Stephen Griffiths
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| “ | Humanity is not merely a biological condition. It is also a state of mind. On that basis I am a pseudo human at best. A demon at worst. | „ |
| ~ Stephen Griffiths |
Stephen Shaun Griffiths (born December 24th, 1969) is an English serial killer known as the Crossbow Cannibal, due to his weapon of choice being a crossbow. He is responsible for the death of three women in the city of Bradford in West Yorkshire and is currently serving life imprisonment with a whole life order.
Biography edit
Griffiths' criminal history included a 3-year sentence, when aged 17, for an unprovoked knife attack on a supermarket manager. Whilst in custody he stated that he saw himself becoming a murderer, and psychiatrists warned that he fantasized about becoming a serial killer. In 1991 he was diagnosed as a "schizoid psychopath" and the following year received a two-year prison sentence for holding a knife to the throat of a girl.
In 2009, Griffiths was admitted to the University of Bradford to write a PhD in homicide studies.
Police had been watching Griffiths for two years before he killed his victims and had already seized hunting weapons. The police contacted the housing association which owns the flat in which Griffiths lived after Griffiths was observed reading books on dismemberment. The housing association shared the police's concerns and fitted a better CCTV system in anticipation of an incident. At the time of the murders, police had no evidence for an Anti-Social Behaviour Order.
43-year-old Susan Rushworth disappeared on 22 June 2009, followed by 31-year-old Shelley Armitage on 26 April 2010 and 36-year-old Suzanne Blamires on 21 May of the same year. The women were all sex workers based in Bradford. Parts of Blamires's body were found in the River Aire in Shipley, near Bradford, on 25 May. Other human tissue found in the same river was later established to belong to Armitage. No remains of Rushworth have ever been found.
Griffiths was arrested and in May 2010 he appeared in the magistrates' court giving his name as the Crossbow Cannibal.
At a crown court appearance that afternoon he was remanded in custody until his next court appearance. He made a second appearance at crown court on 7 June via a video link from Wakefield Prison where a trial date of 16 November 2010 was set.
On 21 December 2010, Griffiths was convicted of all three murders after pleading guilty. At Leeds Crown Court the same day, Mr Justice Openshaw sentenced Griffiths to life imprisonment with a whole life order, meaning he will not become eligible for parole and is likely to spend the rest of his life in prison.
Personality edit
Griffiths' neighbours were unable to tell police or reporters much about him. He bred mice to feed to his pet lizards, apparently, and liked to walk his lizards on leads. "He said he was studying at university, people who had done murders," said Glyn Tucker, who lives in the flat below. "I just thought: 'This guy is weird.' "
More could be discovered from his many postings on the internet, particularly on the social networking site MySpace. Using the pseudonym Ven Pariah and username Ven99, Griffiths posted a number of statements. "Humanity is not merely a biological condition," he wrote. "It is also a state of mind. On that basis I am a pseudo human at best. A demon at worst."
He also quoted the Bible, Ezekiel 25:17: "The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides."
Griffiths also appears to have posted more than 160 photographs on his site. One, taken a number of years ago, is a black and white portrait showing him with his hair slicked back. A second is a topless self-portrait taken in a mirror.
In one message to a comment board, Griffiths writes of his friends in the art world in "lil' old Bradford", while in another he thanks a woman who contacted him and adds: "Thank you for that, Jacqueline, the thought and the sentiment are both truly appreciated. Hope you have a nice day as well – lots of them, in fact. Glad you could see past the scary image I generally project to the world."
Griffiths greatly revered serial killer Peter Sutcliffe (known as "the Yorkshire Ripper") and considered him his hero.