Michael Lupo

Case record: Michael Lupo

Background

Michael Lupo was a former choir boy in his native Italy. He served in an Italian elite army commando unit before moving to sadomasochism and hairdressing.

Lupo discovered his homosexual tendencies while serving with an elite military unit in the early 1970s. Commando training taught him how to kill bare-handed, and he took the lessons with him when he moved to London in 1975. Starting out as a hairdresser, Lupo worked his way up to ownership of a stylish boutique. He bought a home in Roland Gardens, South Kensington. He also owned or ran a flower shop in Chelsea.

Lupo recorded “the intimate details in numerous journals” and boasted of “having had 4,000 lovers.” The case summary described him as having “about 4,000 gay lovers.”

The case summary described Lupo building “a modern torture chamber” in his house.

The offence

The case summary described a violent campaign against the gay night life scene after Lupo was diagnosed with AIDS.

Over a period of two months, the summary said Lupo slaughtered four men whom he picked up in gay bars and left their bodies in the streets of London, slashed and smeared with excrement. It also said two potential victims escaped.

The case also included details of multiple killings and attempted murders:

James Burns

On March 15, 1986, 37-year-old James Burns was described as prowling leather bars in search of a companion for the night. The case summary said Burns had his own diagnosis of AIDS two weeks earlier. It said vagrants found Burns’s body in a London basement. The summary described the body as “mutilated with a razor,” with “sodomized and smeared with excrement,” and said the tongue was bitten off in the attack that took his life.

Anthony Connolly

Three weeks later, on the afternoon of April 5, 1986, the case summary said AIDS victim Anthony Connolly was found by children playing in a railroad shed. It described Connolly’s body as slashed and smeared with human offal in a homicide described as a “carbon-copy” of the earlier killing.

A separate section said that on April 6, 1986, Anthony Connolly, 24, was found murdered on a railway embankment in Brixton. It said he had been strangled to death with his own scarf. It also described that Connolly shared a flat with a man who was HIV positive, and that there was a long delay between discovery of the body and the post mortem because the coroner wanted to ensure Connolly was not himself infected with HIV. It described tensions between authorities and the gay community and said the gay community accused authorities of dragging their heels and not taking the death seriously enough.

Elderly tramp on Hungerford Bridge (unidentified)

The case summary said that on the night of April 18, Lupo met an elderly tramp on Hungerford Bridge and assaulted him. It said Lupo kicked the man in the groin and strangled him on the spot, then dumped the body into the Thames.

Mark Leyland

The case summary said that on the following day, Lupo met Mark Leyland at Charing Cross. It said the men went to a public restroom for sex. It described that Leyland changed his mind and that Lupo produced an iron bar and attacked him. It said Leyland escaped with his life and reported the incident as a mugging, later telling the truth to police after Lupo’s arrest. It also stated that Leyland “has since disappeared.”

Damien McCluskey

The case summary said victim Damien McCluskey was last seen alive in a Kensington tavern on April 24, 1986. It said his body was discovered some time later in a basement flat. It described his body as strangled, raped, and mutilated with a razor.

A separate section said that on May 21, Lupo was charged with the killing of “a young hospital worker named Damien McClusky,” and it said McClusky had been strangled in West London.

Attempted strangulation of Vincent Manjoney

The case summary stated that the attempted murder victims included Vincent Manjoney. In addition, it described that on the night of May 7, Lupo picked up another gay partner and attempted to strangle him with a black nylon stocking, but the prey escaped. A separate section said Lupo was charged with attempted murders of Vincent Manjoney and Lawrence talbot.

Attempted murder of Lawrence Talbot

The case summary included that Lupo was charged with attempted murders of Lawrence talbot, but the main narrative focused on the May 7 escape described above and did not add a separate detailed account of Lawrence talbot beyond inclusion in the attempted-murder charge set.

Murder near Hungerford Bridge over the Thames (unidentified)

The case summary said that Lupo met the elderly tramp on Hungerford Bridge on April 18 and dumped his body into the Thames. It also said Lupo was later charged with an unidentified man who was murdered near Hungerford Bridge over the Thames.

Investigation and arrest

The case summary described that after two potential victims escaped, police arrested Lupo on May 15.

A separate section said that six weeks later, on May 18, Michael Lupo was arrested and charged with the murders of Anthony Connolly and James Burns.

The case also described police receiving a full report from a victim who toured gay bars with an escort to identify the culprit and finally spotted Lupo on the night of May 15. It said an identification led police to Lupo.

A search of Lupo’s home revealed one room converted to a modern torture chamber. The case summary said his confiscated diaries were reported to contain the names of many prominent connections.

Trial

A trial occurred in July 1987 at the Old Bailey. The case summary said Lupo was convicted at his trial in July 1987.

One narrative said Lupo pleaded guilty to all charges in 1987 and was given four life sentences, plus fourteen years.

A separate narrative added that Lupo received four life sentences and two terms of seven years each (for attempted murder). It said the judge assured: “life meant life.”

The case summary also said Lupo was convicted of four murders and was sentenced for attempted murders as part of his overall punishment.

Sentencing

Lupo was sentenced in July 1987. The case summary stated he received four life sentences. It also stated that he received two terms of seven years each for attempted murder. Another passage stated “four life sentences, plus fourteen years.”

Appeals

No appeal or appeal outcome was described.

Outcome

Lupo died in prison in February 1995 from an AIDS related illness.

Aftermath

Interpol was described as double-checking mutilation deaths in Amsterdam, West Berlin, Hamburg, Los Angeles and New York City, seeking connections with Lupo and his trips abroad, butno further charges were filed.