Grindr serial killer Stephen Port convicted of murdering men with overdoses of date-rape drug GHB
GRINDR killer Stephen Port has been found guilty of murdering men he met through the gay dating app to fulfil his sexual fetish for 'twinks'.
Port has been convicted of drugging his victims Anthony Walgate, Jack Taylor, Daniel Whitworth and Gabriel Kovari with an overdose of date-rape drug GHB so he could carry out his sick fantasies.
Port, a 41-year-old chef, dumped his victim's bodies near a graveyard in Barking, east London, and began an elaborate cover-up.
He lied to police, disposed of his victim's mobile phones and even planted a fake suicide note on Mr Whitworth, blaming him for the death of Mr Kovari.
Port was found guilty of four murders and numerous other sexual offences - including the rapes of three other men he drugged for sex, at the Old Bailey today.
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Port, who filmed himself having sex with unconscious men, was obsessed with drug-rape pornography, and was attracted to smaller, boyish-type men known as 'twinks'.
Jonathan Rees QC, prosecuting, said: "It is a case about a man, the defendant, who in the pursuit of nothing more than his own sexual gratification variously drugged, sexually assaulted and killed young gay men who he had invited back to his flat.
"All of the offending behaviour was driven by one main factor, namely the defendant's appetite for having sexual intercourse with younger, gay males while they were unconscious through drugs."
Port drugged his victims by spiking their drinks or injecting them in the anus with drugs which he claimed were lubrication.
Mr Walgate, 23, was found dead in the communal hall of Port's flat in Cooke Street after he called 999 anonymously in the early hours of June 19 2014.
Port later pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice in relation Mr Walgate's death and was sentenced to eight months imprisonment.
But, by the time he was jailed Port had gone on to claim the lives of two young men.
Slovakian Mr Kovari, 22, and 21-year-old chef Mr Whitworth, from Gravesend, in Kent, were murdered within weeks of each other in August and September 2014.
Both, like Mr Walgate, had died of GHB poisoning and were found in an almost identical position in St Margaret’s churchyard - near Port's flat in Barking.
Port was jailed in March 2015. He killed again just three months after being released from prison, in September 2015, when forklift truck driver Mr Taylor, 25, was found near the same churchyard.
In total 12 men are said to have been attacked by Port over three-and-a-half years, between 2012 and 2015, four of which died of an overdose of the party drug GHB.
Port, denied all the offences against him and a jury is still considering claims relating to three men.
Mr Taylor's parents and sisters wept in court as the guilty verdicts were delivered but Port made no reaction.
Who were Stephen Port's victims
Anthony Walgate
Mr Walgate, 23, was a fashion student and gay escort.
Port had offered him £800 for sex.
Before he went to meet him he joked with a friend that he might get killed.
The body of Mr Walgate, who lived in Golders Green, north London, was later found outside Port's block of flats.
Gabriel Kovari
Originally from Slovakia 22-year-old artist Gabriel had been living in Lewisham, south east London
He moved in with Port in August 2014.
He told friends he was staying there for free as Port just wanted to "fill the place".
Mr Kovari had a long term boyfriend Thierry Amodio in Mallorca, but was known to use gay dating apps.
Daniel Whitworth
Daniel, 21, was a chef who had worked in the city.
At the time of his death he was living with his partner in Kent.
He met Port through the Fitlads site and visited his flat on September 18 2014.
Jack Taylor
Jack, 25, was a fork lift driver.
He lived with his parents in Dagenham, east London.
Jack met Port on Grindr on September 13 last year
Cops have come under fire for not linking the deaths earlier.
Port's one-bedroom flat, was searched following the death of his first murder victim, Mr Walgate, 23, and sex drugs and baby oil were photographed by cops.
Among the items photographed on June 27 2014 were a pair of underpants emblazoned with the words "Born 4 Porn".
Police also photographed a bottle of Amsterdam Gold poppers on the bedside table and another inside the fridge, as well as an empty bottle of baby oil.
Inside a bedroom drawer was a dildo, condoms and lubricating gel, while a living room cabinet contained a large number of DVDs.
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