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Cody Ackland is a British man responsible for the 2021 abduction and murder of 18-year-old Bobbi-Anne McLeod in Plymouth.
Biography
Ackland lived on the Southway housing estate in Plymouth, Devon. He was a guitarist and songwriter for the indie band Rakuda. Although most people thought him a normal person, he was privately obsessed with serial killers, Ted Bundy in particular. He had thousands of images of murder victims on his phone and searched for how serial killers disposed of the body online.
On 20 November 2021, Ackland came across 18-year-old Bobbi-Anne McLeod at a bus stop. As she resembled girls he had dated in the past, he decided to make her his first victim. Ackland attacked McLeod with a claw hammer and beat her to the ground. He then attempted to leave, but as he left he turned round and saw McLeod moving. Realizing she was still alive, he dragged her into his car and drove her to the Dartmoor area, where he killed her before driving an additional 30 miles away and dumping her body. McLeod was so badly beaten that when the body was found she had to be identified via dental records.
Over the next few days, Ackland monitored social media for news about the murder. Ackland's bandmates reported that they had never seen him happier than he was in the days after the murder. He remained at large for three days, then on 23 November he walked into a police station and confessed to the murder. He pleaded guilty to kidnapping and murder in May 2022 and was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum of 31 years.