The deaths were not treated as suspicious until weeks after the killer murdered his final victim.
Image source, Family handout
Failings by the Met Police contributed to the deaths of serial killer Stephen Port’s final three victims, an inquest jury has ruled.
Port, 46, is serving a whole-life term for murdering Anthony Walgate, Gabriel Kovari, Daniel Whitworth and Jack Taylor in Barking over 16 months.
The deaths were not regarded suspicious until weeks after the fourth murder.
Each victim died from an overdose of the “date rape” drug GHB between June 2014 and September 2015.
Port administered gamma-hydroxybutyrate to all four men, aged in their early 20s, at his east London home.
He was jailed for life in 2016.
Image source, Met Police
Coroner Sarah Munro QC said: “These inquests have, on any view, raised a number of serious concerns.”
She added she would be preparing a prevention of future deaths report.
The inquests have heard about a long series of failures in the four investigations.
Barking Town Hall was told police had ignored multiple chances to uncover that Port had been responsible for the first murder – Anthony Walgate, 23, in June 2014 – with the result being that the later deaths were preventable.
The jury found that a murder team should have taken over that first inquiry.
Referring to the inquiries made by officers in Barking and Dagenham into the deaths of Gabriel Kovari, 22, and Daniel Whitworth, 21, the jury said there were “fundamental failings in these investigations from the beginning”.
This meant Port was free to kill Jack Taylor, 25, a year later.
The jury also ruled that failings were by both officers in Barking and in the Met’s homicide command.
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