Minstead Rapist
Encyclopedia
Delroy Easton Grant is a convicted rapist accused of carrying out a series of offences of burglary
, rape and indecent assault
dating between October 1992 and May 2009 in the South East London
area of England
. Grant, also known as the Minstead Rapist and latterly the Night Stalker, is thought to have been active since 1990, and has a distinctive modus operandi
, preying on elderly women who live alone. He is suspected of over 100 offences from 1990 to the present. In 1998, the Metropolitan Police
launched the dedicated Operation Minstead team to investigate the crimes, based out of Lewisham
police station. (The name does not directly refer to the village of Minstead
, Hampshire
; rather it was chosen from an alphabetical list of English villages, the method of operational naming in use at the time). As of 2009, the operation was the largest and most complex rape
investigation ever undertaken by the Metropolitan Police
.
On 24 March 2011, the Jamaican-born Grant, a Jehovah's Witness and father of eight from Brockley
who was a carer for his disabled wife, was found guilty on all counts. The following day he was given four life sentences and ordered to serve a minimum of 27 years in prison.
area of Croydon
. However due to a break of four years between this first attack and a spate of others, Operation Minstead was not set up until 1998.
Although committing many crimes, Grant was dormant for long periods. After the first attack in October 1992, no further offences were reported until 1997. After a particularly violent rape on 5 August 1999 where his victim almost died from her injuries, there was another long break. This prompted some media speculation that the rapist had been imprisoned for an unrelated offence or that he had died. However on 13 October 2002, ten years after the first attack, he struck again. Seven confirmed attacks took place in the summer of 2003. Another break then followed.
A further series of confirmed attacks took place towards the end of 2008, and into mid-2009.
Detective Superintendent Simon Morgan who headed the Minstead team from 2001 to October 2009, explained the problems in arriving at a definitive total of offences in this series by saying "His victims come from a generation who are inclined to see good in everyone. One thanked him for being gentle when he raped her". Another said she didn’t want to dial 999
"because I know the police are already so busy".
. Most of the offences occurred around Shirley
in Croydon
, and also Orpington
. However he also struck in Coulsdon
, Forest Hill
, Catford
, Brockley
, Bromley
, Beckenham
, Dulwich
and Sidcup
. Only once was there a report of him offending outside of Greater London
. This was in Warlingham
, Surrey.
The fact that many offences have taken place in Orpington
, including one on Boxing Day
in 1998, led detectives to suspect the rapist had a link to the area. Det Supt Morgan has said "He either lives, works or has some connection with someone he visits in Orpington. This could be a child, a school or a job". On three occasions, he made remarks about having to get to Brighton
.
for some time since he has never broken into a house occupied by anyone but a lone elderly occupant. He once targeted three houses in a single street. He picked detached or semi-detached
houses and bungalow
s but never flats
.
He then approached his victim, shining a torch in her eyes. Often his first words were to demand sex. However, he had been known to spend hours in victims’ homes either before or without assaulting them. He had been described perversely as exhibiting tenderness, sometimes gently kissing his victims on the cheek. He had exhibited a knowledge of geriatrics
, knowing how to support his elderly victim’s spine and how to pick them up from the elbow. He had sometimes been shamed into leaving without committing a sexual assault when his victim has chastised him. Of particular note is an incident where one victim caused him to apologise and leave by angrily demanding "What would your mother think of you?" He has been known to take a victim’s pulse, and has said: “I’m really sorry. I won’t do this again." Police have speculated that the rapist is ashamed of his actions, perhaps explaining the long period that sometimes occurs between offences. Despite this, he could be extremely violent. During his most violent attack on 5 August 1999, he raped his victim twice and left her bleeding from a perforated bowel, in which her injuries were nearly fatal.
He had been known to burgle his victims but this was not his primary motive. He often took money but only small amounts. He has taken credit card
s and obtained their PINs
from his victims but there has never been any record of him using them. In 2004 he stole a wad of five pound notes
but these were later discovered thrown away a mile and a half from his victim’s house. He had also taken jewellery. The same year he told a victim that his mother had died four years earlier, stating that “the Government let her down anyway”.
He has struck on all days of the week but most often during the early hours of a Friday or Saturday morning.
Detectives strongly believed that he rode a motorbike.
at any scene. However, an offence committed on 13 October 2002 left behind a vital clue – a footprint from a size 10 Nike
Air Terra Contego trainer
. Most importantly he does not use condom
s and his DNA
was captured. The first time his DNA was discovered at a scene was in 1992. Since then, more than 2,000 DNA samples have been collected from suspects.
Britain’s national police DNA database contains samples from anyone arrested for a recordable offence
since 1995. Even by the time of his first offence, the Minstead Rapist was clearly an accomplished burglar. However his DNA remains unmatched and unidentified on the database. If the rapist has ever been arrested for burglary or a related offence, it must have been before 1995 when police began to routinely gather DNA samples from prisoners.
Advanced DNA techniques pointed towards a north Afro-Caribbean ethnic origin for the rapist; probably the Windward Islands
– St Lucia, Barbados
, St Vincent
, the Grenadines
, Tobago
or Trinidad
. Operation Minstead identified around 21,000 possible suspects that fitted such a profile. Their progress in this expedition was reported in a piece entitled "The Frying Squad"
In March 2004, Operation Minstead detectives hand-delivered a letter to hundreds of black
men in South London, asking for their help in voluntarily providing a DNA
sample for elimination purposes. Police explained that they desperately needed to reduce the vast number of suspects in the operation and that this was the best way to do so. Volunteers were assured that their DNA sample would be destroyed as soon as it was confirmed to be unmatched with the rapist’s DNA. The majority of those potential suspects were eager to help if it would assist police in catching the suspect. However 125 men initially refused to provide a sample, believing it was discriminatory and breached their human rights. Police brought pressure to bear on those who refused, explaining that their behaviour could be construed as suspicious. Five objectors were subsequently arrested but cleared. This incident was seen by some commentators, particularly The Voice
newspaper and Liberty
, as an abuse of power that damaged relations between London’s black community and the police. A Liberal Democrat
MP, Lynne Featherstone, questioned police tactics in the House of Commons
. Although they were able to reduce the list of potential suspects from 21,000 to 1,000, police resigned themselves to only being able to obtain the DNA of certain suspects still on the list if and when they were arrested for an unrelated offence.
On 16 November 2009 it was reported Delroy Grant of Brockley Mews, Brockley, South East London, had been arrested and charged with twenty-two offences, and appeared at Greenwich Magistrates Court. He was remanded in custody to re-appear at the court on 19 November.
On 19 November 2009 Delroy Grant appeared at Greenwich Magistrates Court, where he was ordered to appear at Woolwich Crown Court on Thursday 26 November. Prosecutors said that further charges are likely. He was remanded in custody.
On 26 November 2009 Delroy Grant Appeared at Woolwich Crown Court. Grant has been remanded in custody and is next due to appear at the Old Bailey for a plea and case management hearing on February 8, 2010.
On 8 February 2010 he was remanded in custody and is next due to appear at Inner London Crown Court on 30 April 2010.
On 21 June 2010 Delroy Grant, 52, of Brockley Mews, Honor Oak, south-east London, pleaded not guilty at the Old Bailey. Mr Justice Bean said the trial would take place on March 1, 2011, at Woolwich Crown Court; it might take up to six weeks.
The charges were as follows:
1. Rape - on 12/10/92 at Shirley, on an 89-year-old woman
2. Rape - on 5/9/98 at Warlingham, Surrey, on an 81-year-old woman
3. Rape - on 28/7/99 at Addiscombe, on an 82-year-old woman
4. Rape - on 5/8/99 at Orpington, on an 88-year-old woman
5. Indecent assault - on 20/6/99 at Beckenham of a 71-year-old woman
6. Indecent assault - on 12/7/99 at Addiscombe of an 82-year-old woman
7. Indecent assault - on 4/8/99 at Shirley on an 88-year-old woman
8. Indecent assault - on 13/10/02 at Shirley on a 77-year-old woman
9. Burglary (no violence) - on 25/5/09 at Shortlands, Bromley
10. Burglary (theft/attempted theft with violence) - on 12/10/92 at Shirley
11. Burglary with intent to rape - on 5/9/98 at Warlingham, Surrey
12. Indecent assault - on 5/9/98 at Warlingham, Surrey, of an 81-year-old woman
13. Burglary (theft/attempted theft with violence) - on 12/7/99 at Addiscombe
14. Burglary (theft/attempted theft with violence) - on 28/7/99 at Addiscombe
15. Indecent assault - on 28/7/99 at Addiscombe, of an 82-year-old woman
16. Burglary (theft/attempted theft with violence) - on 4/8/99 at Shirley.
17. Burglary (theft/attempted theft with violence) - on 5/8/99 at Orpington
18. Rape - on 5/8/99 at Orpington, on an 88-year-old woman
19. Burglary (theft/attempted theft with violence) - on 13/10/02 at Shirley
20. Burglary (theft/attempted theft with violence) - on 7/3/03 at West Dulwich
21. Burglary (theft/attempted theft with violence) - on 7/9/04 at Bromley
22. Burglary (theft/attempted theft with violence) - on 20/6/99 at Beckenham
According to newspaper reports the suspect was seen by cash machine CCTV cameras using his victims' credit and debit cards, but appeared useless as his face was always covered by a mask. One eagle-eyed police officer was reported to have spotted in some of the footage the reflection of a bus in a shop window. The bus was tracked down and was found to be fitted with cameras. Police trawled through the CCTV footage recorded by the bus. On the recording a Vauxhall Zafira was spotted near the cash machine and vehicle records pinpointed all models in the South London area. However, this is a gross distortion of the truth; in fact the officers taking part in the observations had identified a Zafira as a suspected vehicle some two weeks previously, and thus were particularly alert to such a car being in the area of their operation.
Then on Sunday evening (15 November) a Zafira was spotted parked in the Shirley area of Croydon, which was already being staked out by 70 police officers following recent break-ins believe to have been carried out by the Night Stalker.
Delroy Grant was arrested as he approached his car having just attempted to enter a nearby pensioner's house.
On 24th March 2010 Grant was found guilty of all offences charged. He was sentenced to concurrent life sentences with a recommendation that he should serve 27 years before being eligible to apply for parole
Burglary
Burglary is a crime, the essence of which is illicit entry into a building for the purposes of committing an offense. Usually that offense will be theft, but most jurisdictions specify others which fall within the ambit of burglary...
, rape and indecent assault
Sexual assault
Sexual assault is an assault of a sexual nature on another person, or any sexual act committed without consent. Although sexual assaults most frequently are by a man on a woman, it may involve any combination of two or more men, women and children....
dating between October 1992 and May 2009 in the South East London
South East (London sub region)
The South East is a sub-region of the London Plan corresponding to the London Boroughs of Bexley, Bromley, Greenwich, Lewisham and Southwark. The sub region was established in 2008. The south east has a population of 1,300,000 and is the location of 500,000 jobs...
area of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Grant, also known as the Minstead Rapist and latterly the Night Stalker, is thought to have been active since 1990, and has a distinctive modus operandi
Modus operandi
Modus operandi is a Latin phrase, approximately translated as "mode of operation". The term is used to describe someone's habits or manner of working, their method of operating or functioning...
, preying on elderly women who live alone. He is suspected of over 100 offences from 1990 to the present. In 1998, the Metropolitan Police
Metropolitan police
Metropolitan Police is a generic title for the municipal police force for a major metropolitan area, and it may be part of the official title of the force...
launched the dedicated Operation Minstead team to investigate the crimes, based out of Lewisham
Lewisham
Lewisham is a district in South London, England, located in the London Borough of Lewisham. It is situated south-east of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.-History:...
police station. (The name does not directly refer to the village of Minstead
Minstead
Minstead is a small village and civil parish in the New Forest, Hampshire, about north of Lyndhurst. There is a shop and a pub, the Trusty Servant. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's grave is under a large tree at the back of the 13th century All Saints' church.-Overview:Minstead is a small village and...
, Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
; rather it was chosen from an alphabetical list of English villages, the method of operational naming in use at the time). As of 2009, the operation was the largest and most complex rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
investigation ever undertaken by the Metropolitan Police
Metropolitan police
Metropolitan Police is a generic title for the municipal police force for a major metropolitan area, and it may be part of the official title of the force...
.
On 24 March 2011, the Jamaican-born Grant, a Jehovah's Witness and father of eight from Brockley
Brockley
Brockley is a district of south London, England, located in the London Borough of Lewisham. It is situated south-east of Charing Cross.It is covered by the London postcode districts SE4 and SE14.-History:...
who was a carer for his disabled wife, was found guilty on all counts. The following day he was given four life sentences and ordered to serve a minimum of 27 years in prison.
Emergence of a linked series
Grant is an accomplished burglar and has broken into the homes of over 90 elderly women aged between 68 and 93. He is positively linked to four reported rapes and around 30 other sexual assaults. Police believe he is also responsible for at least another two rapes where the victims felt unable to make any official allegation. The true total may be higher as his victims are often too traumatised to speak to police. In addition, the Operation Minstead investigation team have to decide which incidents are unmistakably the work of the same offender and which are similar but possibly unrelated. Therefore many possible Minstead incidents flagged up by police for the attention of the Operation Minstead team cannot be definitely confirmed as the work of the same offender so must be excluded from the linked series. The confirmed series of offences began in October 1992 in the ShirleyShirley, London
Shirley is a place in the London Borough of Croydon, England. It is a suburban development situated 10 miles south south-east of Charing Cross.-Description:...
area of Croydon
Croydon
Croydon is a town in South London, England, located within the London Borough of Croydon to which it gives its name. It is situated south of Charing Cross...
. However due to a break of four years between this first attack and a spate of others, Operation Minstead was not set up until 1998.
Although committing many crimes, Grant was dormant for long periods. After the first attack in October 1992, no further offences were reported until 1997. After a particularly violent rape on 5 August 1999 where his victim almost died from her injuries, there was another long break. This prompted some media speculation that the rapist had been imprisoned for an unrelated offence or that he had died. However on 13 October 2002, ten years after the first attack, he struck again. Seven confirmed attacks took place in the summer of 2003. Another break then followed.
A further series of confirmed attacks took place towards the end of 2008, and into mid-2009.
Detective Superintendent Simon Morgan who headed the Minstead team from 2001 to October 2009, explained the problems in arriving at a definitive total of offences in this series by saying "His victims come from a generation who are inclined to see good in everyone. One thanked him for being gentle when he raped her". Another said she didn’t want to dial 999
999 (emergency telephone number)
999 is an official emergency telephone number in a number of countries which allows the caller to contact emergency services for urgent assistance....
"because I know the police are already so busy".
Geographical spread
The offences occurred in defined geographical clusters in and around South East LondonSouth East (London sub region)
The South East is a sub-region of the London Plan corresponding to the London Boroughs of Bexley, Bromley, Greenwich, Lewisham and Southwark. The sub region was established in 2008. The south east has a population of 1,300,000 and is the location of 500,000 jobs...
. Most of the offences occurred around Shirley
Shirley, London
Shirley is a place in the London Borough of Croydon, England. It is a suburban development situated 10 miles south south-east of Charing Cross.-Description:...
in Croydon
Croydon
Croydon is a town in South London, England, located within the London Borough of Croydon to which it gives its name. It is situated south of Charing Cross...
, and also Orpington
Orpington
Orpington is a suburban town and electoral ward in the London Borough of Bromley. It forms the southeastern edge of London's urban sprawl and is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.-History:...
. However he also struck in Coulsdon
Coulsdon
Coulsdon is a town on the southernmost boundary of the London Borough of Croydon. It is surrounded by the Metropolitan Green Belt of the Farthing Down, Coulsdon Common and Kenley Common...
, Forest Hill
Forest Hill, London
Forest Hill is a district of south London, England, located in the London Borough of Lewisham. It situated between Dulwich and Sydenham. The area has enjoyed extensive investment since plans to extend the East London Line to Forest Hill were unveiled in 2004....
, Catford
Catford
Catford is a district in south London, England, located in the London Borough of Lewisham. It is situated south-east of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.-Architecture:...
, Brockley
Brockley
Brockley is a district of south London, England, located in the London Borough of Lewisham. It is situated south-east of Charing Cross.It is covered by the London postcode districts SE4 and SE14.-History:...
, Bromley
Bromley
Bromley is a large suburban town in south east London, England and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Bromley. It was historically a market town, and prior to 1963 was in the county of Kent and formed the administrative centre of the Municipal Borough of Bromley...
, Beckenham
Beckenham
Beckenham is a town in the London Borough of Bromley, England. It is located 8.4 miles south east of Charing Cross and 1.75 miles west of Bromley town...
, Dulwich
Dulwich
Dulwich is an area of South London, England. The settlement is mostly in the London Borough of Southwark with parts in the London Borough of Lambeth...
and Sidcup
Sidcup
Sidcup is a district in South East London in the London Borough of Bexley and small parts of the district in the London Borough of Greenwich.Located south east of Charing Cross, Sidcup is bordered by the London Boroughs of Greenwich and Bromley and Kent County Council, and whilst now part of...
. Only once was there a report of him offending outside of Greater London
Greater London
Greater London is the top-level administrative division of England covering London. It was created in 1965 and spans the City of London, including Middle Temple and Inner Temple, and the 32 London boroughs. This territory is coterminate with the London Government Office Region and the London...
. This was in Warlingham
Warlingham
Warlingham is a large village on the south-eastern boundary of London, England, just across the border in Tandridge district, east Surrey. Neighbouring villages include Sanderstead, Hamsey Green, Whyteleafe, Farleigh, Fickleshole, Tatsfield and Woldingham...
, Surrey.
The fact that many offences have taken place in Orpington
Orpington
Orpington is a suburban town and electoral ward in the London Borough of Bromley. It forms the southeastern edge of London's urban sprawl and is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.-History:...
, including one on Boxing Day
Boxing Day
Boxing Day is a bank or public holiday that occurs on 26 December, or the first or second weekday after Christmas Day, depending on national or regional laws. It is observed in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and some other Commonwealth nations. In Ireland, it is recognized as...
in 1998, led detectives to suspect the rapist had a link to the area. Det Supt Morgan has said "He either lives, works or has some connection with someone he visits in Orpington. This could be a child, a school or a job". On three occasions, he made remarks about having to get to Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
.
Victimology
Grant usually singled out lone elderly women as victims, though there is a handful of confirmed cases where his victims had been lone elderly males. It is thought that he was meticulous in planning his crimes. He may have placed his potential victims under surveillanceSurveillance
Surveillance is the monitoring of the behavior, activities, or other changing information, usually of people. It is sometimes done in a surreptitious manner...
for some time since he has never broken into a house occupied by anyone but a lone elderly occupant. He once targeted three houses in a single street. He picked detached or semi-detached
Semi-detached
Semi-detached housing consists of pairs of houses built side by side as units sharing a party wall and usually in such a way that each house's layout is a mirror image of its twin...
houses and bungalow
Bungalow
A bungalow is a type of house, with varying meanings across the world. Common features to many of these definitions include being detached, low-rise , and the use of verandahs...
s but never flats
Apartment
An apartment or flat is a self-contained housing unit that occupies only part of a building...
.
Modus operandi
Grant gained entry to the homes of his victims from the side or the rear, either through open windows or by removing a window pane entirely. He had been known to use tools stolen from the victim's own garden shed to remove the window beading. He ripped out the telephone wires, either before entering the property, or after gaining access. He then disabled the lights either by switching off the electricity at the meter or by unscrewing lightbulbs from their sockets.He then approached his victim, shining a torch in her eyes. Often his first words were to demand sex. However, he had been known to spend hours in victims’ homes either before or without assaulting them. He had been described perversely as exhibiting tenderness, sometimes gently kissing his victims on the cheek. He had exhibited a knowledge of geriatrics
Geriatrics
Geriatrics is a sub-specialty of internal medicine and family medicine that focuses on health care of elderly people. It aims to promote health by preventing and treating diseases and disabilities in older adults. There is no set age at which patients may be under the care of a geriatrician, or...
, knowing how to support his elderly victim’s spine and how to pick them up from the elbow. He had sometimes been shamed into leaving without committing a sexual assault when his victim has chastised him. Of particular note is an incident where one victim caused him to apologise and leave by angrily demanding "What would your mother think of you?" He has been known to take a victim’s pulse, and has said: “I’m really sorry. I won’t do this again." Police have speculated that the rapist is ashamed of his actions, perhaps explaining the long period that sometimes occurs between offences. Despite this, he could be extremely violent. During his most violent attack on 5 August 1999, he raped his victim twice and left her bleeding from a perforated bowel, in which her injuries were nearly fatal.
He had been known to burgle his victims but this was not his primary motive. He often took money but only small amounts. He has taken credit card
Credit card
A credit card is a small plastic card issued to users as a system of payment. It allows its holder to buy goods and services based on the holder's promise to pay for these goods and services...
s and obtained their PINs
Personal identification number
A personal identification number is a secret numeric password shared between a user and a system that can be used to authenticate the user to the system. Typically, the user is required to provide a non-confidential user identifier or token and a confidential PIN to gain access to the system...
from his victims but there has never been any record of him using them. In 2004 he stole a wad of five pound notes
Sterling banknotes
Sterling banknotes are the banknotes in circulation in the British Islands , denominated in pounds sterling . One pound is equivalent to 100 pence....
but these were later discovered thrown away a mile and a half from his victim’s house. He had also taken jewellery. The same year he told a victim that his mother had died four years earlier, stating that “the Government let her down anyway”.
He has struck on all days of the week but most often during the early hours of a Friday or Saturday morning.
Detectives strongly believed that he rode a motorbike.
Suspect description
Descriptions from his many victims suggested a black male aged between 25 and 40. He was described as about 5'9" to 5'11" tall, of slim athletic build and tends to wear dark clothing. He was described as usually wears gloves and a mask or balaclava and occasionally a baseball cap. He was described as having a soft or well-spoken voice. Some of his victims reported a curious sweet smell.DNA controversy
The Minstead Rapist was thought to be forensically aware since he never left a fingerprintFingerprint
A fingerprint in its narrow sense is an impression left by the friction ridges of a human finger. In a wider use of the term, fingerprints are the traces of an impression from the friction ridges of any part of a human hand. A print from the foot can also leave an impression of friction ridges...
at any scene. However, an offence committed on 13 October 2002 left behind a vital clue – a footprint from a size 10 Nike
Nike, Inc.
Nike, Inc. is a major publicly traded sportswear and equipment supplier based in the United States. The company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, which is part of the Portland metropolitan area...
Air Terra Contego trainer
Athletic shoe
Athletic shoe is a generic name for the footwear primarily designed for sports or other forms of physical exercise but in recent years has come to be used for casual everyday activities....
. Most importantly he does not use condom
Condom
A condom is a barrier device most commonly used during sexual intercourse to reduce the probability of pregnancy and spreading sexually transmitted diseases . It is put on a man's erect penis and physically blocks ejaculated semen from entering the body of a sexual partner...
s and his DNA
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...
was captured. The first time his DNA was discovered at a scene was in 1992. Since then, more than 2,000 DNA samples have been collected from suspects.
Britain’s national police DNA database contains samples from anyone arrested for a recordable offence
Recordable offence
A recordable offence is any offence under United Kingdom law where the police must keep records of convictions and offenders on the Police National Computer.A 'crime recordable offence' should not be confused with a 'crime reportable offence'....
since 1995. Even by the time of his first offence, the Minstead Rapist was clearly an accomplished burglar. However his DNA remains unmatched and unidentified on the database. If the rapist has ever been arrested for burglary or a related offence, it must have been before 1995 when police began to routinely gather DNA samples from prisoners.
Advanced DNA techniques pointed towards a north Afro-Caribbean ethnic origin for the rapist; probably the Windward Islands
Windward Islands
The Windward Islands are the southern islands of the Lesser Antilles, within the West Indies.-Name and geography:The Windward Islands are called such because they were more windward to sailing ships arriving in the New World than the Leeward Islands, given that the prevailing trade winds in the...
– St Lucia, Barbados
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
, St Vincent
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is an island country in the Lesser Antilles chain, namely in the southern portion of the Windward Islands, which lie at the southern end of the eastern border of the Caribbean Sea where the latter meets the Atlantic Ocean....
, the Grenadines
Grenadines
The Grenadines is a Caribbean island chain of over 600 islands in the Windward Islands.-Geographic boundaries:They are divided between the island nations of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada. They lie between the islands of Saint Vincent in the north and Grenada in the south. Neither...
, Tobago
Tobago
Tobago is the smaller of the two main islands that make up the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. It is located in the southern Caribbean, northeast of the island of Trinidad and southeast of Grenada. The island lies outside the hurricane belt...
or Trinidad
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...
. Operation Minstead identified around 21,000 possible suspects that fitted such a profile. Their progress in this expedition was reported in a piece entitled "The Frying Squad"
In March 2004, Operation Minstead detectives hand-delivered a letter to hundreds of black
Black people
The term black people is used in systems of racial classification for humans of a dark skinned phenotype, relative to other racial groups.Different societies apply different criteria regarding who is classified as "black", and often social variables such as class, socio-economic status also plays a...
men in South London, asking for their help in voluntarily providing a DNA
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...
sample for elimination purposes. Police explained that they desperately needed to reduce the vast number of suspects in the operation and that this was the best way to do so. Volunteers were assured that their DNA sample would be destroyed as soon as it was confirmed to be unmatched with the rapist’s DNA. The majority of those potential suspects were eager to help if it would assist police in catching the suspect. However 125 men initially refused to provide a sample, believing it was discriminatory and breached their human rights. Police brought pressure to bear on those who refused, explaining that their behaviour could be construed as suspicious. Five objectors were subsequently arrested but cleared. This incident was seen by some commentators, particularly The Voice
The Voice (newspaper)
The Voice is a British national weekly tabloid newspaper owned by the Jamaican publisher, GV Media Group, aimed at the British Afro-Caribbean community. The paper is based in the London Docklands and is published every Monday.-History:...
newspaper and Liberty
Liberty (pressure group)
Liberty is a pressure group based in the United Kingdom. Its formal name is the National Council for Civil Liberties . Founded in 1934 by Ronald Kidd and Sylvia Crowther-Smith , the group campaigns to protect civil liberties and promote human rights...
, as an abuse of power that damaged relations between London’s black community and the police. A Liberal Democrat
Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
MP, Lynne Featherstone, questioned police tactics in the House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
. Although they were able to reduce the list of potential suspects from 21,000 to 1,000, police resigned themselves to only being able to obtain the DNA of certain suspects still on the list if and when they were arrested for an unrelated offence.
2009 arrest
Having been appointed Senior Investigating Officer in October 2009, DCI Colin Sutton, the officer who led the investigation into the serial killer Levi Bellfield, organised and set up a proactive operation mounted to try to observe the suspect in the act of committing an offence. On 15 November 2009 it was reported a 52-year-old man had been arrested in connection with over 100 sexual offences in the South London area. Detectives described the arrest as "significant".On 16 November 2009 it was reported Delroy Grant of Brockley Mews, Brockley, South East London, had been arrested and charged with twenty-two offences, and appeared at Greenwich Magistrates Court. He was remanded in custody to re-appear at the court on 19 November.
On 19 November 2009 Delroy Grant appeared at Greenwich Magistrates Court, where he was ordered to appear at Woolwich Crown Court on Thursday 26 November. Prosecutors said that further charges are likely. He was remanded in custody.
On 26 November 2009 Delroy Grant Appeared at Woolwich Crown Court. Grant has been remanded in custody and is next due to appear at the Old Bailey for a plea and case management hearing on February 8, 2010.
On 8 February 2010 he was remanded in custody and is next due to appear at Inner London Crown Court on 30 April 2010.
On 21 June 2010 Delroy Grant, 52, of Brockley Mews, Honor Oak, south-east London, pleaded not guilty at the Old Bailey. Mr Justice Bean said the trial would take place on March 1, 2011, at Woolwich Crown Court; it might take up to six weeks.
The charges were as follows:
1. Rape - on 12/10/92 at Shirley, on an 89-year-old woman
2. Rape - on 5/9/98 at Warlingham, Surrey, on an 81-year-old woman
3. Rape - on 28/7/99 at Addiscombe, on an 82-year-old woman
4. Rape - on 5/8/99 at Orpington, on an 88-year-old woman
5. Indecent assault - on 20/6/99 at Beckenham of a 71-year-old woman
6. Indecent assault - on 12/7/99 at Addiscombe of an 82-year-old woman
7. Indecent assault - on 4/8/99 at Shirley on an 88-year-old woman
8. Indecent assault - on 13/10/02 at Shirley on a 77-year-old woman
9. Burglary (no violence) - on 25/5/09 at Shortlands, Bromley
10. Burglary (theft/attempted theft with violence) - on 12/10/92 at Shirley
11. Burglary with intent to rape - on 5/9/98 at Warlingham, Surrey
12. Indecent assault - on 5/9/98 at Warlingham, Surrey, of an 81-year-old woman
13. Burglary (theft/attempted theft with violence) - on 12/7/99 at Addiscombe
14. Burglary (theft/attempted theft with violence) - on 28/7/99 at Addiscombe
15. Indecent assault - on 28/7/99 at Addiscombe, of an 82-year-old woman
16. Burglary (theft/attempted theft with violence) - on 4/8/99 at Shirley.
17. Burglary (theft/attempted theft with violence) - on 5/8/99 at Orpington
18. Rape - on 5/8/99 at Orpington, on an 88-year-old woman
19. Burglary (theft/attempted theft with violence) - on 13/10/02 at Shirley
20. Burglary (theft/attempted theft with violence) - on 7/3/03 at West Dulwich
21. Burglary (theft/attempted theft with violence) - on 7/9/04 at Bromley
22. Burglary (theft/attempted theft with violence) - on 20/6/99 at Beckenham
According to newspaper reports the suspect was seen by cash machine CCTV cameras using his victims' credit and debit cards, but appeared useless as his face was always covered by a mask. One eagle-eyed police officer was reported to have spotted in some of the footage the reflection of a bus in a shop window. The bus was tracked down and was found to be fitted with cameras. Police trawled through the CCTV footage recorded by the bus. On the recording a Vauxhall Zafira was spotted near the cash machine and vehicle records pinpointed all models in the South London area. However, this is a gross distortion of the truth; in fact the officers taking part in the observations had identified a Zafira as a suspected vehicle some two weeks previously, and thus were particularly alert to such a car being in the area of their operation.
Then on Sunday evening (15 November) a Zafira was spotted parked in the Shirley area of Croydon, which was already being staked out by 70 police officers following recent break-ins believe to have been carried out by the Night Stalker.
Delroy Grant was arrested as he approached his car having just attempted to enter a nearby pensioner's house.
On 24th March 2010 Grant was found guilty of all offences charged. He was sentenced to concurrent life sentences with a recommendation that he should serve 27 years before being eligible to apply for parole
Investigation timeline
- 1990: Police say there are probable offences as far back as 1990.
- 1992 - October: First offence linked to the Minstead Rapist is committed in Shirley, Croydon.
- 1997: A second offence by the Minstead Rapist is reported, beginning a more frequent series of attacks.
- 1998: Operation Minstead launched.
- 1999 - 5 August: Most serious crime linked to the Minstead Rapist to date, leaves the victim fighting for life.
- 2003 - 5 December: The SCD launches an appeal to all Metropolitan Police officers for assistance to catch the Minstead Rapist.
- 2004 - March: Police carry out DNA testing of possible suspects in South London.
- 2004 - July: Detectives announce they have narrowed the initial list of 21,000 potential suspects to 1,000.
- 2006 - 10 October: Metropolitan Police officers issue a direct appeal to the rapist to give himself up, encouraging him to use his "conscience" and "come forward" to seek help for his behaviour.
- 2007 - 15 November: A burglary in South NorwoodSouth NorwoodSouth Norwood is an urban town and in south London, England, in the London Borough of Croydon. It is a suburban development 7.8 miles south-east of Charing Cross. South Norwood is an electoral with a resident population in 2001 of just over 14,000...
, LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
is linked to the Minstead Man. The victim was a 93 year-old woman and the incident took place in the early hours of Thursday, 15 November. - 2009 - June: A string of burglaries on the elderly were linked to a light-skinned black man, suspected of being the Night Stalker.
- 2009 - July: The most recent incident linked to the Night Stalker occurred in SelsdonSelsdonSelsdon is an area located in the southern suburbs of the London Borough of Croydon. The suburb was developed during the inter-war period during the 1920s and 1930s, and is remarkable for its many Art Deco houses...
, South CroydonCroydonCroydon is a town in South London, England, located within the London Borough of Croydon to which it gives its name. It is situated south of Charing Cross...
on the morning of 23 July 9. - 2009 - 15 November: Police arrest a 52 year old man in connection with more than 100 sex attacks. The arrest was described as "significant".
- 2009 - 16 November ~3am: Police charge a 52 year old man with multiple rapes.
- 2011 - 1 March: Delroy Grant appears at Woolwich Crown Court as his trial begins.
- 2011 - 24 March: Grant found guilty on all counts
- 2011 - 25 March: Grant is jailed for 27 years
External links
- Delroy Grant convicted, Metropolitan PoliceMetropolitan policeMetropolitan Police is a generic title for the municipal police force for a major metropolitan area, and it may be part of the official title of the force...
, 24 March 2011