John Taylor (criminal)
Encyclopedia
John Taylor is a British
convicted murderer and rapist. He was a parcel delivery worker for Parcelforce
, and lived on the same estate in Bramley
, Leeds, as Leanne Tiernan
and within a mile of where she was last seen alive. He was known locally as "the pet man", as he kept a number of dogs and ferrets and sold pet food, and was also known to be a poacher
. His only previous conviction was for theft of a suit when he was 15 years old and he was considered by his neighbours to be trustworthy and "ordinary". Following their appeal for information, Taylor's name was given to the police separately by two former girlfriends of Taylor who had met him through lonely hearts columns
, both saying that he had driven past the woods in their company and boasted of poaching there regularly. Examination of forensic evidence led the police to arrest Taylor on 16 October 2001 on suspicion of murdering Leanne Tiernan and he pleaded guilty to her murder in July 2002.
and locking them in a cupboard. Another said that Taylor had told her that he had a fetish
for "bondage, whips and ties," and said that he wanted to tie her daughter up with cable ties and have sexual intercourse with her. A former girlfriend, who had briefly lived with Taylor, told police that she had often visited Lindley Woods with him while they were dating, and that she had eventually broke off the relationship with him because of his bondage fetish and the feeling "that she was being raped". When asked by police to describe how Taylor would tie her, she described his practice of securing a plastic cable tie around each of her wrists, then tying her hands behind her back by using a third cable tie to link them. This was exactly how Tiernan had been found. She also said that Taylor kept a bundle of the cable ties in a drawer next to his bed. Two other women also said that Taylor enjoyed bondage during sex, and had bound their breasts
and hands with cable ties.
, subjected to a rigorous examination over a period of ten days. When interviewed by police, Taylor eventually admitted kidnapping Tiernan. His explanation was that he had not visited Haughley Gill for many years, but by chance had been there on the afternoon that Tiernan went missing. He said that she had walked past him and on impulse he had seized her from behind, tied her hands behind her back with a dog leash, covered her head with his jacket and forced her to walk to his home in nearby Cockshott Drive. He then forced her into his bedroom and onto the bed where, during a struggle, she had fallen off the bed, striking her head on the floor. He said that he had then picked her up by the scarf around her neck, at which point she had died, and claimed that her death was an accident. He said he had panicked and hidden her body in Lindley Woods. The police and prosecution maintained that he cable tied her hands behind her back in the bedroom in preparation for rape, and then used a cable tie as a ligature to murder her when her blindfold slipped and she saw his face. When asked why he had abducted Tiernan, he replied: "I have no idea." When police challenged his version of taking the body to Lindley Woods soon after the murder, he claimed that he had first kept the body hidden underneath pallet
s in his back garden, and then stored her inside his sofa
.
necklace
found in his car at the time of his 2001 arrest may have belonged to another victim as they were still unable to find out where it came from or who it belonged to. Taylor is known to have travelled across the country to meet women he had contacted through personal ads and also in his parcel delivery work, and with the solving of the two rape cases police discounted his insistence that Tiernan's murder was an isolated case and that he had taken his dog for a walk and "just snapped." They maintained that Taylor could have been a serial sex attacker for twenty years. Taylor has denied involvement in any other crimes.
Taylor's sentence for the murder of Tiernan was reviewed by the High Court of Justice
with regard to the minimum term served before consideration for parole. On 19 December 2006 Mr. Justice Openshaw
set the minimum term at 30 years. In his judgment he stated: "I am anxious that this sentence is not misunderstood or mis-reported. The sentence is – and remains – a sentence of imprisonment for life. The defendant may not even be considered for release for this offence of murder until he has served at least 30 years. That is not to say that he will then be released; for the whole life term imposed for the rapes remains in force. Furthermore, the defendant will be detained unless and until the Parole Board
is satisfied that he no longer presents a risk to the public. Many prisoners, and surely John Taylor is likely to be one, are in fact detained for many years after their tariff has expired; indeed it may be that he presents such a risk that he could never safely be released but that is for others to decide in due course. I am just anxious that no one thinks that I am suggesting that he be released in 30 years for I most certainly am not."
Strathclyde Police
reopened the murder investigations of six Glasgow
prostitutes:
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
convicted murderer and rapist. He was a parcel delivery worker for Parcelforce
Parcelforce
Parcelforce Worldwide is a courier and logistics service in the United Kingdom. Parcelforce Worldwide is a trading name of Royal Mail Group Ltd.Its international partner network allows it to extend its delivery reach worldwide...
, and lived on the same estate in Bramley
Bramley
- Places :England* Bramley, Derbyshire* Bramley, Hampshire* Bramley, Rotherham, South Yorkshire* Bramley, Sheffield, South Yorkshire* Bramley, Surrey* Bramley, West Yorkshire**Bramley Buffaloes rugby league clubSouth Africa* Bramley, Gauteng- Other uses :...
, Leeds, as Leanne Tiernan
Leanne Tiernan
The murder of Leanne Tiernan was a high-profile English child abduction and murder involving a schoolgirl who was abducted less than one mile from her home on 26 November 2000 while returning from a Christmas shopping trip in Leeds, West Yorkshire, and subsequently murdered...
and within a mile of where she was last seen alive. He was known locally as "the pet man", as he kept a number of dogs and ferrets and sold pet food, and was also known to be a poacher
Poaching
Poaching is the illegal taking of wild plants or animals contrary to local and international conservation and wildlife management laws. Violations of hunting laws and regulations are normally punishable by law and, collectively, such violations are known as poaching.It may be illegal and in...
. His only previous conviction was for theft of a suit when he was 15 years old and he was considered by his neighbours to be trustworthy and "ordinary". Following their appeal for information, Taylor's name was given to the police separately by two former girlfriends of Taylor who had met him through lonely hearts columns
Personal advertisement
A personal or personal ad is an item or notice traditionally in the newspaper, similar to a classified ad but in nature. In British English it is also commonly known as an advert in a lonely hearts column. With its rise in popularity, the World Wide Web has also become a common medium for...
, both saying that he had driven past the woods in their company and boasted of poaching there regularly. Examination of forensic evidence led the police to arrest Taylor on 16 October 2001 on suspicion of murdering Leanne Tiernan and he pleaded guilty to her murder in July 2002.
Background
As police began to conduct thorough inquiries into Taylor's background, they discovered that he was a frequent user of lonely hearts advertisements. Through his telephone records they identified the women he had contacted in this way and began to interview them. One woman who had dated Taylor disclosed that Taylor told her he liked tying women upBondage (sexual)
Bondage is the use of restraints for the sexual pleasure of the parties involved. It may be used in its own right, as in the case of rope bondage and breast bondage, or as part of sexual activity or BDSM activity.- Private bondage :...
and locking them in a cupboard. Another said that Taylor had told her that he had a fetish
Sexual fetishism
Sexual fetishism, or erotic fetishism, is the sexual arousal a person receives from a physical object, or from a specific situation. The object or situation of interest is called the fetish, the person a fetishist who has a fetish for that object/situation. Sexual fetishism may be regarded, e.g...
for "bondage, whips and ties," and said that he wanted to tie her daughter up with cable ties and have sexual intercourse with her. A former girlfriend, who had briefly lived with Taylor, told police that she had often visited Lindley Woods with him while they were dating, and that she had eventually broke off the relationship with him because of his bondage fetish and the feeling "that she was being raped". When asked by police to describe how Taylor would tie her, she described his practice of securing a plastic cable tie around each of her wrists, then tying her hands behind her back by using a third cable tie to link them. This was exactly how Tiernan had been found. She also said that Taylor kept a bundle of the cable ties in a drawer next to his bed. Two other women also said that Taylor enjoyed bondage during sex, and had bound their breasts
Breast bondage
Breast bondage is a bondage technique which involves the tying of rope around a woman's breasts in a visually intricate and decorative pattern. Breast bondage most commonly uses rope, but webbing, straps or a harness may also be used...
and hands with cable ties.
Murder of Leanne Tiernan
Taylor, who lived alone after his wife had divorced him in 1996, was arrested on suspicion of murder on 16 October 2001. Police immediately sealed off his house and gardens and a patch of wasteland to the rear of the property. The gardens were then excavated and the property, including three large chest freezersRefrigerator
A refrigerator is a common household appliance that consists of a thermally insulated compartment and a heat pump that transfers heat from the inside of the fridge to its external environment so that the inside of the fridge is cooled to a temperature below the ambient temperature of the room...
, subjected to a rigorous examination over a period of ten days. When interviewed by police, Taylor eventually admitted kidnapping Tiernan. His explanation was that he had not visited Haughley Gill for many years, but by chance had been there on the afternoon that Tiernan went missing. He said that she had walked past him and on impulse he had seized her from behind, tied her hands behind her back with a dog leash, covered her head with his jacket and forced her to walk to his home in nearby Cockshott Drive. He then forced her into his bedroom and onto the bed where, during a struggle, she had fallen off the bed, striking her head on the floor. He said that he had then picked her up by the scarf around her neck, at which point she had died, and claimed that her death was an accident. He said he had panicked and hidden her body in Lindley Woods. The police and prosecution maintained that he cable tied her hands behind her back in the bedroom in preparation for rape, and then used a cable tie as a ligature to murder her when her blindfold slipped and she saw his face. When asked why he had abducted Tiernan, he replied: "I have no idea." When police challenged his version of taking the body to Lindley Woods soon after the murder, he claimed that he had first kept the body hidden underneath pallet
Pallet
A pallet , sometimes called a skid, is a flat transport structure that supports goods in a stable fashion while being lifted by a forklift, pallet jack, front loader or other jacking device. A pallet is the structural foundation of a unit load which allows handling and storage efficiencies...
s in his back garden, and then stored her inside his sofa
Couch
A couch, also called a sofa, is an item of furniture designed to seat more than one person, and providing support for the back and arms. Typically, it will have an armrest on either side. In homes couches are normally found in the family room, living room, den or the lounge...
.
Subsequent convictions for rape
As the police now had Taylor's DNA profile they were able to review other unsolved sex attacks in the locality where forensic evidence was still available for DNA extraction. Two rapes in particular stood out as they had both been committed on the estate where Taylor lived, and one of them had occurred in Houghley Gill. The first took place on 18 October 1988 when a 32-year old woman was attacked as she walked across Houghley Gill to collect her children from school. Taylor, who was wearing a mask and armed with a knife, forced her to carry out oral sex and then raped her. The second rape took place on 1 March 1989 when Taylor, again masked and wielding a knife, broke into the home a 21-year old woman in the middle of the day. He forced her into the bedroom, where he undressed her, blindfolded and gagged her, and then forced her to commit oral sex before raping her. Her small child was present in the house at the time. Taylor was formally rearrested in October 2002 and charged with the rapes. Although Taylor initially refused to cooperate with the police, the DNA evidence was overwhelming, and he eventually pleaded guilty to both rapes on 4 February 2003 at Leeds Crown Court. Judge Norman Jones QC, the Recorder of Leeds, sentenced him to two terms of life imprisonment and "expressly dis-applied early release provisions." DS Gregg said: "We are still concerned that there may be other victims and families who have been affected by Taylor's actions" and revealed that a diamanteRhinestone
A rhinestone or paste or diamante is a diamond simulant made from rock crystal, glass or acrylic.Originally, rhinestones were rock crystals gathered from the river Rhine. The availability was greatly increased around 1775 when the Alsatian jeweller Georg Friedrich Strass had the idea to imitate...
necklace
Necklace
A necklace is an article of jewellery which is worn around the neck. Necklaces are frequently formed from a metal jewellery chain. Others are woven or manufactured from cloth using string or twine....
found in his car at the time of his 2001 arrest may have belonged to another victim as they were still unable to find out where it came from or who it belonged to. Taylor is known to have travelled across the country to meet women he had contacted through personal ads and also in his parcel delivery work, and with the solving of the two rape cases police discounted his insistence that Tiernan's murder was an isolated case and that he had taken his dog for a walk and "just snapped." They maintained that Taylor could have been a serial sex attacker for twenty years. Taylor has denied involvement in any other crimes.
Minimum term
Under the Criminal Justice Act 2003Criminal Justice Act 2003
The Criminal Justice Act 2003 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It is a wide ranging measure introduced to modernise many areas of the criminal justice system in England and Wales and, to a lesser extent, in Scotland and Northern Ireland....
Taylor's sentence for the murder of Tiernan was reviewed by the High Court of Justice
High Court of Justice
The High Court of Justice is, together with the Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, one of the Senior Courts of England and Wales...
with regard to the minimum term served before consideration for parole. On 19 December 2006 Mr. Justice Openshaw
Peter Openshaw
Sir Charles Peter Lawford Openshaw , styled The Hon. Mr Justice Openshaw, is an English judge of the High Court, Queen's Bench Division, in London...
set the minimum term at 30 years. In his judgment he stated: "I am anxious that this sentence is not misunderstood or mis-reported. The sentence is – and remains – a sentence of imprisonment for life. The defendant may not even be considered for release for this offence of murder until he has served at least 30 years. That is not to say that he will then be released; for the whole life term imposed for the rapes remains in force. Furthermore, the defendant will be detained unless and until the Parole Board
Parole Board for England and Wales
The Parole Board for England and Wales was established in 1968 under the Criminal Justice Act of 1967. It became an independent executive non-departmental public body on 1 July 1996 under the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994. The Parole Board's role is to make risk assessments about...
is satisfied that he no longer presents a risk to the public. Many prisoners, and surely John Taylor is likely to be one, are in fact detained for many years after their tariff has expired; indeed it may be that he presents such a risk that he could never safely be released but that is for others to decide in due course. I am just anxious that no one thinks that I am suggesting that he be released in 30 years for I most certainly am not."
Cold cases reopened
As a direct result of the Tiernan murder inquiry, West Yorkshire Police reopened the murder investigations of:- Deborah Alison Wood (aged 20) whose body was found burning near Burley Park Station, Leeds, in January 1996. Police believe her body had been kept in cold storage. She was found wrapped in bin bags and bedding.
- Yvonne Fitt (aged 33) whose body was found in Lindley Woods in September 1992. She had been missing since January 1992.
- Lindsay Jo RimerLindsay Jo RimerLindsay Jo Rimer was a thirteen year old girl from Hebden Bridge in West Yorkshire in the United Kingdom, who was murdered. She was last seen alive in Hebden Bridge on 7 November 1994, and her body was found in a canal about a mile away on 12 April 1995...
(aged 13) who disappeared not far from her home in Hebden BridgeHebden BridgeHebden Bridge is a market town within the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale, in West Yorkshire, England. It forms part of the Upper Calder Valley and lies 8 miles west of Halifax and 14 miles north east of Rochdale, at the confluence of the River Calder and the River Hebden .A 2004 profile of...
in November 1994. Her body was found at the bottom of a canal two miles from her home five months later. The cause of death was strangulation. - Rebbecca Hall (aged 19) who disappeared 13 April 2001. Her body was found in an alley behind a car park in Bradford on 26 April 2001.
Strathclyde Police
Strathclyde Police
Strathclyde Police is the territorial police force responsible for the Scottish council areas of Argyll and Bute, City of Glasgow, East Ayrshire, East Dunbartonshire, East Renfrewshire, Inverclyde, North Ayrshire, North Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire, South Ayrshire, South Lanarkshire and West...
reopened the murder investigations of six Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
prostitutes:
- Diane McInally (aged 23)
- Karen McGregor (aged 26)
- Leona McGovern (aged 22)
- Marjorie Roberts (aged 31)
- Tracey Wilde (aged 21)
- Alison Wallace (aged 31)