Crossbow Cannibal caught on video as he killed third prostitute victim

SHOCKING scenes captured on CCTV led police to the door of Stephen Griffiths – who became notorious as the “Crossbow Cannibal”.

Police were already searching for three missing prostitutes in the city when Peter Gee, caretaker of the Holmfield Court flats, began a routine check of the weekend footage from the block’s cameras.

Rather than spotting some minor vandalism or petty crime, he was presented with a horrifying spectacle from the previous Friday which would transform the police inquiry into a triple murder case.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The footage showed Griffiths and a woman entering the building in the early hours of Saturday, May 22, last year heading upstairs and going into his flat on the third floor.

Minutes later, the woman ran back into the corridor, only for Griffiths to give chase, grab her, overpower her and drag her back towards the front door of the flat.

He picked up a crossbow, pointed it at the woman’s body and fired.

After dragging her lifeless body back into the flat, Griffiths returned to the corridor and, still holding the crossbow, approached the camera lens, raising one finger in contempt. The woman was Suzanne Blamires, the third prostitute to be reported missing in 11 months.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Despite having a criminal record which included convictions for violence, Griffiths was not on the initial list of suspects for a case which began in June 2009 when Susan Rushworth was reported missing.

Despite a series of high-profile appeals for information, police found no evidence to suggest she had been the victim of a crime and leads dried up, even after another prostitute, Shelley Armitage, was reported missing last April. Some of her last movements were also hauntingly captured on CCTV.

After viewing the footage, Mr Gee informed his manager, who called the police and Griffiths was soon arrested. He pleaded guilty to three charges of murder and was jailed for life in December.

Another case cracked with the help of CCTV was the kidnap and manslaughter of travel agent Stephanie Hammill in Wakefield by Ioannis Revenikiotis. Having cruised the streets for women to prey on he lured Stephanie into his car – which she thought was a taxi – which sped off before her boyfriend could get in. She died after jumping from the car to escape and was hit by a vehicle travelling in the other direction.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

As they investigated the crime, police found a private CCTV camera that had filmed his Mercedes as it sped along with Stephanie in the back, allowing detectives to identify his vehicle. Further investigation showed he had been in Wakefield on the night Stephanie was abducted, and showed him cruising the streets of the city centre approaching women enjoying a night out. Some of these women were traced as witnesses.

Related topics: