Delroy Samuel Denton (born ) is a Jamaican

gangster A gangster (informally gangsta) is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from ''Organized crime, mob'' and the suffix ''wikt:-ster, -st ...

, convicted murderer, rapist and suspected serial killer. After illegally immigrating to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, Denton was an

informant An informant (also called an informer or, as a slang term, a "snitch", "rat", "canary", "stool pigeon", "stoolie", "tout" or "grass", among other terms) is a person who provides privileged information, or (usually damaging) information inten ...

for

Scotland Yard Scotland Yard (officially New Scotland Yard) is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, the territorial police force responsible for policing Greater London's London boroughs, 32 boroughs. Its name derives from the location of the original ...

, until he was arrested for the rape and murder of 24-year-old trainee beautician Marcia Lawes in 1995. After his conviction, the fact that he was a police informant at the time of the crime, despite having been denied

asylum Asylum may refer to: Types of asylum * Asylum (antiquity), places of refuge in ancient Greece and Rome * Benevolent asylum, a 19th-century Australian institution for housing the destitute * Cities of Refuge, places of refuge in ancient Judea * ...

in Britain, and his status as a

fugitive A fugitive or runaway is a person who is fleeing from custody, whether it be from jail, a government arrest, government or non-government questioning, vigilante violence, or outraged private individuals. A fugitive from justice, also known ...

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

in connection with the murders of seven women (including a prostitute who was stabbed with an icepick), led to a change in the way such informants were handled.

History

Delroy Denton, street name Epsi, had served time in Jamaican prison for firearms violations and armed robbery.

Nick Davies Nick Davies (born 28 March 1953) is a British investigative journalist, writer, and documentary maker. Davies has written extensively as a freelancer, as well as for ''The Guardian'' and ''The Observer'', and been named Reporter of the Year, ...

, in an article for ''The Guardian'', writes that "police intelligence reports... described him as a murderous participant in street wars, the founder of a

Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the six most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

gang known as the Rapid Possee." Denton gained entry to Britain in 1993 or 1994 under a false name. In May 1994, he was arrested during a police raid of

Brixton Brixton is an area of South London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Brixton experienced a rapid rise in population during the 19th century ...

's Atlantic pub. He gave his name as "Clive Lloyd Johnson" and was charged with intent to distribute and possession of an offensive weapon. Facing deportation Denton applied for political asylum claiming his life was in danger from corrupt politicians in Jamaica. After being approached by Brian Fotheringham and Steve Barker, Denton agreed to become a police informer against Jamaican criminals known as

Yardie Yardie (or Yaadi/Yawdie) is a term often used, particularly within the Caribbean expatriate and Jamaican diaspora, to refer to people of Jamaican origin; however, its exact meaning changes depending on context. The term is derived from the Jama ...

s. He was paid £50 a week and registered as an informant with the Home Office. Although immigration officials reported Delroy to be "... dangerous Jamaican criminal, given 16 years in Jamaica for firearms/aggravated burglary offences" who had fled Jamaica and was wanted for the murders of seven women, he was allowed to remain in the country and released from custody within three days. While in the service of SO11, the criminal intelligence division of Scotland Yard, Denton committed several violent crimes including the sexual assault of a 15-year-old schoolgirl on 19 December 1994 but on 1 February 1995, the rape charge was dropped due to lack of evidence. The following April, Denton stabbed 24-year-old trainee beautician Marcia Lawes eighteen times after breaking into her Brixton residence and sexually assaulting her. Although initially arrested by police on 28 June, he was released due to lack of evidence on 1 November 1995. During the investigation into the murder of Lawes, detectives informed Fotheringham of Denton's immigration status, however, he took no action. Barker's superiors were then contacted and Denton was taken off the list of registered informers, but Barker continued to meet with him. However, because of the protests of senior officials, Denton would later be retried and convicted of Lawes' murder for which he was sentenced to life imprisonment in July 1996. When he was tried for Miss Lawes' murder, he was described as a "premier-league danger to the public" and a "sex-fueled psychopath". His later appeal to the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

, on the grounds that his status as police informer was not divulged to his defense team, was declined. Going to court, the family of Marcia Lawes successfully petitioned to sue the Metropolitan Police and

Home Office The Home Office (HO), also known (especially in official papers and when referred to in Parliament) as the Home Department, is the United Kingdom's interior ministry. It is responsible for public safety and policing, border security, immigr ...

on the grounds that, by allowing Denton to be an informer, police had acted unlawfully in permitting a man with a violent criminal record to remain free by endangering the public, the first lawsuit to be brought against the Home Office and London police officials. The re-investigation into the murder of Delroy Denton was conducted by the original Police Officer a Detective Inspector Cook, who believed the decision to withdraw the charges was flawed. He set out to look for further evidence and have the forensics re-examined as well as the pathologists examination. The Original Pathologist Dr Freddy Patel's opinion was over ruled by the more experienced Pathologist Dr Ian West. New witnesses were found as a result of Denton's behaviour once released and he was eventually re-charged and convicted.

References

External links

BBC News: Murder victim's family to sue police

BBC News: "Yardie" loses murder appeal
{{DEFAULTSORT:Denton, Delroy 1970s births 20th-century Jamaican criminals Jamaican emigrants to the United Kingdom Jamaican gangsters Jamaican people convicted of murder Jamaican prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment Living people People convicted of murder by England and Wales People with antisocial personality disorder Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by England and Wales Scotland Yard informants Suspected serial killers Violence against women in Jamaica Violence against women in the United Kingdom Yardies Year of birth missing (living people)

History

See also

References

External links