Featured Image Credit: Sky
Topics: Crime, TV, TV and Film, ITV
Michael Slavin
A serial killer covered in an ITV documentary hid his murders in a horrifying way, and was referred to as the ‘Angel of Mercy’.
The serial killer, 47-year-old Andrew Dawson, killed two old men he had befriended in Derbyshire in 2010.
He was said to be inspired by Raoul Moat, the killer who led police on a six-day manhunt after going on a two-day-long shooting spree.
ITV’s documentary, Tracking a Serial Killer, covered Dawson’s killings 15 years on.
Advert
Dawson killed the two men, John Matthews and Paul Hancock, after having already served a life sentence for the murder of a shopkeeper in 1981.
Both men were stabbed a total of 40 times when their bodies were found, with Mr Matthews being stabbed 18 times and Mr Hancock 22.
John Matthews’ remains were found with a rose in July of 2010, and five days later Paul Hancock’s body was discovered.
All three lived in the same block of flats, and Dawson was immediately a suspect as he was still out on license.
Advert
Though initially stumped due to a lack of forensic evidence, the documentary details how police eventually caught Dawson, through a confession letter he had imprinted on his own notebook.
The letter, in which he dubbed himself the ‘Angel of Mercy’, read: “To head of homicide, I want to confess to a murder.
“I stabbed a man to death. A man lies in a bath of water, two major wounds to his left side, one, maybe two, to his chest, one to his back, and one to the base of his neck. This is no hoax.
“If you don't find him in a week, I will give you his address. The pink rose was a nice touch.
Advert
“Yours, the Angel of Mercy.”
His brother, Malcolm Dawson, was less than surprised when he found out Andrew had killed again, saying per The Daily Mail: “They should have left him in there the first time.
“I know what he is like - he has no conscience. He was always talking about The Yorkshire Ripper, Peter Sutcliffe, and all these other murderers, saying they were wimps.
“'If the Government would like to appoint me as an official hangman I - and others of my family, come to think of it - would gladly put the noose around his neck and then pull the lever.
“He should suffer because that evil devil deserves no less. I would not lose sleep over it.”
Advert
Horrifyingly, the method he hid the bodies will have shocked viewers.
Placing them in a bath tub, he filled it with bubble bath and bleached water to try and mask the smell of the body.
Upon being discovered, Dawson tried to dive into the sea to escape, and was tased twice.
He currently serves a whole life order and will likely die in prison.