, diminishing his responsibility in law.

The court heard how Gonzalez had told doctors he went on the rampage because he was bored. He told detectives about fantasy and horror films:

It was said that he wanted to carry out a massacre similar to the 1999 killings at Columbine High School in the United States, and that he saw the Columbine killers as heroes. He told police he wanted to know what it would be like to be "Freddy Krueger for the day" referring to the crazed killer from the "A Nightmare on Elm Street" movie. He compared his murders to those in the film "Halloween".

The prosecutor Richard Horwell characterised Gonzalez as a psychopath, saying:

During the trial, Detective Chief Inspector Dave Cobb stated:

A family statement after the trial said they were pleased with the outcome. The family of a grandmother murdered by serial killer Daniel Gonzalez said the outcome of his trial restored their faith in British justice. They said after the trial:

"We are pleased the right result has come out of this terrible situation,"
"Together with the other families involved, we have waited a long time for this outcome,"
"Our faith in British justice has been restored."
They also stated: "We would like to thank our friends and families for their support throughout this dreadful time."
They thanked Sussex Police and their family liaison officers.

It was reported that a minute's silence was held for Mrs Harding a few days after her death in September 2004, and that family members, including Mr Harding, Mrs Harris and her husband Andrew and their children Daniel and Natalie, issued a joint statement.

Gonzalez was described as showing no emotion as Judge Ann Goddard recommended that "life should mean life". A relative of one of his victims clapped in the public gallery and shouted "goodbye" as he was led to the cells.

Sentencing

Gonzalez was sentenced to six life sentences on Friday for killing Marie Harding and three other people and for two attempted murders. Judge Ann Goddard recommended that in his case "life should mean life". It was also stated that the trial judge recommended that he should never be released.

Gonzalez was given six life sentences at the Old Bailey after being convicted in March. A lawyer said a 30-year tariff should have been imposed because of his young age and mental health problems, but the judges refused the bid.

The sentencing included the statement from Judge Ann Goddard:

"life should mean life"

It was also stated that Gonzalez faced a mandatory life jail term.

Appeals

A serial killer appeal bid was refused on 6 July 2006. It was said that Daniel Gonzalez, 26, of Woking, Surrey, was given six life sentences at the Old Bailey after being convicted in March.

Judges refused the bid, saying Gonzalez took pleasure in cruel and premeditated killings and could attack again.

Outcome

Gonzalez was found dead in his cell at Broadmoor Hospital on 9 August 2007. He was still only 26 years old, and it was believed he committed suicide.

His suicide method was stated as him slicing his wrists with the edges of a CD case on August 9, 2007.

A statement of his age at relevant points appeared as:

• He was 25 when described in March 2006.
• He was 26 when described in March 2006 and in connection with the appeal refusal.
• He was 26 when found dead.

Aftermath

Gonzalez was considered one of the most dangerous patients at Broadmoor maximum security hospital and he was put in the special care unit, the highest security ward in the country, after stabbing six people in three days.

It was stated that he terrified other patients by re-enacting how he knifed his victims, four of whom died, and that he tried to kill himself previously by chewing veins and arteries in his arm. It was also said that he attacked his mum and gran by grabbing their hair when they visited.

Timeline

• 15 September 2004 — Gonzalez told 61 year old Peter King in Hilsea, Portsmouth that he was going to kill him; Peter King fought him off and Gonzalez fled to Hove.
• 15 September 2004 — Gonzalez stabbed 76 year old Marie Harding in Hove while wearing a hockey mask.
• 15 September 2004, 1.20pm GMT — Gonzalez got off a train in Worthing, bought a knife, and walked down alleyways waiting to carve up someone; he followed a man but did not attack him because he turned into a main road.
• 17 September 2004, 5:30 AM — Gonzalez left 46 year old Kevin Molloy for dead after stabbing him in the face, neck and torso with knives stolen from a department store.
• 17 September 2004, 7:00 AM — Gonzalez made a forced entry into the Hornsey house of Koumis Constantino but was fought off after stabbing his arm.
• 17 September 2004, 8:00 AM — Gonzalez was in Highgate and murdered the Robinsons, an elderly couple.
• 17 September 2004, 8:05 GMT — Police were called to Makepeace Road, north London, where Derek and Jean Robinson were found dead.
• 16 March 2006 — Gonzalez was found guilty of murdering four people during a three-day rampage through southern England.
• 18 March 2006 — The family of Marie Harding’s murder said the trial outcome restored their faith in British justice.
• 23 March 2006 — Gonzalez received six life sentences for knifing to death four people and attempting to murder two others.
• 6 July 2006 — Leave to appeal against the “life means life” sentence was refused.
• 9 August 2007 — Gonzalez was found dead in his cell at Broadmoor Hospital; he committed suicide by slicing his wrists with the edges of a CD case.

Other details

People involved

• Daniel Gonzalez (1980 - 9 August 2007) — offender described as a serial killer.
• Peter King (61) — attempted murder victim who fought Gonzalez off; attacked in Hilsea, Portsmouth.
• Marie Harding (73/76, described as 76 in one part and 73 in another) — murdered; killed in Southwick near Worthing in West Sussex; attacked while wearing a hockey mask.
• Kevin Molloy (46) — murdered in Tottenham, north London; stabbed in the face, neck and torso with knives stolen from a department store.
• Koumis Constantinou (59) — survived an attack in north London; Gonzalez tried a forced entry and stabbed his arm.
• Derek Robinson (75/76) — murdered in Highgate, north London; killed in their own home.
• Jean Robinson (60/68) — murdered in Highgate, north London; killed in their own home.
• Judge Ann Goddard — recommended that "life should mean life".
• Prosecutor Richard Horwell — argued Gonzalez’s case and addressed the “voices” explanation.
• Detective Chief Inspector Dave Cobb — characterised Gonzalez’s actions during the investigation and trial coverage.
• Consultant forensic psychiatrist Edward Petch — assessed Gonzalez at Broadmoor.
• Julie Harris — daughter of Marie Harding, whose home she was walking home from when she was stabbed to death.
• Jim Harding — husband of Marie Harding, named in a joint statement.
• Andrew — named as husband of Mrs Harris in a joint statement.
• Daniel and Natalie — named as children of Marie Harding in a joint statement.
• Edward Petch — consultant forensic psychiatrist who spoke to jurors.

Locations mentioned

• London and Sussex — described as the areas affected by the three-day spree.
• Hilsea, Portsmouth
• Hove
• Woking
• Tottenham and Tottenham High Road, north London
• Hornsey house (north London context)
• Highgate, North London
• Southwick, near Worthing, West Sussex
• Highdown, Southwick
• Makepeace Road, north London
• Tottenham Court Road tube station
• Broadmoor Hospital and Broadmoor maximum security hospital
• Old Bailey and Broadmoor psychiatric hospital
• Sussex Police (mentioned in connection with family liaison officers)

Victim count and attempt details

• Gonzalez killed four people and injured two others.
• The men who survived his attacks were Peter King and Koumis Constantinou.
• Another narrative said his defence denied four counts of murder but admitted manslaughter, and that he had admitted two counts of attempted murder.

Quotes and verbatim statements included

The record included multiple verbatim statements, including the rhetorical question from his mother: "...does my son have to commit murder to get help?" It also included Gonzalez’s letter enjoyment quote: " ...one of the best things I've done in my life " and “orgasmic” as his claim about the experience of murdering the Robinsons.

It also included:

• "Freddy Krueger for the day"
• "hockey mask, a la Jason Voorhees"
• "life should mean life"
• "goodbye"
• "I am sorry. I just want to get locked up. In fact I should go into the electric chair."
• "psychopath" and "killed because of the callous, cold person that he is"
• “the excuse of being under the control of voices is often fabricated – it is a caricature of mental illness.
• "shocking and brutal"
• "orgasmic"
• "I wanted to be remembered as a famous serial killer, but I hope he is forgotten and that we only remember his victims and the families that survive them."
• "I was walking down these alleyways with a knife, waiting to carve up someone. The knife was six inches long. It was like a butcher's knife used to carve up bits of meat. I was going to the first place I could to kill someone."
• “We suggest that Gonzalez is a psychopath who killed because of the callous, cold person that he is," and "He wanted to kill for his own personal pleasure."