Colin Ireland
British serial killer (Soho strangler)
Colin Ireland (16 March 1954 – 21 February 2012) was a British serial killer known as the Gay Slayer, because his victims were gay men.
Ireland suffered a severely dysfunctional upbringing. He committed various crimes from the age of 16 and had served time in borstals and prisons. While living in Southend, he started frequenting the Coleherne, a gay pub in Earl's Court, London. Ireland sought men who liked the passive role and sado-masochism, so he could readily restrain them as they initially believed it was a sexual game. Criminologist David Wilson believes that Ireland was a psychopath. Forensic psychologist Anna Gekoski stated that her interactions with Ireland led her to believe that he was motivated by a desire for fame as a serial killer.
Ireland was heterosexual: he had been twice married to women. He pretended to be gay only to befriend potential victims and his murders were not sexually motivated. He was highly organised and carried a full kit of rope, handcuffs and a full change of clothes to each murder.
“Colin Ireland” enters the record as british serial killer (Soho strangler). Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Colin, Ireland and British can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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