Paul Brumfitt (born 1956) is an English criminal convicted of killing three people in 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 ...

and

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

. In 1980 he was convicted of two counts of manslaughter and sentenced to three

life sentences Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment under which the convicted individual is to remain incarcerated for the rest of their natural life (or until pardoned or commuted to a fixed term). Crimes that result in life imprisonment are co ...

. He was released in 1994, only to kill yet again in 1999 and be returned to prison.

Initial murders and detention

With a rap sheet dating back to 1968, Brumfitt's first murders began in July 1979, when he got into an argument with his 16-year-old girlfriend. In his anger, he went on an 8-day rampage, first strangling 59-year-old shopkeeper Sidney Samuel in

Tilbury Tilbury is a port town in the borough of Thurrock, Essex, England. The present town was established as separate settlement in the late 19th century, on land that was mainly part of Chadwell St Mary. It contains a Tilbury Fort, 16th century fort ...

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

. Afterwards, he jumped aboard a ferry and found himself in Denmark, where not long after he strangled to death 40-year-old bus driver Teddy Laustrup in

Esbjerg Esbjerg (, ) is a seaport city and seat of Esbjerg Municipality on the west coast of the Jutland peninsula in southwest Denmark. By road, it is west of Kolding and southwest of Aarhus. With an urban area, urban population of 71,554 (1 January ...

. He was quickly caught and returned to England to stand trial at the

Old Bailey The Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, commonly referred to as the Old Bailey after the street on which it stands, is a criminal court building in central London, one of several that house the Crown Court of England and Wales. The s ...

for the two murders there, and in August 1980, he pleaded guilty to two counts of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility. The presiding judge recognized that the defendant suffered from several psychiatric disorders, but nevertheless ordered that he be sentenced to three life sentences. He remained in prison until November 1994, when psychiatrists declared that he no longer posed a threat to society, and Brumfitt was released from prison. As per the conditions of his parole, he was employed by the Dudley Council as a temporary assistant gardener under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act, had to be strictly supervised and had to spend six months at a hostel before he could be allowed full release.

Murder of Marcella Davis

Unbeknownst to his probation officer, Brumfitt regularly visited sex workers in

Dudley Dudley ( , ) is a market town in the West Midlands, England, southeast of Wolverhampton and northwest of Birmingham. Historically part of Worcestershire, the town is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley. In the ...

red-light district A red-light district or pleasure district is a part of an urban area where a concentration of prostitution and sex industry, sex-oriented businesses, such as sex shops, strip clubs, and adult theaters, are found. In most cases, red-light district ...

. On 7 February 1999 he picked up 19-year-old Marcella Ann Davis, a sex worker on

Wolverhampton Wolverhampton ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands of England. Located around 12 miles (20 km) north of Birmingham, it forms the northwestern part of the West Midlands conurbation, with the towns of ...

's Shakespeare Street, and took her back to his flat in Woodsetton. There, he murdered her in an undetermined manner and then took Marcella's body to a small yard he had rented on Cooper Street, where he dismembered her and set her alight. While authorities were searching for Davis, Brumfitt continued picking up various sex workers, several of whom he raped. In March 1999, he was arrested on suspicion of killing Davis but initially refused to cooperate with authorities. After 30 hours had passed, he finally admitted to the murder and pointed investigators towards where he had buried her. Through the use of dental records and a small bunch of keys, the burned corpse was positively identified as that of Davis.

Trial, imprisonment and aftermath

Shortly afterwards, Brumfitt was brought to stand trial at

Birmingham Crown Court The Queen Elizabeth II Law Courts is a Crown Court venue, which deals with criminal cases, in Dalton Street, Birmingham, England. History Until the mid-1980s, all Crown Court cases were heard in the Victoria Law Courts in Corporation Street. H ...

, where he was convicted of killing Marcella Davis and twice raping another sex worker at knifepoint, for which he was given three additional life sentences, but acquitted of a third rape. The chief constable of West Midlands Police, Edward Crew, and

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

Michael Fabricant Sir Michael Louis David Fabricant (born 12 June 1950) is a British politician. A member of the Conservative Party, he served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Lichfield in Staffordshire, formerly Mid Staffordshire, from 1992 until his defe ...

, both criticised the decision to release Brumfitt. The prison service announced that it would consider revising the parole review process, in order to prevent potentially violent lifers from being released and causing more crimes.

References

Bibliography

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Brumfitt, Paul 1956 births 20th-century English criminals English male criminals English people convicted of manslaughter English people convicted of murder English people convicted of rape English prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment English rapists English serial killers Living people People acquitted of rape People from Dudley People convicted of murder by England and Wales Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by England and Wales Violence against women in the United Kingdom

Initial murders and detention

Murder of Marcella Davis

Trial, imprisonment and aftermath

See also

References

Bibliography