Patrick Mackay

David Groves, better known by his birth name Patrick David Mackay (born 25 September 1952), is a British serial killer who is believed to be one of the United Kingdom's most prolific serial murderers.

He was convicted of three counts of manslaughter and two additional cases which were left to lie on file.

His two sisters were born later in 1954 and 1957.

As a child, Mackay was a frequent victim of physical abuse at the hands of his father.

Mackay would perform poorly on his academic grades, bully his younger classmates and frequently have tantrums.

A classmate would later describe Mackay as "like a little terrorist" who physically attacked other pupils.

He also engaged in cruelty to animals and often tore the wings off birds.

When Mackay was ten years old, Harold died from a heart attack on his way to work – the result of complications of alcoholism and a weak heart.

His last words to his son were, "Remember to be good".

Mackay was supposedly unable to come to terms with the loss of his father, telling people Harold was still alive and keeping a photograph of him on his person.

He did not go to the funeral in Scotland based on his mother's recommendation.

Later, he assumed the role of 'father figure' within the family, beating his mother and sisters.

Mackay's mother eventually moved the family to Gravesend from Dartford, but family life did not improve and the police were called to the home as frequently as four times a week.

He was prone to extreme tantrums and fits of anger, beating his mother and sister.

He also attempted to kill a boy younger than himself, and later said he would have succeeded had he not been restrained.

At 15, Mackay was diagnosed as a psychopath by a psychiatrist, Dr Leonard Carr, who predicted he would grow up to become a "cold, psychopathic killer."

He was removed from his family home on eighteen occasions between the ages of 12 and 22 and put into various specialist schools, institutions and prisons.

One of his teachers at a specialist school described him as "a potential murderer of women".

In October 1968, Mackay was committed to Moss Side Hospital, Liverpool, as a diagnosed psychopath.

He was released in 1972.

As he entered adulthood, Mackay developed a fascination with Nazism, calling himself "Franklin Bollvolt the First" and filling his flat with Nazi memorabilia.

He lived in London and frequently abused drugs and alcohol.

Following Mackay's release in 1972, the affluent London areas of Chelsea and Knightsbridge were engulfed by a wave of petty crimes.

Known for being home to the wealthiest London residents and full of luxury shops and high-end restaurants, the areas suddenly saw a massive, unexplained rise in muggings, robberies and handbag snatchings.

The attacks specifically targeted elderly ladies, and the unidentified attacker would befriend these women and gain access to their homes before committing their crimes.

It would later be found that Mackay was behind these crimes.

Detectives said he confessed in remand to the murders of six more people across London, Essex and Kent in England between 1973 and 1975.

All of them were found to match existing unsolved murders.

On 14 February 1974, 84-year-old Isabella Griffith was physically assaulted, strangled and stabbed in her home in Chelsea by Mackay.

Police were unable to identify him as the perpetrator and the muggings and petty thefts continued in the area.

Thirteen months later, on 10 March 1975, elderly Adele Price was also killed in her Chelsea home by Mackay who had entered her property asking for a glass of water.

Her granddaughter was coming home at the time and, without knowing, passed the killer as he left the premises after attacking the woman.

Police were concerned the crime spree and the killings of the two women were linked.

Officially diagnosed as a psychopath at the age of fifteen, Mackay has been repeatedly denied parole since 1995 on the basis that he is considered too dangerous for release, although since 2017 he has been incarcerated in open prison conditions with day release provisions.

In 2020, authorities launched fresh inquiries into his suspected murders, but they were unable to find sufficient evidence.

Dartford MP Gareth Johnson has repeatedly voiced his concerns over Mackay's potential release.

In July 2022, it was revealed that Mackay's case had been referred to the Parole Board again.

Mackay was born at Park Royal Hospital, now known as Central Middlesex Hospital in London.

He grew up with his parents and sisters in Dartford, Kent.

His parents were Harold Mackay, a Scottish accountant, and Marion Mackay, a woman of Creole descent from Guyana.